The Perfect Tea?

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Yeah, I don't mind the heating of water on the stove each time I have a cup, but can easily see the benefits of adding a teapot for brewing. Then I could simply add to a travel thermos and take it with me (though I am finding out they make infusers for thermoses too...it really is quite an industry! LOL)

You need to check out Uptontea.com. Really. There's a lot of educational material there. Your local thrift store likely has lots of glazed pots.

I really like the Finum Tea Steeper; here's a review.

I also like the glass teapot they review; it will shatter though, if you bang it against a ceramic sink. The glass is nice in that you can see the color of the tea as it steeps.
 

Helix

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Getting a good teapot if you haven't bought one before can be more difficult that it sounds! Among the things to watch out for are spouts that pour properly and lids that don't topple off if you have to tip the pot a long way to get the last cup.

And tea cosies are terribly kitsch, but very useful.
 

Jason

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You need to check out Uptontea.com. Really. There's a lot of educational material there. Your local thrift store likely has lots of glazed pots.

I really like the Finum Tea Steeper; here's a review.

I also like the glass teapot they review; it will shatter though, if you bang it against a ceramic sink. The glass is nice in that you can see the color of the tea as it steeps.

Good lord, this thread has grown legs! LOL

I've been on tea for about 2 and a half weeks now (can't remember the last time I had a coffee, which is kind of scary, b/c I used to be a coffee addict. The Finum Tea Steeper is actually in my pantry - cross my heart! I'll take a smart phone photo here soon and upload to share - rather funny that you brought that up. :) Now it's just a matter of finding a teapot to accommodate it, a travel thermost, and of course - some teas! As to the reading, I have been as time permits - been a busy day despite being done with training through Thanksgiving. Sold the house, found a new one closer to the training facility, so now it's packing boxes, admin work, and reading a page or two here and there when I have time. It's just so much to take in!

The resources I'm reading include your own recommendation of Upton Tea, but also the English Tea Store (from Quentin), and cornflake's Palais Des Thes. I promise you, reading it all, but have already reached my brain's limit for the day. Time to switch from tea to Theraflu and hopefully kick the last of this darn throat cold. :)

Thanks again and keep the suggestions coming!
 

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Green with honey and nothing else! Sometimes I cough up the little delightful flakes because I pierce the bag like a fool with a spoon that gets too curious. I've been slurping this stuff for years and I'm still not sure whether it tastes appealing but I don't do coffee or regular tea as I try to balance out my intake so it's on the healthy side overall.
 

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Green with honey and nothing else! Sometimes I cough up the little delightful flakes because I pierce the bag like a fool with a spoon that gets too curious. I've been slurping this stuff for years and I'm still not sure whether it tastes appealing but I don't do coffee or regular tea as I try to balance out my intake so it's on the healthy side overall.

Try white! It's got more antioxidants than green and tastes (in great generality) more mild and sort of floral-y tea rather than the grassy note some greens can get.
 

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A personal favorite of mine comes from a local shop called Winterwoods Tea Company, https://www.winterwoodsteacompany.com/. They're new on the scene but they mix all of their tea in small batches and the taste is very consistent which is nice since I pick up a pack of their stuff infrequently.
 

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As promised, here’s the Finum filter from the pantry:

38375470002_116d5f9ae0_n.jpg
 
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My wife’s from Yunnan which is famous for tea. At the airport the shops are overflowing with tea for sale. She always comes back with a suitcase full of many kinds of tea. She also gets tea as gifts from relatives when she visits, incliding pressed dry disks the sizeof a plate and embossed with fancy designs.

Travelling across the provence, everywhere had tea tastings as an event. Often there would be three different cups showing the local culture.

Simply by being from there, she’s would be considered a tea connosuer by local standards.

Some of what she likes is brewed with more than just tea leaves, but has several different plants. For example, there is a small dried fruit (jujube perhaps) and tiny pink flowers!

She has a fancy Chinese tea set (what we’d call bone china) and features “rice grain” spots that are thin or translucent to see if you hold it up to the light.

But for one, she’ll just make it in a mug. A little basket just fits in the opening and holds the leaves, then can be lifted out.
 

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The thread has moved on a bit since the question was asked, but I use a glazed ceramic teapot. :)

Mine is glazed stoneware. It's sturdy, a cheerful blue and white, and holds heat like a champ, especially when I augment with a tea cozy.

I steep my tea in paper filters, which are biodegradable. They go in the compost bin when I'm done with them.
 

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Of note is the very cheap electric kettle I insisted on getting while our kitchen was getting renovated. I was NOT going to go a whole month without tea!
 

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I have two teapots, I think teas call for different ones. A good china bud goes in my teapot with the saucer shaped body and is not steeped for long. Something like a Lady Grey goes in the canister-shaped pot and steeps as long as possible.
 

