Hello all,

Well I'm new here and I have a new question.

I'm just recently getting into good tea. I want to brew loose leaf from now on.

But I need to know where to go to get good loose leaf tea for a good price online.

I have a local tea shop in my area, but it is over priced.

So I am going to order my tea.

The only other option, which I will continue to do is buying "Stash" and "Twinings" bag tea from my local grocery store.

So question number 1? I find that the bag tea's by Stash and Twinings are pretty good. Is loose leaf tea noticeably different?

Question 2. So far, I've decided that "Upton Tea" has the best selection for the price online. I really like their website and they sell a lot of different varieties. Is Uptons a good place to get loose leaf tea?

Question 3. Is there a better place then Upton that is comparable in price?

Question 4. I haven't priced shopped, but is it cheaper to buy 1lb-2lb bags of loose leaf then it would be for me to get bag teas in the grocery store? It seems like if I buy a 1lb bag from Uptons, I would be paying a lot less then if I were to buy bags.



Ok, a little background on me.

I was a coffee drinker for over 15 or so years. I didn't drink tea at all. I prefer strong coffee.

But lately I've been attracted to tea and I've pretty much changed my taste from coffee to tea. I don't think I'll be buying anymore coffee once my last bag is empty.

Anyway, I've always traditionally drank Earl Grey. But I also like lemon and mint in my tea.

I prefer black tea - breakfast and early gray.

I have tried some of the lighter teas and I keep coming back to black tea.

So I'm planning on sticking with black teas.


So to boil it down, so far, I'm planning on buying some Earl Gray, Assam and Ceylon from Upton.

I am also looking at the "Tea Drop" tea maker, it's cheap and it's one unit and it keeps the tea warm.

Ok, so there it is.

I just want to drink a good cuppa. Again, I'm not put off by Stash and Twinings bag tea. So far, my loose leaf experiments haven't convinced me that there is much of a difference between these two. But I haven't tried much loose leaf tea.

But I don't want to pay a lot. I want to keep it reasonable, hopefully cheaper then Stash or Twinings bag tea.

Ok so any help would be most appreciated, thanks a bunch!!

Dave.

The Tea Monk wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Well I'm new here and I have a new question.
>
> I'm just recently getting into good tea. I want to brew loose leaf from
> now on.
>
> But I need to know where to go to get good loose leaf tea for a good
> price online.
>
> I have a local tea shop in my area, but it is over priced.
>
> So I am going to order my tea.
>
> The only other option, which I will continue to do is buying "Stash"
> and "Twinings" bag tea from my local grocery store.
>
> So question number 1? I find that the bag tea's by Stash and Twinings
> are pretty good. Is loose leaf tea noticeably different?
>
> Question 2. So far, I've decided that "Upton Tea" has the best
> selection for the price online. I really like their website and they
> sell a lot of different varieties. Is Uptons a good place to get loose
> leaf tea?
>
> Question 3. Is there a better place then Upton that is comparable in
> price?
>
> Question 4. I haven't priced shopped, but is it cheaper to buy 1lb-2lb
> bags of loose leaf then it would be for me to get bag teas in the
> grocery store? It seems like if I buy a 1lb bag from Uptons, I would be
> paying a lot less then if I were to buy bags.
>
>
>
> Ok, a little background on me.
>
> I was a coffee drinker for over 15 or so years. I didn't drink tea at
> all. I prefer strong coffee.
>
> But lately I've been attracted to tea and I've pretty much changed my
> taste from coffee to tea. I don't think I'll be buying anymore coffee
> once my last bag is empty.
>
> Anyway, I've always traditionally drank Earl Grey. But I also like
> lemon and mint in my tea.
>
> I prefer black tea - breakfast and early gray.
>
> I have tried some of the lighter teas and I keep coming back to black
> tea.
>
> So I'm planning on sticking with black teas.
>
>
> So to boil it down, so far, I'm planning on buying some Earl Gray,
> Assam and Ceylon from Upton.
>
> I am also looking at the "Tea Drop" tea maker, it's cheap and it's one
> unit and it keeps the tea warm.
>
> Ok, so there it is.
>
> I just want to drink a good cuppa. Again, I'm not put off by Stash and
> Twinings bag tea. So far, my loose leaf experiments haven't convinced
> me that there is much of a difference between these two. But I haven't
> tried much loose leaf tea.
>
> But I don't want to pay a lot. I want to keep it reasonable, hopefully
> cheaper then Stash or Twinings bag tea.
>
> Ok so any help would be most appreciated, thanks a bunch!!
>
> Dave.
>
>
> --
> The Tea Monk

Hi Dave,

Maybe you can try some Darjeeling?

