On 2012-11-18 20:24:06 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:

> The best tea in a bag as not as good as a loose tea.

Twinings sells English Breakfast tea either loose, or in teabags. Are
you saying they use inferior grades in the teabags?

On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:40:08 -0800, gtr > wrote:

>On 2012-11-18 20:24:06 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>
>> The best tea in a bag as not as good as a loose tea.
>
>Twinings sells English Breakfast tea either loose, or in teabags. Are
>you saying they use inferior grades in the teabags?

IMO it is the paper. The paper absorbs something or adds a paper
flavor.

I'm not a big tea drinker, but I prefer just loose tea in cup or pot-
then strained. I use a French press for a couple cups.

Jim

On 2012-11-19 01:07:04 +0000, Jim Elbrecht said:

> On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:40:08 -0800, gtr > wrote:
>
>> On 2012-11-18 20:24:06 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>>
>>> The best tea in a bag as not as good as a loose tea.
>>
>> Twinings sells English Breakfast tea either loose, or in teabags. Are
>> you saying they use inferior grades in the teabags?
>
> IMO it is the paper. The paper absorbs something or adds a paper flavor.

Interesting. I'd like to get you in a double blind taste test! :-)

> I'm not a big tea drinker, but I prefer just loose tea in cup or pot-
> then strained. I use a French press for a couple cups.

Especially if you're not a big tea drinker--I'd like to get you in a
double blind taste test!

On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:40:08 -0800, gtr > wrote:

>On 2012-11-18 20:24:06 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>
>> The best tea in a bag as not as good as a loose tea.
>
>Twinings sells English Breakfast tea either loose, or in teabags. Are
>you saying they use inferior grades in the teabags?

Sort of. Most bagged teas are the Bud Lite of tea, Twinning's is the
regular Bud. Many teas are best in a larger leaf form than fits in a
bag. Be it Twining's, Lipton, Red Rose, they have to cut the tea up
small and confine it to fit in the bag and then put 100 bags in a box.
Even if it starts out good, it must be processed and it does lose
quality.

We keep bags around for iced tea in the warmer weather, but my morning
cup(s) is a good loose tea given plenty of room to breath and give off
its flavor.

Find a good tea purveyor too. That is why I buy from teatrader.com as
their stuff is better than Twinning's. Tea trader sells to people
that appreciate the quality plantations, Twining's sells to the
masses. Just as a serious coffee drinker will seek out Kona, Kenya AA
and the caffeine addict will gulp Maxwell House.

On 2012-11-19 03:58:57 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:

> Tea trader sells to people that appreciate the quality plantations,
> Twining's sells to the masses. Just as a serious coffee drinker will
> seek out Kona, Kenya AA
> and the caffeine addict will gulp Maxwell House.

Yeah, I'm a just a regular old human consumer of tea, not a gourmet connoiseur.

It doesn't make my tea taste *better*, just good.

On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 19:38:47 -0800, gtr > wrote:

>On 2012-11-19 01:07:04 +0000, Jim Elbrecht said:
>
>> On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:40:08 -0800, gtr > wrote:
>>
>>> On 2012-11-18 20:24:06 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>>>
>>>> The best tea in a bag as not as good as a loose tea.
>>>
>>> Twinings sells English Breakfast tea either loose, or in teabags. Are
>>> you saying they use inferior grades in the teabags?
>>
>> IMO it is the paper. The paper absorbs something or adds a paper flavor.
>
>Interesting. I'd like to get you in a double blind taste test! :-)
>
>> I'm not a big tea drinker, but I prefer just loose tea in cup or pot-
>> then strained. I use a French press for a couple cups.
>
>Especially if you're not a big tea drinker--I'd like to get you in a
>double blind taste test!

You get yerself to Schenectady with a bag o' tea- and We'll sit down
for a spell.<g> I'm always game for even a single blind test.

Jim

"gtr" > wrote in message news:2012111821314085307-xxx@yyyzzz...
> On 2012-11-19 03:58:57 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>
>> Tea trader sells to people that appreciate the quality plantations,
>> Twining's sells to the masses. Just as a serious coffee drinker will seek
>> out Kona, Kenya AA
>> and the caffeine addict will gulp Maxwell House.
>
> Yeah, I'm a just a regular old human consumer of tea, not a gourmet
> connoiseur.
>
> It doesn't make my tea taste *better*, just good.
>

A bit late to the party but this link
http://www.inpursuitoftea.com/Brewing_Guide_s/30.htm gives a lot of the
answers asked here. I can't vouch for the quality of their produce as I
have never used it but I can say that the information is correct as far as
my tea drinking is concerned.

