As for myself, most of my collection of teas are from the Celestial Seasonings brand of herbal teas; they've got so many varieties of flavors that I can choose one according to my whimsy each morning.
In the past, I've tried the really expensive, high-quality kinds of green and jasmine, and after that the affordable kinds are a bit of a letdown. (Real green tea is literally green, a brilliant deep emerald color, and smells/tastes somewhat like alfalfa. The best kind of jasmine tea has an entirely different, delicate sweetness compared to any other kind I've tried.) I have five pounds of restaraunt-quality jasmine that I bought at a place that sells bulk supplies to Asian restaraunts; you've got to brew it just right or the flavor becomes harsh, but it does include the tiny white flowers that enchantingly unfurl as they rehydrate and float on the tea's surface.
I've actually never tried chai or bubble tea. It's on my to-do list.
I've never been able to appreciate English teas, oddly enough, but I suspect the bitter flavor is something that you grow to like more as you're older, like coffee. (No offense meant to those who are fond of English tea and coffee, but it may have something to do with the number of taste buds you lose as you enter adulthood.)
I've also got three varieties of mint (peppermint, spearmint, and lemonmint) that I grew and harvested from my own garden last year; they make wonderful tea, better than I anticipated. (Except for the spearmint, which doesn't release its flavor very well. The other two are as strong as you could want, though.) Anyone with some gardening space or planters should try it.
This year I'm hoping to try to get some "chocolate mint" and see if it'll grow; last time it didn't survive, but now I'm really curious about what kind of tea it'd make. (I wonder if it'll really taste like that, or if it just smells that way?) Maybe I'll try some of the other really bizarre varieties of mints, too, since these other kinds were such a success.
I've always liked Celestial Seasonings as a brand myself, for the same reason, and also, I will confess, I enjoy their packaging. The art and text on their boxes has long been a source of amusement/occupation for me.
About two years ago, a friend gifted me with a canister of Monkey King Tea--which I suspect is a jasmine-green mix, by the smell. I've brewed it sparingly, because I enjoy the smell so much.
That's the reason I keep coming back to chai, as well--in store-bought tea bags or boxes of Oregon Chai, it smells delicious.
The closest I've gotten to quality tea, however, is my belief that the Oolong served at my local Mongolian Barbeque (a sort of make-your-own-bowl-and-we'll-stir-fry-it-for-you place), is excellent. It's probably not quality tea, but my familiy enjoys it muchly.
When I have a plot of land (or, I suppose, a window planter) of my own, making my own tea sounds...well, also delicious. The difficult part would probably be waiting for leaves to dry--I used to grab a leaf or two of the lemonbalm that grew in our backyard to chew on from time to time!
Chocolate Mint, eh? I can't say I'm too suprised that someone's created such a variety of mint, although I must wonder how. I can't imagine the chocolate flavor carrying over very obviously into tea, but I'll admit I'm curious to see what it would taste like brewed. What other 'bizarre' mints are out there?
You could grow mint in a window planter... I'm not sure if it works as a houseplant, but it might. When the plants begin to flower in late summer or autumn, you cut them off at the base, wash them, and hang them upside-down to dry in a shady part of the kitchen, maybe inside a cupboard. Makes the kitchen smell nice, too. Once you're satisfied that they're completely dry, you strip off the leaves and keep them in a jar. I can't remember, but I think we left them to dry for a month or two, but it's possible you'd only have to wait a few days. The mint plants all grow back again the next spring.
There are some very weird varieties of mint out there. http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/gilbert/mint.htm describes taste-testing a few, such as pineapple and bergamot mint. The one that flourished most in my yard is lemon-mint, which does smell and taste recognizeably like lemon. You'd have to check with your garden stores to see what kinds are available or likely to thrive in your area.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frameacloud posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
therithere
no subject
Date: 2006-04-08 07:10 pm (UTC)As for myself, most of my collection of teas are from the Celestial Seasonings brand of herbal teas; they've got so many varieties of flavors that I can choose one according to my whimsy each morning.
In the past, I've tried the really expensive, high-quality kinds of green and jasmine, and after that the affordable kinds are a bit of a letdown. (Real green tea is literally green, a brilliant deep emerald color, and smells/tastes somewhat like alfalfa. The best kind of jasmine tea has an entirely different, delicate sweetness compared to any other kind I've tried.) I have five pounds of restaraunt-quality jasmine that I bought at a place that sells bulk supplies to Asian restaraunts; you've got to brew it just right or the flavor becomes harsh, but it does include the tiny white flowers that enchantingly unfurl as they rehydrate and float on the tea's surface.
I've actually never tried chai or bubble tea. It's on my to-do list.
I've never been able to appreciate English teas, oddly enough, but I suspect the bitter flavor is something that you grow to like more as you're older, like coffee. (No offense meant to those who are fond of English tea and coffee, but it may have something to do with the number of taste buds you lose as you enter adulthood.)
I've also got three varieties of mint (peppermint, spearmint, and lemonmint) that I grew and harvested from my own garden last year; they make wonderful tea, better than I anticipated. (Except for the spearmint, which doesn't release its flavor very well. The other two are as strong as you could want, though.) Anyone with some gardening space or planters should try it.
This year I'm hoping to try to get some "chocolate mint" and see if it'll grow; last time it didn't survive, but now I'm really curious about what kind of tea it'd make. (I wonder if it'll really taste like that, or if it just smells that way?) Maybe I'll try some of the other really bizarre varieties of mints, too, since these other kinds were such a success.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-10 08:49 pm (UTC)About two years ago, a friend gifted me with a canister of Monkey King Tea--which I suspect is a jasmine-green mix, by the smell. I've brewed it sparingly, because I enjoy the smell so much.
That's the reason I keep coming back to chai, as well--in store-bought tea bags or boxes of Oregon Chai, it smells delicious.
The closest I've gotten to quality tea, however, is my belief that the Oolong served at my local Mongolian Barbeque (a sort of make-your-own-bowl-and-we'll-stir-fry-it-for-you place), is excellent. It's probably not quality tea, but my familiy enjoys it muchly.
When I have a plot of land (or, I suppose, a window planter) of my own, making my own tea sounds...well, also delicious. The difficult part would probably be waiting for leaves to dry--I used to grab a leaf or two of the lemonbalm that grew in our backyard to chew on from time to time!
Chocolate Mint, eh? I can't say I'm too suprised that someone's created such a variety of mint, although I must wonder how. I can't imagine the chocolate flavor carrying over very obviously into tea, but I'll admit I'm curious to see what it would taste like brewed. What other 'bizarre' mints are out there?
no subject
Date: 2006-04-11 03:02 am (UTC)There are some very weird varieties of mint out there. http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/gilbert/mint.htm describes taste-testing a few, such as pineapple and bergamot mint. The one that flourished most in my yard is lemon-mint, which does smell and taste recognizeably like lemon. You'd have to check with your garden stores to see what kinds are available or likely to thrive in your area.