Yesterday afternoon I have done something I have never done before: I used a pyramid shaped tea bag (one must be daring once in a while ). Since I spotted them on the shelves a couple of years ago I always thought them too arty and really an unnessary invention. But then I was in a placable mood while shopping on Thursday so I just bought a package of Earl Grey. I must say that I really enjoyed my tea. The bag contained "real" loose tea and not the kind of powder that is normally used in the standard tea bags. Plus it was as easy to use as the standard ones (I wrongly expected the pyramid shaped bags to have no string to remove the bag from the cup.)
I think I will not switch completely to these pyramid shaped tea bags but they will be a good supplement to my normal range.
As the English are very sophisticated connoisseurs of tea, I wonder what people on the forum think of this kind of tea bag.
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt know thy Port
AW77 wrote:I wonder what people on the forum think of this kind of tea bag.
I think the people on this forum will require more detailed analysis before venturing an opinion.
Is it possible to buy the same tea leaves in pyramid, square (flat) and round (flat) tea bags? There are also variants of the material used to make the bags. Most are the traditional perforated paper variety but some new ones, particularly pyramids, are made from a fine nylon mesh.
A full range of bags are required, all with the same tea leaves, plus some loose tea leaves as a control sample.
Should we book The Bung Hole?
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
The two greatest teas I have ever drunk were a first-flush Darjeeling drunk in a very unassuming cafe chain in Delhi and a pot of Darjeeling drunk in Florian's in Venice. The tea in Delhi was in a silk, stitched tea-bag the like of which I'd never seen before but which I've now encountered in Europe several times, in the kind of shee-shee places that I am wont to pop up in. The tea was staggeringly good, drunk black with nothing, and was clearly not long off the bush. The tea at Florian's was so wonderful that the tannic finish stayed with me for the whole day. In some ways this was a key experience in my tuition in wine tasting.
I have tried in recent years to replicate these experiences and have not been successful. I need a return trip to Delhi or Venice.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Tea! I love a cup o tea, builders brown for me, white, no sugar.
Tea in Delhi makes me think of all the chia-wallahs selling that sweet brown cardamom flavoured brew, which while little to do with tea as I understand it is a terrific thing. Especially in those little clay dishes which everybody threw out of train windows.
The shape of the tea bag is immaterial, my mother still looks slightly askance at me using tea bags. But I shall leave you teabaggers to your own immortal devices.
I really cannot understand why people put milk in their tea. For me the milk overlays the flavour of the tea and thus adulterates the taste of the tea. I like my tea sweetened, though. A neat tea without any sugar is to bitter for my taste.
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt know thy Port
That's my favourite black tea. It's curiously not on the UK market, which I discovered some years ago while looking for it in Twinings' tiny shop on the Strand. The people there told me that they just produce it for foreign markets.
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt know thy Port
Tea in Delhi makes me think of all the chia-wallahs selling that sweet brown cardamom flavoured brew, which while little to do with tea as I understand it is a terrific thing. Especially in those little clay dishes which everybody threw out of train windows.
I also have fond memories of chai in India. Also tried safron tea in Kashmir, ginger tea in Ladakh(not to my taste) and very nice pot of first flush in Darjeeling.
That's my favourite black tea. It's curiously not on the UK market, which I discovered some years ago while looking for it in Twinings' tiny shop on the Strand. The people there told me that they just produce it for foreign markets.
It sounds excellent. I'll see if I can find any locally... at the moment I'm overstocked on tea so probably won't be doing any online orders for a while.
I have a "Classic Breakfast" blend that's quite strong and, at least for me, requires cream to tame it down sufficiently. It does tend to be my morning tea at work so the name is appropriate.
I also have a Nilgiri that is fine but doesn't really stand out in any way, and a sencha green tea with dried cherry in it that's pleasant but not really to my taste. I have a "Noel" blend with Christmas spices that's great for afternoon sipping, and a Rooibos red tea with bourbon vanilla added that tastes like liquid honey.
Most of these were purchased because I earned a 50% off certificate from an online store, so they were each $6 for a 4-oz loose leaf tin. Hard to beat that price. That same store also has a second flush Darjeeling that I'd like to try but just haven't gotten around to ordering.
I bought some first flush Darjeeling from the Algerian Coffee Stores on Old Compton Street in London the last time I was there. I was very excited to get it home and brew up. It was lovely but slightly disappointing. I think freshness is absolutely key for these things, the power of the leaf can't stand being dried too much.