I think Upton is as good a place to start as anywhere. After all, they
do have a very wide selection of many teas from Indian/Sri Lanka.

I think for bang for the buck, it's much, much cheaper to buy loose
leaf than bagged tea. The processing to make the bags is not free!
Something has to give, obviously, and it's usually the tea's quality.

How are you going to brew your loose leaf?

MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

>
> Anyway, I've always traditionally drank Earl Grey. But I also like
> lemon and mint in my tea.
>
> I prefer black tea - breakfast and early gray.
>
> I have tried some of the lighter teas and I keep coming back to black
> tea.
>
> So I'm planning on sticking with black teas.
>
>
> So to boil it down, so far, I'm planning on buying some Earl Gray,
> Assam and Ceylon from Upton.
>

Do you drink your tea black or with milk?

If you like it with milk you, your choice choices seem quite good. You
might also like to consider a Nilgiri (India) or Golden Needle (China)
black tea.

If you drink your tea black then a Golden Monkey (China) or Darjeeling
would be suitable. If you prefer strong tasting black teas, stick with
second flush darjeelings as first flush teas tend to be very light.

Adrian

Ok, sorry if this comes out wrong, this is my first reply and I'm not used to this type of format.
Anyway, Marshal asked "What would I be brewing my tea in?"

Well, I know this is going to be a "faux pas" but for normal "every day/personal" brewing I'm looking at the "Tea Drop" tea maker by Sunbeam.

I realize that I'm in the company of expert tea connoisseurs and I just ask for forgiveness.

I do take sugar and milk in my tea. Sometimes though I drink it black, it just depends.

I do plan on buying a good teapot and an electric kettle for when I have guests over, but the Tea Drop seems to be able to the job on a daily use.

So Do you all think that if I buy some good quality loose leaf tea from Uptons that I would notice a difference between it and bag tea from Stash and Twinings in price and taste?

Any other comments and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Dave.

Hi Dave!

Welcome to rec.food.drink.tea in all its shapes and colors. Like you, I
was a coffee drinker before coming to tea. After I found the joy of
steeping camellia sinensis leaves in hot water, I turned my head
forever on afternoon cups of coffee. Now it is just something to have
when I'm in the middle of a bad morning.

You'll find that there are many different blends, types, kinds, and
classes of tea out there, and just as many ways to brew them too! I
think I am not the only one here who is ever-vigilantly seeking that
"holy grail" blend. I think you'll soon find your new found enjoyment
turning into quite a hobby.

I've noticed some people offering you some suggestions on blends. While
I am in love with oolongs, I see you prefer blacks.

I adore Lapsang Souchong. Upton's offers a few blends, my favorite
being their Black Dragon. Mark T. Wendell (www.marktwendell.com) has a
blend called Hu-Kwa, which is the flagship tea of their company. Not a
bad cuppa. It is bold and slightly smoky. A very good starter for those
who want to take that cautious step into the realm of Lapsang Souchong.

Other types of blacks to consider if you like coffee are yunnans,
keemuns, and congous. Upton has an Organic Yunnan Dao Ming (ZY62 in
their paper mail order catalogue) which has a molassy, sweet, spicy
note. It isn't my cup of tea, but you might like it.

> So question number 1? I find that the bag tea's by Stash and Twinings
> are pretty good. Is loose leaf tea noticeably different?

Stash and Twinings are pretty good if you like a particular blend of
which that company provides. Like most of the popular loose tea
providers out on the market, Stash and Twinings are fairly consistant
in their product, albeit mediocre. You know what you're getting when
you pick up a tin of Twinings Earl Grey or Irish Breakfast. Therein
lies Twinings and Stash's success - providing consistency to their
patrons.

> Question 2. So far, I've decided that "Upton Tea" has the best
> selection for the price online. I really like their website and they
> sell a lot of different varieties. Is Uptons a good place to get loose
> leaf tea?

When it comes to variety, you have to look some place else. Upton's is
a great place to start. Their prices are reasonable, and they provided
what I like to call "picks of the season," offering teas that can only
be bought at certain times of the year (tea is a crop, therefore it is
subject to season, weather, and human interaction). There are also a
few blends at Upton's that are truly exquisite and truly EXPENSIVE. So
if you feel bold and ready to spluge by treating yourself to some fine
grades, you have the luxury of doing so.

