[Scribbles]

Just out of curiosity -and this is also a question I have asked to some US colleagues- I was wondering.... How does it feel to live in a disfunctional country?

I am living in the Netherlands and although the situation is different here I strongly believe our government isn't doing alot better either... From a feeling of solidarity everything is moving to "everyone for himself", which in my opinion is only beneficial to the strongest -thus richest and increasingly richer- people...

At moments i really have the feeling that this world is broken beyond repair and that humanity as a whole does not learn from the past and it's mistakes...

 

[Hi-Finthen]

We do not discuss such topics here on Head-Fi , even over tea with our pinkies held out right as violence is all to common here still . Our veneer of civility and thickness of skin is paper thin, really!
 
- It's common knowledge we are a nation of cracked , chipped and broken Tea cups and saucers for this very reason, mostly having none of it .
 
- Good day, Sir ;')

 

[mutabor]

Brooke Bond Red

It is maybe the most popular tea in India. Just super dark red/orange, folks even put milk in it as it is really strong. I drank it for effect.

 
As I remember I saw a lot of Tata tea in India. The most popular tea there is not leaf but granulated tea ( small round granules) which gives the strongest taste. Most of Indians drink tea with milk ( the so called masala chai) therefore the quality of tea is not important. What is important is that it is cheap and that it gives a strong taste because it will be mixed with milk.
 
I saw a very little number of tea shops in India with leaf teas. Usually leaf tea is for export or for a small niche of people who drink tea without milk.
 
Typical tea sold in India looks like this:
 

 
In my country we divide black teas as leaf teas and granulated teas ( they are sold with such indications). It seems that in English language countries it's different. I found a discussion where somebody from Poland wrote:
 

 I know it may be funny, but actually I got a bit upset. I just opened a box of "loose leaf" tea I bought at Tesco's, only to find some dust inside - granulated tea (which is rubbish, I hate it).

And there's even a picture of leaf on the box, so it is double misleading.

There is a distinction in my first language and had the situation taken place in Poland, it would clearly be a con. Here we approach my question then: does the category of "leaf tea" really extend to granulated tea in English?? If so, then the term makes no sense to me, since every kind of tea is "leaf tea" (however processed), there is simply no other source of tea in the world, so why would one stress it. It's just like saying "tree apples", as opposed to some unexistent "bush apples". Are you after loose tree apples, or bagged tree apples sir?

 

[milkpowder]

  I use to do a lot of Indian Estate Teas (Black). And fresh grown Mint tea. Now Green is solid in the regular rotation with Red bush (S.African) coming in for relief. Variety, if you would. I'll have to look up King's Tea tonight or you can point.

I had fresh mint tea for the first time last week, and unfortunately didn't like it much. The scent, colour and initial taste were all great, but I couldn't drink a second cup due to the flavour.  I think I will stick to pu-erh, which remains my favourite tea.

 

[kookoo]

Anybody in Australia knows where to find sakura sencha?
Been to one restaurant only which happens to serve it and i've been jonesing for some more. As far as i understand it has to be bought in season when the flowers itself are picked but i could be wrong

 

[Silent One]

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
I had fresh mint tea for the first time last week, and unfortunately didn't like it much. The scent, colour and initial taste were all great, but I couldn't drink a second cup due to the flavour.  I think I will stick to pu-erh, which remains my favourite tea.

 
Forget the aroma in the kitchen, brewing on the stovetop 

 lit-up the entire neighborhood... legally!

 

[mutabor]

As for black tea I usually see everywhere either Indian tea or Ceylon tea or sometimes Kenyan tea. Recently there was an arrival of black tea from Azerbaijan. I bought exactly the same 100 grams metal box as on picture ( it costs $2.7):
 

 

  That is a blend of high-quality tea harvested at the tea gardens of Lenkoran and Astara regions, south of Azerbaijan.

 
 

 

[kookoo]

Wow tea from Azerbaijan, so exotic!!! If i see one I'll definitely check them out

 

[Destroysall]

 
Now I've tried loose leaf tea, and thus since I have heavily considered investing in a system to brew some loose tea myself. I found a wonderful place locally that sells loose-leaf tea and with over 100+ variations available, I think I will easily be enlightened. However until then, I've found love in Twining's Tea and its many variants. The two brews I enjoy the most are both the English and Irish Breakfast.
 
Cheers.

 

[cheekhiong]

I quite like Twinings Earl Grey and Darjeeling (both loose leaf)
 
Teavivre.com sells really good Chinese tea at a decent price.

 

[Sylaw]

 
Talking about tea? wow... I live in sri lanka ( Ceylon) ...... Its a dream to have a traditional Cup of tea with a Ginger Flake  

 

[wolfetan44]

  I quite like Twinings Earl Grey and Darjeeling (both loose leaf)
 
Teavivre.com sells really good Chinese tea at a decent price.

Teavivre.com is sweet! Glad to know we have another fan here

 

[JoshPelican]

I am a huge tea nerd and only drink loose leaf. I just finished a delicious cup of Jasmine Black Pearls from David's Tea with agave nectar. While it's not my favorite tea shop, it's one of the only places I have in Halifax. They do have a few good teas to choose from as well. I prefer World Tea House, Teavana (wish I had one here), and the Chinese Tea Shop in Vancouver.
 
I prefer chai and anything that has a more earthy, woodsy flavor (like a lot of black, oolong, and pu'erh), but I also love jasmine tea. I don't care for anything fruity or any other flavors.
 
FUN FACT: I have "OOLONGLIFE" tattooed across my toes as an homage to how much I love tea. It's kind of a joke tattoo, but totally worth it. My mom always asks me if I regret it.

 

[Silent One]

+1 on Jasmine Pearls. Especially in a Gaiwan. While the pearls see most of the consumption, Lung Ching Dragonwell has been finding its way into my bowl more frequently of late.

 

[daigo]

  +1 on Jasmine Pearls. Especially in a Gaiwan. While the pearls see most of the consumption, Lung Ching Dragonwell has been finding its way into my bowl more frequently of late.

I still mostly brew with a small Japanese teapot with a right angled handle (just googled it and I think it's call a kyusu), but I drink mostly Chinese and Taiwanese teas.  Currently drinking some high mountain oolong from Taiwan from an unknown area at work, and working on some mao feng from Anhui province that my parents picked up during their vacation to Huangshan.