I’m an earl grey with honey man, but if I’m being honest, I’ve never really tried much else.
Go to Turkey. Visit the shops in Istanbul where they sell carpets. Be invited in for a beer and a meal.
They will serve delicious apple tea.
But really, it’s the whole experience. And that’s the best tea.
Went there as a kid, great mint tea. Some of the most inviting people I’ve ever met. Sat with nomads hocking black wool from their herd.
To be fair, i think most people are like this if you take the time to talk to them. However, their tea may be less good.
Spicy chai latte
I always forget chai is actually a tea. I’m so used to western teas, I guess.
TL;DR
- Green: Gyokuro
- Black: Darjeeling
- White: Pai Mu Tan (Bai Mu Dan)
- Yellow: Yinzhen
- Pu-Erh: Sheng over Shu
- Misc: Yerba Mate (Instead of Coffee)
I’ll just boldly split that answer into some categories :D
Black teas: As my personal favorite I prefer Darjeeling teas, because of their flowery and mild taste.
As for my daily driver I mostly find myself drinking stronger black teas, like english breakfast or ceylon teas.
Green teas: My personal favorite for green tea is the Japanese Gyokuro, because of its strongly present umami flavour and general taste. This green tea gets its flavour from being hidden from the sun by huge black tarps some months prior to harvest. This procedure stops bitter substances from forming within the flower.
But because Gyokuro is a very pricey tea I find myself buying a Chinese green tea called Pi Lo Chun. It’s nothing like the Gyokuro that I love, but it has a flowery flavour to it.
I also love drinking and preparing Matcha. You shouldn’t waste money on cheap Matcha, only if you like to drink Matcha Latte.
Whites: For white teas I love to drink a tea called Pai Mu Tan (sometimes called Bai Mu Dan). It tastes somewhat fruity sometimes.
I’ve also tried a more expensive white tea called Silver Needles but I couldn’t really make out a difference to other white teas I’ve tasted. But that might also just be an error of mine.
Oolong: I really like Da Hong Pao. I haven’t tasted many other oolongs.
Yellow teas: It’s been a while since I’ve had my last yellow tea, but I remember buying a Yinzhen. It had a malty taste, that I really enjoyed.
Pu-Erh: I like the earthy taste of a good Shu Pu-Erh. Riper Shu Pu-Erh might even taste like chocolate. But when first drinking a Shu you might connect the taste and the smell to fish or algae.
Sheng Pu-Erh is more like a conventional green tea. With time passing, this tea will ripen and unlock new flavours.
I prefer Shengs over Shus.
Misc.: When talking about other kinds of tea I like substituting coffee with yerba mate. It keeps you energized longer and when drinking it correctly you can also drink it for quite a long time. My longest session was about 4 hours long before the taste vanished.
I’m no huge herbal tea guy, but I do like my camomile tea in the evening to calm myself.
I think I got three recommendations you might enjoy.
- Green: Yutaka Midori No1 - slightly cheaper alternative to Gyokuro; deep green and very aromatic cup, sweet, slightly astringent but no bitterness ( shaded for about a week before harvest)
- Oolong: Thai Ruby Red - more on the fermented side, very aromatic red cup with flowery notes reminiscent of Darjeeling, no smokiness like e.g a formosa
- Black: Benifuuki Black - a very intense and complex black tee with a nice sweetness ( usually made into a high grade green tea)
Edit: My personal daily drivers are: Darjeeling Ambootia Second flush (Strong, nutty, with some flowery notes) and a Korea Sencha from a local shop (sadly no info on the garden, quite green and surprisingly sweet) both organic and still quite affordable.
Thank you for the recommendation. I will definitely try them, with my next bigger tea order.
PG Tips :-D
I know everyone goes on about Yorkshire Tea and sure I like it too, but I’ve been drinking PG Tips several times a day for my entire life, and I love it.
Proper tea that keeps England going!
My daily driver is Lipton Orange Pekoe. It’s fantastic and priced right for what it is. My rainy day sipping tea is a Taiwanese Fujian black tea.
Call me basic but jasmine green tea is up there
I love green tea. I’m not sure if there’s specific kinds I prefer as I haven’t tried a lot of different teas, but I have a Sencha Lime Green Tea that is amazing.
Yorkshire Tea Gold, a little agave and a splash of milk.
Irish black with a splash of cream in the morning. Peppermint tea after the stars are out
coffee
Something almost, but not quite entirely unlike tea
Lapsang Souchong (smoked black tea).
I buy from a local tea store that does fantastic blends.
For basics, I like green tea with honey and a squeezed lemon or chamomile with honey. Both are so soothing.
Sleepy Time extra strength. Valerian root, take me away.
Cheapest store brand orange pekoe black tea
Celestial Seasoning Bengal Spice
I also really enjoy this one. However, it contains no tea leaves so not a ‘true’ tea. ‘Tisane’ or ‘herbal infusion’ are the more precise terms.