Mark T. Wendell (www.marktwendell.com) is also a good place to look.
Though I still think their prices cannot match Upton.



>
> Question 3. Is there a better place then Upton that is comparable in
> price?

Adagio Teas is also a good place to look at, though I find the quality
of their product as well as the variety to be subpar when compared to
Upton's. I really only shop there for tisanes (herbal infusions).

Tenren.com is pretty cheap too. Unfortunately, they don't put their tea
in little caddies. When I do buy something from them online, I utilize
ceramic black gasket jars.

Take a gander at local opportunities as well. There might be a local
tea shop near you. Or, if you live in a city with a Chinatown, go there
too. Many tea connoisseurs askew online buying altogether, going to
local establishments where they can look and smell the product in the
flesh. Many tea shops will even offer you free samples of what they
have; many shops even brew a cup of your choice right there.

As a rule, I tend to avoid shops like Teavana and companies like The
Republic Of Tea. I started out drinking Republic of Tea's blends. Then
I came here to rec.food.drink.tea and found out that I was spending WAY
TOO MUCH for what I was getting. RoT and Teavana sell "image." You
aren't really buying the tea inside a RoT cannister, but you are
purchasing the pretty little artwork on the cover. Like most companies
trying to sell a designer image, they have perspicacity - they know
what the unknowledgable public will buy. This is not to say that RoT
has some good blends. I drink their Gu Zhang Mao Jian (Sky Between the
Branches) green tea occasionally. But I don't religiously buy their
product unless I have to. The prices that Teavana and RoT have
compounded with the quality of their product seems to borderline
connivance imho.


> Question 4. I haven't priced shopped, but is it cheaper to buy 1lb-2lb
> bags of loose leaf then it would be for me to get bag teas in the
> grocery store? It seems like if I buy a 1lb bag from Uptons, I would be
> paying a lot less then if I were to buy bags.

I personally have found that loose tea is much cheaper than bagged tea.
I drink a lot of tea, and considering that, loose tea gives me a lot of
freedom and luxury. With loose tea I can control the strength and
flavor of my cup, whereas with tea bags I don't have that much freedom.
Also, as you might have noticed, bagged tea is certainly substandard
compared to loose tea. Though, suffice to say, there are a good many
excellent bagged teas out there. I drink Good Earth China Black on
ocassion when I am "too lazy" to deal with the entire loose tea brewing
"process." However, making good tea is a labor of love. Like cooking,
what you put into it is what you get back. Saying that, a good cup of
tea is well worth the effort.

I wouldn't buy an entire pound of tea unless you plan on drinking that
amount in three months. That's my rule, other people have different
ones. Some don't even worry about this at all.

The humbug is this: tea leaves begin to degrade and go stale after a
while. I would suggest that you buy several different varieties of tea
that you can consume in three months. Don't stick to one blend. You'll
get bored, and in all honesty, going back and forth between blends
allows your palate an opportunity for variety. You can appreciate a
blend after having a few cups of something else in between. Then again,
that's my opinion.

In closing, nota bene: The best advice I can give you is this - drink
what you love. There are people here who enjoy consuming expensive
pu-erhs in yixing clayware. Then there are people here who just like
plain old liptons with ritz crackers. Anything's cool. As long as you
like it, that's the only thing that matters.

I apologize for my ramble. I hope this helps.

Cheers!