I often smile at the old tea shippers' joke about the abbreviations for different classifications of tea. The very best is known as FTGFOP which means Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, telling you that it has a very high proportion of the youngest leaves. The joke was that this actually stood for Far Too Good For Ordinary People.
A friend's family were in tea, out in Indiah and all that. They are no longer, for some time, but an old-fashioned chest of tea still arrives at their home in Donaghadee every year.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
If never heard of a Nilgiri tea. At first I thought it had something to do with Nigiri-Sushi.
I also really like Jasmine tea. Pure green tea is too bitter for my taste.
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt know thy Port
AW77 wrote:If never heard of a Nilgiri tea. At first I thought it had something to do with Nigiri-Sushi.
I also really like Jasmine tea. Pure green tea is too bitter for my taste.
AW77 wrote:If never heard of a Nilgiri tea. At first I thought it had something to do with Nigiri-Sushi.
I also really like Jasmine tea. Pure green tea is too bitter for my taste.
The Nilgiri that I have seems like it is probably the base for the Classic Breakfast tea I have from the same company. They're pretty similar at least in this case.
Green tea is typically too bitter for me as well. The Cherry Sencha that I have is smoothed considerably by the addition of the dried fruit, but even so I don't drink it very often. I haven't really found a time of day for which it is well suited, and with 8 other teas on my shelf it needs a niche in order to get used.
Forgot to mention my one Oolong - Iron Goddess of Mercy. Lovely flavor. Makes a very nice iced tea, though of course it's not what you'd normally expect from iced tea.
Glenn E. wrote:with 8 other teas on my shelf it needs a niche in order to get used.
I just thought that was a nice turn of phrase, the whole thing. That's all. Could almost be an old saying. "With 8 other teas on my shelf, I don't know when I'm going to get to use this new telescope."
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
Glenn E. wrote:with 8 other teas on my shelf it needs a niche in order to get used.
I just thought that was a nice turn of phrase, the whole thing. That's all. Could almost be an old saying. "With 8 other teas on my shelf, I don't know when I'm going to get to use this new telescope."
Conversely, most of the tea I drink is whilst using my telescope.
Daniel might be on to something here and not just rambling away like a lunatic in his Berlin flat.
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
Glenn E. wrote:with 8 other teas on my shelf it needs a niche in order to get used.
I just thought that was a nice turn of phrase, the whole thing. That's all. Could almost be an old saying. "With 8 other teas on my shelf, I don't know when I'm going to get to use this new telescope."
Conversely, most of the tea I drink is whilst using my telescope.
Daniel might be on to something here and not just rambling away like a lunatic in his Berlin flat.
Daniel might be onto something and rambling away in his Berlin flat.
I decline to accept Derek's assertion that he only drinks tea at night with his telescope. There have been times when I sensed a little disorderliness on the 'reason to get up early thread'.
Yours,
Drinking builders brown, from a pyramid shaped teabag. Not too bad really...
Today I found out that one should not pull too hard at the string that is attached to the nylon-bag. I spilled the loose tea all over my desk. The edges of the pyramid seem to be a weak spot. So one has to treat these tea bags tenderly.
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt know thy Port
DRT wrote:Daniel might be on to something here and not just rambling away like a lunatic in his Berlin flat.
You make it sound so tawdry. It's not a 'flat' it's a studio. It's like Studio 54! All covered in silver, up all night, Andy's here, Candy's here, just doing whatever we like whenever we want.
Not really.
Anyway I was actually rambling away in the Staatsbibliothek at Potsdamer Straße which is my new favourite building. I defy anyone not to like it. Except librarians. Librarians always find something to complain about ("oh the stacks are so far away" etc etc etc).
(Sorry André! )
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
DRT wrote:Daniel might be on to something here and not just rambling away like a lunatic in his Berlin flat.
You make it sound so tawdry. It's not a 'flat' it's a studio. It's like Studio 54! All covered in silver, up all night, Andy's here, Candy's here, just doing whatever we like whenever we want.
I think I can picture it, but I can't decide between a scene from The Young Ones or the party scene in Crocodile Dundee.
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
djewesbury wrote:Except librarians. Librarians always find something to complain about ("oh the stacks are so far away" etc etc etc).
(Sorry André! )
I will tell you some more complaints about this library when we're in the Mosel.
I know, I've heard that Otto on the front desk is really up himself, and Hienrik never pays his tea bills and is no better than he ought to be if you know what I mean and Herr Direktor was caught with that tramp from accounts on the Christmas night out!
djewesbury wrote:Except librarians. Librarians always find something to complain about ("oh the stacks are so far away" etc etc etc).
