Calling All Brits (Tea Time)

[lasttango]

Help me out with tea. I love your Typhoo and PG Tips... My knowledge stops there...
What are your indispensable teas?
What do you drink when you need a strong kick in the A** and what do you drink most often?
Thanks.

 

[saintpeter]

What do you drink when you need a strong kick in the A** and what do you drink most often?

Assam. Followed by aged Pu'er, with Lapsang Sochong for backup.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Assam here. But with no flowers or fruit added, and with milk and sugar.

 

[jaytex1969]

PG Tips covers my hot and cold tea needs.
I'll have the occasional green tea, but otherwise it's coffee.

 

[warren]

IIrish Breakfast Tea is a favorite of mine. Usually it's Tetley's. Earl Gray is my other choice.

 

[irishearl]

Probably the strongest tea blend I drink is Scottish Breakfast blend. The one I buy is composed of teas from Assam, Kenya, and Darjeeling with the former 2 giving it its punch.

 

[warren]

irishearl: Brand?

 

[didache]

My cupboard always has three teas, all by Twinings: Moroccan Mint, China Rose and Lapsang Souchong. In the later afternoon I will always have one of these, which I make in a little one-person tea pot. I never drink 'ordinary' PG Tips type tea. Mostly I drink coffee, especially in the morning.
Mike

 

[owen]

Clipper, twining's, Yorkshire tea, glengettie, are all basic supermarket teas drunk by ordinary folk day to day n my neck of the woods.

 

[pipedreams86]

I love: Yorkshire tea, Tetleys and I am a big fan of the teas (and coffees) from Whittards, not sure if they ship to the States...they shipped to me here in Romania when I was missing some English treats...not sure a Brit should say this but I'm more and more about the coffee...

 

[fluffie666]

I am not a Brit but I was taught how to serve tea by a British tea Nazi. PG Tips is a good tea but it is actually one of the lower end teas imported from the UK. Imported meaning expensive here in the states. It's good but the leaf in PG Tips is a finer cut. That leads to bitter taste. Lipton and Tetley are very good black teas here in the states. Easily accessible "better" tea would be Twinings. I'm a Twinings English Breakfast man myself.

The tasty kick in the pants you seek can be obtained as follows:

9 tea bags, 1 liter of water, tea pot

Put all your tea bags into a tea pot.

Boil your liter of water for about 5 - 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the bubbles to stop. You'll want calm hot water to dump into your tea pot.

Dump the water into the tea pot and put the lid on.

Let it steep undisturbed for 2 minutes then remove the bags. No squeezing the bags! Just get rid of them.

A little stir in the pot and you will have a blissfully potent, strong and smooth pot of tea.

I hope you try it and enjoy the hell out of it. I do at least twice a day.

 

[echie]

Yorkshire Gold. I'm on my 5th cup of the day, so far
Edit: and, by the way, *how* you make it is much more important than the brand or variety. A step-by-step has been posted before, but, essentially, warm the pot, boiling water, 1 teabag per person/cup + one for the pot, and let rest for 5 minutes (covered).
Alternatively, when you're brewing directly in the cup: warm it first, teabag in, boiling water, cover if possible (otherwise at least use a spoon to keep the teabag submersed), 5 minutes.
Then, of course, milk

 

[jpmcwjr]

Too many sissified teas mentioned here; he asked for strong stuff, not flowery American crap.

 

[elpfeife]

My morning starts with Bewley's Dublin Morning Tea. It's a substantial black tea. I find it a bit stronger than my longtime favorite Barry's Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

[lasttango]

Too many sissified teas mentioned here; he asked for strong stuff, not flowery American crap.
LOL
Yeah, something to help me wash down some marmite and buttered toast! Something to accompany my special Condor RR, Royal Yacht, 5 Brothers mixture.
I appreciate the suggestions... and of course... the suggestions of Non-Brit teas are welcomed. I am sure whatever Warren drinks is manly enough for Chuck Norris.

I'VE ONLY HAD LIPTON, RED ROSE AND BIGELOW as far as I remember + India's Taj Mahal.
Thanks again. I understand coffee well. I love coffee. I have worked in the coffee industry a bit. I'm no coffee snob. I appreciate a good robusta as much as a rare varietal Arabica. I probably drink more Robusta.
I find I am quite ignorant on Teas.
The other day I read a post by Jay... he was drinking Earl Grey and listening to Sabbath #4. I thought that I really need to expand my knowledge and experience with tea... I love tea....

 

[bentbob]

English Breakfast or Yorkshire Tea in the morning, Chai or Lapsang in the afternoon.
Earl Grey only when in the company of ladies.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Bentbob has it right. While Jay is a true Brit and can sometimes drink ladies' teas with impunity, Warren's choices aren't strong teas. And that's fine; no one is questioning his manhood.
I find that I like a somewhat bitter and strong tea with milk and sugar, without those, a more flavored tea straight. Same with Coffee- for espresso I like something with a hint of chocolate or berries, but for cappuccino a bitter and very coffee forward bean.

 

[mso489]

Flavored teas and herbal teas have their place. But P&G seems about the best tea in a bag. I like loose tea, but the extra handling adds a little time to prep. I live in the U.S. South, and they serve a lot of sweet iced tea, which we assiduously avoid -- both the empty calories and the flavor, though I will occasionally mix sweet and un-sweet if I want that. For years, I did the bergamot and other variations, but now when I want tea, I want it neat. If I really "need" a tea (crave) I don't want flavorings. Some of the tea served out is made with powder or under-brewed and has little if any tea flavor.

 

[warren]

That's true. I drink teas for flavors I find satisfying. Pretty much blacks, now sugar or milk/cream. Sometimes a bit of honey and, rarely, lemon. Depends only on what I want at the time. I'm certainly not a connoisseur of the leaf.
Probably the only drinks I am very selective of is port, cognac and some red wines. And, that's mostly a snobbish affectation.

 

[thomasw]

I am very selective about most things; especially those that I eat or drink or smoke; time's too short to sip bad tobacco, bad coffee or tea. I reason the same about wine, beer and music, but I digress... Love dark roasted espresso shots and dark raosted brewed coffees; for me tea is great with a pipe: English Breakfast or green teas, depending on the mood and whether I want the caffeine. I prefer tea and coffee without any cream or sweeteners, though sometimes I like a bit of rich dairy to smooth the drink.
OT: To the USA pipers, why is it so challenging to find restaurants in the US that actually serve milk or cream with tea or coffee? I have found it perplexing that both are generally served with a powdery petroleum by-product called a 'whitener'. Usually I have had to make a special request for a real dairy product. This has been through the states of WASH, OR and Calif.; is it less common elsewhere in the US?