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Peisho
27th September 2001, 05:37
I asked this before in another board and it seems that most people like Earl Grey.
Earl Grey tastes like metsubishi(pepper and ashes) but is not that bad of a tea.

However I am looking for something with a very sweet taste.
I tried Chinese Gunpowder tea but that is very bitter and tastes like moxa.
I tried Chai tea(without condenced milk) and it felt like my nose was going to bleed from all of the spices and it tasted terrible.
Sencha and Bancha and Tong Ting cha taste pretty simular and dont have that much of a distinctive flavor.

Right now my favorite is genmaicha because is has a pleasant nutty seaweed flavor and aroma but I was looking for something sweeter.

What is the sweetest kind of tea?

Jeff Hamacher
27th September 2001, 06:02
Originally posted by Peisho
I tried Chai tea(without condensed milk) and it felt like my nose was going to bleed from all of the spices and it tasted terrible. (...)
Right now my favorite is genmaicha because is has a pleasant nutty seaweed flavor and aroma but I was looking for something sweeter. (...)
What is the sweetest kind of tea?
hmmm ... i don't know of that many teas that are "naturally sweet"; usually you have to add something. as you say, genmaicha is one of the more mellow kinds of tea that i've tried, but i would also agree with you that it's not exactly sweet. i personally love chai, and i think that without the milk product its flavour just wouldn't be right. you might want to give it another chance at a good indian restaurant somewhere close by.

if you are really hankering for a sugary flavour, you might want to go for an herbal tea with a good dollop of honey. the other possibility is trying sobacha, or buckwheat tea. i don't know how easily you can find it in the US, but it has a very pleasant, smooth, and somewhat nutty flavour, although it's very different than genmaicha. if i steep it to a strong, rich blend it even serves as a decent coffee substitute (no caffeine, either!).

hope this helps. are there any other hot drink junkies on-board?

red_fists
27th September 2001, 06:05
Hi Jeff.

I have to agree on sobacha, we got a soba shop down the road that sell it. :)

Not a great Teat drinker myself as I prefer fruit Teas and Coffee.

bkalafut
27th September 2001, 19:13
Originally posted by Peisho
I asked this before in another board and it seems that most people like Earl Grey.
Earl Grey tastes like metsubishi(pepper and ashes) but is not that bad of a tea.


Earl Grey shouldn't taste like that. Unfortunately it goes bad, quickly, when not kept cool. It tastes like bergamot and black tea when fresh.




However I am looking for something with a very sweet taste.
I tried Chinese Gunpowder tea but that is very bitter and tastes like moxa.
I tried Chai tea(without condenced milk) and it felt like my nose was going to bleed from all of the spices and it tasted terrible.
Sencha and Bancha and Tong Ting cha taste pretty simular and dont have that much of a distinctive flavor.

Right now my favorite is genmaicha because is has a pleasant nutty seaweed flavor and aroma but I was looking for something sweeter.

What is the sweetest kind of tea?

Put a little stevia leaf into your tea and it will sweeten it up. It's legal in Japan, most of South America, and parts of Europe as a food additive. The FDA won't allow it because nobody has proven it to be safe. (No, it doesn't make sense to me, either, and having a government body regulating the food supply also doesn't...) But in the US it's a legal dietary supplement. Look for it at health food stores or grow the plant in your window (it isn't bad looking).

Oolong and green teas (and white tea, if you have $$ to burn) usually aren't very bitter or astringent. Also try some herbals, like hibiscus blossom or lemon balm or chamomile flowers.

-Ben Kalafut
(Judoka and tea junkie, who prefers Darjeeling)

Neil Yamamoto
27th September 2001, 23:05
Licorice spice tea is very sweet, Stash teas makes this and it's readily available.

The other solution is make your own, run down to the local herb shop - if you have one, and buy some Chinese licorice root(glycyrrhizae uralensis) and some suk gok(dendrobium hancockii). Take about 6-8 pieces of the licorice root and about twice as much suk gok- really an orchid, and rinse off, then in about 4 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Makes a sweet tea and is supposed to be good for helping to restore energy and clean the body of toxins.

Peisho
28th September 2001, 01:28
The best site I have found for teas is at www.maruwa.com because they are shipped from Japan and have a store in San Francisco. Plus they have very good prices.
I found the soba tea on there for $9.89 for 7.5oz.
The guy I buy my teas from gets them from Tenren but they are not straight from Japan.

I dont like the taste of herbal teas unless they are cold but I am looking for some hot teas because winter is starting to come.
I dont want to use any additives like mint leaves or honey because that disrupts the flavor.
Some guy said that a tea can be made from dried out orange or grapefruit peels but I dont think that would be safe because prisoners eat orange peels in jail to get high. Same thing with banana and lemon peels.

I was thinking about buying some white tea but was not sure what it taste like. Are they any good? www.leaves.com has some for sale.

I saw on a website that it said Gyokuro is sweeter than sencha. Matcha is sweeter than Gyokuro. and Fukamushi cha is sweeter than matcha.

Have you ever tried one of these kinds of teas?

Jay Bell
28th September 2001, 01:33
Hojicha desu ne ;)

burp
1st October 2001, 21:28
Howdy,

Due to religious reasons, I don't drink o-cha (green tea) and all its varients, as well as oolong-cha, Earl Grey, Black tea, and a host of others.

But ... out of some of the teas I am able to drink ...

Sobacha is one of my favorites.

Habucha is pretty tasty, but don't drink too much (as they say in these parts -- you might get the Rocky Mountain trots).

For something sweet, shoga-yu is delicious and good when you feel a cold coming on (wonderul throughout the winter months). You can buy mixes in Japan, but I've never seen it around here. One can make it with some fresh ginger root, sugar, and hot water. Portions to taste.

Plain Ume-cha isn't bad.

Unfortunately, Konbu-cha tastes like fishy dishwater to me (as I imagine it to taste anyway :smash: ).

For a non-Japanese herbal tea, peppermint tea is sure nice after a heavy meal. I often grow my own peppermint.

Anyway, my $.02 worth.

Enjoy!


mikehansen

Walker
2nd October 2001, 19:10
I end up drinking quite a bit of Yorkshire Tea from Taylors of Harrogate. I think it is the best of the everyday tea blends. Great with 1/2 and1/2 or just straight.