Mike

Hi- I usually drink black tea in the morning and green in the
afternoon. I've done some comparison tasting of Upton's--- I'd suggest
TA18S Assam CTC Bop Fatikcherra Org. for an Assam, TC58 Koslanda Org.
for a Ceylon. and TB15 Java Blend for a breakfast blend. Try 4 ounces
of each. Toci
The Tea Monk wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Well I'm new here and I have a new question.
>
> I'm just recently getting into good tea. I want to brew loose leaf from
> now on.
>
> But I need to know where to go to get good loose leaf tea for a good
> price online.
>
> I have a local tea shop in my area, but it is over priced.
>
> So I am going to order my tea.
>
> The only other option, which I will continue to do is buying "Stash"
> and "Twinings" bag tea from my local grocery store.
>
> So question number 1? I find that the bag tea's by Stash and Twinings
> are pretty good. Is loose leaf tea noticeably different?
>
> Question 2. So far, I've decided that "Upton Tea" has the best
> selection for the price online. I really like their website and they
> sell a lot of different varieties. Is Uptons a good place to get loose
> leaf tea?
>
> Question 3. Is there a better place then Upton that is comparable in
> price?
>
> Question 4. I haven't priced shopped, but is it cheaper to buy 1lb-2lb
> bags of loose leaf then it would be for me to get bag teas in the
> grocery store? It seems like if I buy a 1lb bag from Uptons, I would be
> paying a lot less then if I were to buy bags.
>
>
>
> Ok, a little background on me.
>
> I was a coffee drinker for over 15 or so years. I didn't drink tea at
> all. I prefer strong coffee.
>
> But lately I've been attracted to tea and I've pretty much changed my
> taste from coffee to tea. I don't think I'll be buying anymore coffee
> once my last bag is empty.
>
> Anyway, I've always traditionally drank Earl Grey. But I also like
> lemon and mint in my tea.
>
> I prefer black tea - breakfast and early gray.
>
> I have tried some of the lighter teas and I keep coming back to black
> tea.
>
> So I'm planning on sticking with black teas.
>
>
> So to boil it down, so far, I'm planning on buying some Earl Gray,
> Assam and Ceylon from Upton.
>
> I am also looking at the "Tea Drop" tea maker, it's cheap and it's one
> unit and it keeps the tea warm.
>
> Ok, so there it is.
>
> I just want to drink a good cuppa. Again, I'm not put off by Stash and
> Twinings bag tea. So far, my loose leaf experiments haven't convinced
> me that there is much of a difference between these two. But I haven't
> tried much loose leaf tea.
>
> But I don't want to pay a lot. I want to keep it reasonable, hopefully
> cheaper then Stash or Twinings bag tea.
>
> Ok so any help would be most appreciated, thanks a bunch!!
>
> Dave.
>
>
> --
> The Tea Monk

I meant buy four ounces- though if you want to do a comparison, four
ounces of tea brewed is about right. I usuually brew 8 ounces at a
time, in my Grandma mug, but that's for solitary drinking. Toci
toci wrote:
> Hi- I usually drink black tea in the morning and green in the
> afternoon. I've done some comparison tasting of Upton's--- I'd suggest
> TA18S Assam CTC Bop Fatikcherra Org. for an Assam, TC58 Koslanda Org.
> for a Ceylon. and TB15 Java Blend for a breakfast blend. Try 4 ounces
> of each. Toci
> The Tea Monk wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >
> > Well I'm new here and I have a new question.
> >
> > I'm just recently getting into good tea. I want to brew loose leaf from
> > now on.
> >
> > But I need to know where to go to get good loose leaf tea for a good
> > price online.
> >
> > I have a local tea shop in my area, but it is over priced.
> >
> > So I am going to order my tea.
> >
> > The only other option, which I will continue to do is buying "Stash"
> > and "Twinings" bag tea from my local grocery store.
> >
> > So question number 1? I find that the bag tea's by Stash and Twinings
> > are pretty good. Is loose leaf tea noticeably different?
> >
> > Question 2. So far, I've decided that "Upton Tea" has the best
> > selection for the price online. I really like their website and they
> > sell a lot of different varieties. Is Uptons a good place to get loose
> > leaf tea?
> >
> > Question 3. Is there a better place then Upton that is comparable in
> > price?
> >
> > Question 4. I haven't priced shopped, but is it cheaper to buy 1lb-2lb
> > bags of loose leaf then it would be for me to get bag teas in the
> > grocery store? It seems like if I buy a 1lb bag from Uptons, I would be
> > paying a lot less then if I were to buy bags.
> >
> >
> >
> > Ok, a little background on me.
> >
> > I was a coffee drinker for over 15 or so years. I didn't drink tea at
> > all. I prefer strong coffee.
> >
> > But lately I've been attracted to tea and I've pretty much changed my
> > taste from coffee to tea. I don't think I'll be buying anymore coffee
> > once my last bag is empty.
> >
> > Anyway, I've always traditionally drank Earl Grey. But I also like
> > lemon and mint in my tea.
> >
> > I prefer black tea - breakfast and early gray.
> >
> > I have tried some of the lighter teas and I keep coming back to black
> > tea.
> >
> > So I'm planning on sticking with black teas.
> >
> >
> > So to boil it down, so far, I'm planning on buying some Earl Gray,
> > Assam and Ceylon from Upton.
> >
> > I am also looking at the "Tea Drop" tea maker, it's cheap and it's one
> > unit and it keeps the tea warm.
> >
> > Ok, so there it is.
> >
> > I just want to drink a good cuppa. Again, I'm not put off by Stash and
> > Twinings bag tea. So far, my loose leaf experiments haven't convinced
> > me that there is much of a difference between these two. But I haven't
> > tried much loose leaf tea.
> >
> > But I don't want to pay a lot. I want to keep it reasonable, hopefully
> > cheaper then Stash or Twinings bag tea.
> >
> > Ok so any help would be most appreciated, thanks a bunch!!
> >
> > Dave.
> >
> >
> > --
> > The Tea Monk

