I drink Lipton green tea but leave the bag in so long that the astringent tannins leave me thirsty as soon as I've finished a sip.
Edit: That isn't all the tea I drink, just my most unusual habit, and I was drinking it right when I made the chost. I also like:
- Constant Comment (I found it because of Scott Pilgrim shut up)
- Earl Grey and half-and-half (a lazy London Fog?)
- This delicious rooibos drink called a Red Symphony from a cafe down the street from where I used to live. I think it was this recipe but I don't have the means to make it.
usually loose-leaf black tea (golden yunnan, english breakfast, qimen). bit of soy milk or creamer. one tablet of cyclamate sweetener. steep it with the creamer already in there, and leave the strainer in too long. drink about half, then forget about it for long enough that it's gone cold. drink the other half
or sometimes: a black tea mix with dried chili pepper and cocoa. one sweetener tablet, no creamer.
or at night: just ginger tea. once again, one sweetener tablet
For green tea I actually prefer a nice jasmine tea without any sweeteners. For black tea I'm actually partial to chai masala and even made my own spice mix a couple of times. Simmer the spices in milk, combine that with a nice simple black tea, good times. Or if I'm feeling lazy just chai powder and hot water.
I used to think I didn't like tea. then I found out you are legally allowed to put milk and sugar in it
All tea all the time except for rooibos, the devil's brew. No milk, no sugar, no honey, no lemon, just tea. Tea steeped forever. Tea that ruins my teeth and stains my mugs and sometimes is so black and caffeinated and heavy in tannins that it makes me throw up.
On weekday mornings and at work it's just whatever black tea bag left forever in a cup. Right now it's Tetley, but the best for the purpose is Yorkshire Gold Builder's Tea Bold. Just mainline caffeine as efficiently as possible without coffee or pills.
Loose teas when I have time to appreciate what I'm drinking include a blend called Russian Caravan that's a lovely black tea and very smoky, Lapsang Souchong which is a greener tasting black tea that's also smoked, Kyoto Rose which is a green tea with rose petals ... I have a lot of tea.
Shoutout to Constant Comment which I don't think you can get here anymore. Really solid and slightly citrusy black bag tea with a quality name. And Tension Tamer Extra Strength which you also can no longer get here anymore due to the extra strength tension tamer component violating some kind of Canadian drug standards regulation.
I start craving tea right around fall, switching from seltzer waters to tea. I prefer loose leaf tea, made in the bougiest appliance I own, a Breville One-Touch Tea Maker. It was a desperate attempt to wake up at a normal person hour, as you could program it to make tea at a certain time. I was hoping the smell would help me wake up, but alas. It's been with me for five years now, still (knock on wood) making perfectly temped and timed tea.
I pour it all in a little tea cup I got as a trade in art school and a tea pot. Drinking it this way keeps the bulk of the tea hot, while the small cup cools it down for human consumption.
My favorite teas come from Upton Teas: Russian Caravan, a black tea with a slight bergemot flavor; Jasmine tea with no sweeteners; a golden honey oolong; and the favorite Mélange De Chamonix, a black tea with cocoa, cardamom, and a little cinnamon. I'll add a little milk if they get bitter, but otherwise all drank black.
It may seem really obsessive just for tea, but I really enjoy taking a long time to prepare tea and coffee. At work I used it as my "smoke break", a chance to get away from my desk. At home, it's a way to help my ADHD brain task switch from "home life" to "it's time to work". Plus, a really well made cup of tea is it's own reward :3