Jason

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When I posted a full-size image, I was reminded by the sysops that the policy was 400×400 pixel maximum, and told to remove it soon. There are people on dial-up or with data caps reading this.


I knew about the size limit, just plum forgot - reduced size posted, and apologies for anyone reading the thread who's bandwidth is metered, didn't mean to suck it down there.

The thread has moved on a bit since the question was asked, but I use a glazed ceramic teapot. :)

It does seem though that the perfect tea is not just what blend of leaves you like, but also what paraphernalia assist in assembling that beverage. We've not even gotten to the water discussion yet! :)
 
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onesecondglance

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Mine is glazed stoneware. It's sturdy, a cheerful blue and white, and holds heat like a champ, especially when I augment with a tea cozy.

That pretty much describes mine too :)

It does seem though that the perfect tea is not just what blend of leaves you like, but also what paraphernalia assist in assembling that beverage. We've not even gotten to the water discussion yet! :)

Oh crikey, this is starting to remind me of my homebrew beer forum... hard water vs soft water, chloride to sulphate ratios... argh! :flag:
 

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I'm kind of a dunce, more than just half the time, so I want to ask all you FINE CONNOISSEURS a question:

Is there an advantage to having a teapot over a kettle? I could google but I'd rather ask all of you.
 

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I'm kind of a dunce, more than just half the time, so I want to ask all you FINE CONNOISSEURS a question:

Is there an advantage to having a teapot over a kettle? I could google but I'd rather ask all of you.

As has already been discussed in this thread, a kettle is for boiling water and a teapot is for making tea.
 

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Kettle = used to heat the water
Teapot = used to steep or brew the tea

You need both kinds of containers, unless you're making your tea in a cup or mug; tea for one.
 

DanielSTJ

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As has already been discussed in this thread, a kettle is for boiling water and a teapot is for making tea.

Ok. My apologies.

Kettle = used to heat the water
Teapot = used to steep or brew the tea

You need both kinds of containers, unless you're making your tea in a cup or mug; tea for one.

Okay. Thank you.
 

Jason

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The store of teas is getting low - with an order in at Upton Tea and Palais, I decided on a pot of coffee this morning and the taste was less than satisfying - I used to love coffee! What is happening to me?!?!

:)
 

Keithy

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I'm English and can't stand the stuff. Yuk! Last time I drank it was 1976, and I don't miss it.
 

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I also like the glass teapot they review; it will shatter though, if you bang it against a ceramic sink. The glass is nice in that you can see the color of the tea as it steeps.

Also a must for flowering teas!

The thread has moved on a bit since the question was asked, but I use a glazed ceramic teapot. :)

I have several ceramic teapots. At some point, someone decided that I collect them, so... I suppose I do now. :Shrug:

My favorite, though, is my cast iron teapot. I got it along with three cast iron cups (because the sales lady refused to sell me four). It definitely keeps things warm for a while.
 

Jason

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Everything I’ve read suggests that when using tea leaves, 1 oz of tea leaves will yield 10-15 6oz cups of tea. Since tins ship seem to typically ship in 3.5oz canisters, then the yield would be 30-45 6oz cups per tin, or in my case, 15-22 mugs (since I have a mug each time which is essentially 2 cups).

At one mug in the morning, and one in the evening, that’s 4 cups of tea daily. Is that too much?
 

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Everything I’ve read suggests that when using tea leaves, 1 oz of tea leaves will yield 10-15 6oz cups of tea. Since tins ship seem to typically ship in 3.5oz canisters, then the yield would be 30-45 6oz cups per tin, or in my case, 15-22 mugs (since I have a mug each time which is essentially 2 cups).

At one mug in the morning, and one in the evening, that’s 4 cups of tea daily. Is that too much?

I don't think that's a thing.

Less than you'd be drinking on the front.

Science says -- ( 900ml is 30oz.)

See? .

Clear evidence was found for coronary heart disease (CHD), where an intake of ⩾3 cups per day related to risk reduction.
 
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Jason

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Read through all your links - great stuff, tyvm.... The only exception is the last one as it looks to be referencing a PDF from your computer:

file:///C:/Users/HP/Downloads/Green20Tea20Potential20Health20Benefits_39.pdf

I Googled on the file name and found several references, but none in my initial search that had a laundry list of the 20 benefits therein - do you per chance remember where you got that PDF from (or alternatively, I can PM you my email address if you’d be willing to email me a copy of it :) )?

Let’s cast a wider net here - tea drinkers of the forums, in addition to your favorite teas, teapots, and accessories, feel free to add to the discussion with what your average daily/weekly intake is? After reading through cornflakes links, it sounds like I’m not drinking enough! LOL
 
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cornflake

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Ooops sorry! The PDF opened itself and there you go

It's this -- this is the abstract; you can get the pdf which has the entire thing if you stick the name/authors into the googly machine. :D