(Sorry André! )
I will tell you some more complaints about this library when we're in the Mosel.
I know, I've heard that Otto on the front desk is really up himself, and Hienrik never pays his tea bills and is no better than he ought to be if you know what I mean and Herr Direktor was caught with that tramp from accounts on the Christmas night out!
One thing about it is that everyone who works there is very friendly, which is no mean feat in Berlin. This is a city where, if you speak German to them, they wearily reply to you in English; and if you speak English, they angrily reply to you in German. They're like that. But in the library they've been very helpful and friendly. Probably they all know nobody can touch them because they have the photocopies of Herr Direktor and that tramp from accounts (I think he pressed the 'Scan and Send To All' button by mistake, hit it with his knee..).
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
delete.. delete.. *sigh*.. delete...
djewesbury wrote:This is a city where, if you speak German to them, they wearily reply to you in English; and if you speak English, they angrily reply to you in German. They're like that.
Berliners are the rudest people you can find in Germany. (Second come people from Bremen, I think). So they're rude not because you're a foreigner or English, it's simply because you just bother them at all. They're rude to me everytime I'm there, too. And if you watch closely, they're rude to each other as well. Next time you should go to the south (Bavaria) or the west (the Rhineland). People there are more friendly. Sometimes I think that religion is one factor here. The west and south are traditional catholic areas. But this may just be a coincidence that has nothing to do with it.
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt know thy Port
Coming back (almost) on topic - did you know that there is now a tea plantation in Cornwall? Tregothnan has been growing tea for a few years and while it is hard to find, is very expensive and isn't yet anything fabulous in flavour, it is quite a novelty to be able to drink English tea.
PS - I do like the new fashion for pyramid teabags although I frown at the use of nylon (which doesn't decompose in my compost heap) instead of silk or cotton.
Top Ports in 2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
2025: Quevedo 1972 Colheita, b.2024. Just as good as Niepoort 1900!
I have never come across nylon, cotton or silk tea bags. just the usual paper, am I missing something? Any suggestions about where I might come across these? Nothing too fancy, Darjeeling, Assam, that sort of thing.
AHB wrote:Try your local supermarket, but (leans in conspiratorially and whispers) look on the top shelf.
Try Tea Pigs or a similar brand. And be prepared to pay something like £4 for 15 teabags!
It is easy to reconcile this in your head. If you bought a cup of tea from a cafe you would pay between £1-£4 for the privilege. That means Tea Pigs are up to 1/15th of the price of Tetley.
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
AHB wrote:Try your local supermarket, but (leans in conspiratorially and whispers) look on the top shelf.
Try Tea Pigs or a similar brand. And be prepared to pay something like £4 for 15 teabags!
It is easy to reconcile this in your head. If you bought a cup of tea from a cafe you would pay between £1-£4 for the privilege. That means Tea Pigs are up to 1/15th of the price of Tetley.
What price a decent cup of tea? Even unto half my kingdom, well four quid should be alright.
AHB wrote:Try your local supermarket, but (leans in conspiratorially and whispers) look on the top shelf.
Try Tea Pigs or a similar brand. And be prepared to pay something like £4 for 15 teabags!
It is easy to reconcile this in your head. If you bought a cup of tea from a cafe you would pay between £1-£4 for the privilege. That means Tea Pigs are up to 1/15th of the price of Tetley.
What price a decent cup of tea? Even unto half my kingdom, well four quid should be alright.
Cheaper than a horse.
"The first duty of Port is to be red" Ernest H. Cockburn
Owen could drink his tea while sitting on a horse.
I guess this would make a fine image for a tea ad. "Drink xx's breakfast tea and take on the world in the morning like a King."
The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt know thy Port
That's my favourite black tea. It's curiously not on the UK market, which I discovered some years ago while looking for it in Twinings' tiny shop on the Strand. The people there told me that they just produce it for foreign markets.
Today I am finishing the last of my packets of Prince of Wales tea. Very nice. I can see why you recommended it as it is very similar to the keemun loose leaf tea that I enjoy so much. Thank you!
). Since I spotted them on the shelves a couple of years ago I always thought them too arty and really an unnessary invention. But then I was in a placable mood while shopping on Thursday so I just bought a package of Earl Grey. I must say that I really enjoyed my tea. The bag contained "real" loose tea and not the kind of powder that is normally used in the standard tea bags. Plus it was as easy to use as the standard ones (I wrongly expected the pyramid shaped bags to have no string to remove the bag from the cup.)