Mike

On 2012-12-09 16:00:09 +0000, Bloke Down The Pub said:

> "gtr" > wrote in message news:2012111821314085307-xxx@yyyzzz...
>> On 2012-11-19 03:58:57 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>>
>>> Tea trader sells to people that appreciate the quality plantations,
>>> Twining's sells to the masses. Just as a serious coffee drinker will
>>> seek out Kona, Kenya AA
>>> and the caffeine addict will gulp Maxwell House.
>>
>> Yeah, I'm a just a regular old human consumer of tea, not a gourmet
>> connoiseur. It doesn't make my tea taste *better*, just good.
>
> A bit late to the party but this link
> http://www.inpursuitoftea.com/Brewing_Guide_s/30.htm gives a lot of the
> answers asked here. I can't vouch for the quality of their produce as
> I have never used it but I can say that the information is correct as
> far as my tea drinking is concerned.

A few years back a good friend send us a mega-sampler of about 12
different teas from Adagio, and online service. What do our highly
refined tea authorities hereabouts think of them, if applicable?

On Mon, 10 Dec 2012 00:00:09 +0800, "Bloke Down The Pub"
> wrote:



>>
>
>A bit late to the party but this link
>http://www.inpursuitoftea.com/Brewing_Guide_s/30.htm gives a lot of the
>answers asked here. I can't vouch for the quality of their produce as I
>have never used it but I can say that the information is correct as far as
>my tea drinking is concerned.
>
>Mike
>

Mostly good information, but some conflict on the timing. The chart
says to start at 30 second said add 5 seconds each try to get where
you like. It will take forever to get to the finish line. The other
text says 1 to 2 minutes. I like 4 minutes for most Ceylon black
teas. Beyond 4 you can get bitterness.

In article >,
says...
>
> On 15/11/2012 6:45 PM, gtr wrote:
> > I've been drinking green tea for many years. I get expensive fancy tea
> > at a local Japanese shop. Usually sencha and not infrequently "deep
> > steamed" tea. I note that in instructions with some of them, they steep
> > for only a minute. And though they generally steep 10 degress cooler
> > than me, I don't quibble.
> >
> > The routine is that you remove the tea, shake all the additional
> > moisture out of the strainer so it won't get bitter and set the leaves
> > aside. You may then come back later and make a second cup. But these,
> > I'm told, I need only dunk it in the water for a second or two.
> >
> > Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast. This
> > I steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back for 2
> > minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly less
> > tannic quality.
> >
> > Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?
>
>
> I am getting the impression that you are talking about making tea in a
> cup. IMO, that is an unacceptable way to make tea. It has to be made in
> a proper tea pot. I have never had a decent cup of tea made by dunking a
> tea bag into a cup or mug.

I agree

Janet UK

In article <2012111815400844839-xxx@yyyzzz>, says...
>
> On 2012-11-18 20:24:06 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>
> > The best tea in a bag as not as good as a loose tea.
>
> Twinings sells English Breakfast tea either loose, or in teabags. Are
> you saying they use inferior grades in the teabags?


http://www.teapalace.co.uk/What-is-a...-Tea-Agoodcup/

"The Size of the Leaf
There are at least ten different grades of tea leaf in terms of shape,
size and quality of leaf. The teas you find on your supermarket shelf
are usually teabags containing the lowest grades - tea dust. These are
the tiny particles which break off from the leaves during processing and
produce a very dark liquid with relatively little taste. "

Janet UK

On 2/4/2013 9:36 AM, Janet wrote:

>> I am getting the impression that you are talking about making tea in a
>> cup. IMO, that is an unacceptable way to make tea. It has to be made in
>> a proper tea pot. I have never had a decent cup of tea made by dunking a
>> tea bag into a cup or mug.
>
> I agree
>
As do I.

On 2013-02-04, S Viemeister > wrote:
> On 2/4/2013 9:36 AM, Janet wrote:
>
>>> I am getting the impression that you are talking about making tea in a
>>> cup. IMO, that is an unacceptable way to make tea. It has to be made in
>>> a proper tea pot. I have never had a decent cup of tea made by dunking a
>>> tea bag into a cup or mug.
>>
>> I agree
>>
> As do I.

Gee, so no one can do it any other way! Amazing.

Get real. The Chinese make tea in a small bowl, not much bigger than
a cup, and usually make three drinks from each tea batch, each having
its own significance. They figure any other way of brewing/drinking
tea is the work of barbarians. The Japanese make such a big deal out
of it, the tea pot is practically a gift from the gods, some being
hundreds of years old and enshrined on pedestals. I put a teabag in a
cup of hot water and add a spoonful of sugar. Big whoop. I prefer
coffee.

nb

On 2/4/2013 11:16 AM, notbob wrote:

> I put a teabag in a
> cup of hot water and add a spoonful of sugar. Big whoop. I prefer
> coffee.
>
No wonder you prefer coffee...

On 2013-02-04, S Viemeister > wrote:
> On 2/4/2013 11:16 AM, notbob wrote:
>
>> I put a teabag in a
>> cup of hot water and add a spoonful of sugar. Big whoop. I prefer
>> coffee.
>>
> No wonder you prefer coffee...

heh heh..... Good point.

I almost got into insanley anal tea brewing/drinking and buying $10 oz
imported organic Chinese tea, but figured one fanatically obsessive
caffiene drink was enough.

For those of you who wanna go tea crazy:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1015968/

nb