The Tea Monk wrote:

>
> The only other option, which I will continue to do is buying "Stash"
> and "Twinings" bag tea from my local grocery store.
>
> So question number 1? I find that the bag tea's by Stash and Twinings
> are pretty good. Is loose leaf tea noticeably different?
>
I can't *really* tell the difference between loose leaf and teabags.
However I prefer it when I brew loose leaf tea. For quickie I do
teabags. I haven't been let down by any Stash tea I've brewed, and
really like their Chai. I brew Ahmad's Earl Gray. It has been at the
top of my list because it is affordable and tastes good. And try some
Lop Sang tea like drinking a campfire in a good way. But loose leaf is
far superior to any Lop Sang teabags I've tried.

A comment on the Twinnings loose tea, don't do it. The tea is so small
that it seems to have been ground. The reason for loose leaf tea (in
general) is to have larger leaf contributing to the brew.

When you get around to it give a Marriage Freres a try. Wedding
Imperial or Marco Polo are awsome and may remind you of some coffee
flavors.

Andy

The Tea Monk > wrote:
>
>I do plan on buying a good teapot and an electric kettle for when I
>have guests over, but the Tea Drop seems to be able to the job on a
>daily use.

It doesn't get hot enough to make regular black tea.

>So Do you all think that if I buy some good quality loose leaf tea from
>Uptons that I would notice a difference between it and bag tea from
>Stash and Twinings in price and taste?

Yes, but if you buy loose Twinings from the supermarket, you'll find it
tastes different than Twinings in a bag also. The Twinings Prince of Wales
blend is what I usually have when I am out in places that serve English
style tea. It's not exciting, but it's a pleasant blend of Chinese teas.

>Any other comments and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Drink tea. Use boiling water for black teas. Use loose teas in some sort
of arrangement that allows water to circulate well. I like the brewing
baskets, which are only a couple dollars. Other people like other gadgets
but the important part is good circulation and the right water temperature
and how you get it doesn't matter.

Loose teas will almost always be much cheaper than a comparable tea in a
bag, as I discovered a couple decades ago as an impoverished grad student.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Nov 29, 4:53 pm, The Tea Monk >
wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Well I'm new here and I have a new question.
>
> I'm just recently getting into good tea. I want to brew loose leaf from
> now on.
snip snip,
Hello to you, and welcome to the group,
I agree with some of the authors above as well, But to me although I
like a good darjeeling it is light and almost lemony and many many
places to choose from can be quite overwhelming. So goes with other
areas. Someone said black dragon, Good choice qimens from china are the
burgundy of teas I have heard and I have had 9 bend dragon and other
black/reds from china congou very nice,too. which I prefer over the
blends or Indian. But Nilgiri is a good dark Indian tea after trying
some single teas you can notice some of the components found in your
ususal blends as I did. . So many places rename their teas and you
really dont know what you are getting until you try it. Most places
have blends with fruit or spices added and if this is your thing well
most places have it. Also I agree with the others that trying small
quantities in small sample sizes you may find there is one just for
you. google black teas or chinese tea or wherever you want to begin,
look at the sites see if they have sample sizes and take notes or book
mark. Your story sounds like mine alot. do your research on blogs and
shops online dont buy lg quantities till you know what you want, and a
cupsize strainer and any cup you have is a good place to begin. Later
you can look into teapots that are best for your needs.
I am not an expert but this is how I found my way thru the tea world,
self study and internet. You will be amazed at the choices....The first
place I bought samples from was grand tea shop, lots of samples sizes
but it takes along time to get here from china. I shop at upton,
special teas, Jings tea shop, Teasource. hou de fine teas, Seasonally
from grand tea , and I have bought some really great red robe from
yunnan sourcing and other china blacks. golden monkey is great.
Oh well thats all my 2 teacups worth. have fun on this incredible tea
journey , it will take you many places.
Jenn