Black tea - What is your favourite type?

[Mel!]

I love black tea, but I dont think I have ever been very adventurous with it, or tried types that are very special.

I only got as far as Earl Grey with my black tea adventures. What am I missing out on? If you are a fan of black tea, would you post here which ones you like, where you buy them, and what they cost.

 

[Andy M.]

I'm not a big tea drinker outside of iced tea. When I have a hot cup of tea, I like Earl Grey.

 

[Alix]

Mel, why mess with perfection? Its so popular for a reason.

I have tried so many teas I have a tough time remembering them all. I am not a huge fan of black tea with "fruity" flavorings in them. I've tried blueberry, blackberry, peach etc. Some of those are tasty for a change, but I tend to stick to my Earl Grey.

If you like a strong, full bodied black tea I find Irish Breakfast is nicer than English Breakfast. There is less of an oily mouth feel IMO to the Irish. Could be that I had a crappy brand of tea, but I got turned off the English Breakfast pretty quickly.

The orange pekoe tea has a lot of different brand names out there and is what most folks seem to think of when they think of black tea. (Other than Earl Grey) Tetley, Salada, Stash, and Red Rose are but a few of the brand names that come to mind. My preference is the Red Rose, but that could be because I grew up with it.

Does any of that help?

 

[LindaZ]

I prefer English Breakfast overall. I like Darjeeling, and Irish Breakfast as well, but tend to gravitate to English Breakfast. I once tried Lady Grey tea and it was good, had a citrus flavor. Do not like Earl Grey, the oil of Bergamot is not a flavor I like. I also prefer the Twinnings brand of teas. I like tea with milk in it.

 

[Robo410]

Himalayan Mountain like Prince of Wales of Baltimore Clipper

 

[Selkie]

Royal Raspberry

 

[Mrs.Harp]

Black tea is also my favorite, I love iced black tea with liquid sweetener. SO GOOD!!

 

[simonbaker]

I love black tea, but I dont think I have ever been very adventurous with it, or tried types that are very special.

I only got as far as Earl Grey with my black tea adventures. What am I missing out on? If you are a fan of black tea, would you post here which ones you like, where you buy them, and what they cost.

TAZO makes a good black tea called 'AWAKE' it's around $5.00 for 12.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I like English and Irish breakfast.

I also like Lapsang souchong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Very good!

 

[NoraC]

I LOVE the Tazo Awake, though for general, "tea's in the fridge" iced tea I gravitate to Tetley or Red Rose.

 

[chopper]

I won't kick any black tea out of my cabinet. I love them all.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I like English and Irish breakfast.

I also like Lapsang souchong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Very good!

Fi try a mix of 25% lapsang with 75% earl grey.

 

[taxlady]

We drink mostly English breakfast tea, but usually have at least one pot of Earl Grey each day. I like Irish breakfast tea when I want more "kick". We usually buy Twinnings Earl Grey, though Lyons is equally good. We usually get President's Choice English breakfast tea.

I bought an organic Earl Grey at the health food store once, but it was far too perfumey for my taste. I don't like any of the black teas with synthetic flavourings. (I don't like coffee with synthetic flavouring either).

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Its the bergamot Tax that is why I put lapsang with it. A thread like this on a UK site would devolve into a vitriolic slanging match re the correct method of brewing and which bone china cup is the best and if you mention tea bags you would be flamed at the stake, what a pleasure it is to be among civilised tea imbibers.

 

[taxlady]

Its the bergamot Tax that is why I put lapsang with it. A thread like this on a UK site would devolve into a vitriolic slanging match re the correct method of brewing and which bone china cup is the best and if you mention tea bags you would be flamed at the stake, what a pleasure it is to be among civilised tea imbibers.

I know it's the bergamot. The organic one just had far too much. I'll stick to Twinnings and Lyons for my Earl Grey. Isn't there a bit of bergamot in Lady Grey as well? I find Lady Grey drinkable, but too be too wimpy.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

I find Lady Grey drinkable

I have never had the pleasure.

 

[DaveSoMD]

For iced tea I like Red Rose

For hot tea either Earl Grey or English Breakfast

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Fi try a mix of 25% lapsang with 75% earl grey.

That sounds like a good mix. I usually get the lapsang as a loose tea, so can add to anything. I was just thinkiing, I should have used the Lapsang for my Shiitake tea.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Its the bergamot Tax that is why I put lapsang with it. A thread like this on a UK site would devolve into a vitriolic slanging match re the correct method of brewing and which bone china cup is the best and if you mention tea bags you would be flamed at the stake, what a pleasure it is to be among civilised tea imbibers.

I have just about every implement for tea making in my possession. They all make fantastic cups/pots of tea. I also have my favorites in the form of tea bags, for portability. I am also known to use my 16 ounce coffee mug for a double tea at work.

Between my love for coffee and tea, I always have something I like on hand.

 

[Alix]

I have certain cups that are coffee only and some that are tea only. And lets not even get started on the ones that are for the herbal teas and not the black teas! Heeheehee! Infusers and balls and presses oh my!