How do most people here perceive flavored teas?

I do not discriminate against flavored teas.

There are flavored teas that use excellent high quality tea bases, natural flavors and the tea blender uses the flavor to enhance the tea base, rather than mask it. There are some really creative tea blends out there too that are super fun to drink. Tea blends also get non tea drinkers into tea, a gateway drug tea.

Big pet peeve of mine is when fellow tea drinkers look down on people who drink tea blends. I dunno, tea is awesome, whether it’s a 1990 pu’er to a watermelon silver needle.

I enjoy most types of tea – pure, blended, flavored. As I intend to (hopefully) take over a flavored tea business in the coming months, I foresee myself drinking a lot more flavored teas – however, I will be also trying a lot of unflavored teas if for no other reason than to ensure that the base of my flavored tea remains of the best quality possible.

Not all flavored teas are flavored to cover up bad quality tea. That just simply isn’t the case. It won’t be the case for what I’ll be doing in the coming months because I will be drinking what I’m creating and if I’m not satisfied, I won’t sell it.

I like both, but I tend to feel like flavored tea can serve as a snack in itself, while for me straight teas still are when I want to sit down and savor the tea, or with certain straight teas, to accompany with food. I almost never take a flavored tea with food, unless it’s jasmine green. I also agree that not all flavored teas are to cover for bad quality, alot of the flavored teas I really enjoy are gateways to the base tea, and I can go through many western style steeps of a flavored tea with a great base.

I don’t know, I also feel like after following and reading tasting notes for awhile now, at least some blenders work really hard to make their flavored teas and blends enjoyable to their audience, and it’s just a sign of respect that I can say, yes- this tea is good enough to enjoy on it’s own. Like respecting the chef by cleaning your plate, or being quiet when listening to live music. Whereas straight teas might be the pride and joy of its farmer, but… I don’t know, it’s not the same, there are too many variables. I probably take straight teas for granted honestly, I went from straight to flavored, not the other way around. It’s also probably all in my head. I know that some blenders might never know or think of people just drinking their tea just for the taste of the tea itself, and not as an accompaniment to something, but that’s how I think of it. Like a straight base might be an instrument and a piece of sheet music all the basis you need, but a flavored tea is that music being played with emotion and passion. The farmer being the composer and the blender being the musician. I think from the recent threads from Butiki, 52teas, and LiberTeas among others, you can see that these blenders have a real passion for what they do. You might also take it as one piece of a whole orchestra (with food), but each musician is playing out their own little melody. OK, it’s late and I’m waxing poetic. Goodnight. =)

Like many people, I started drinking flavoured teas (years ago). I drank only flavoured tea, and even then, only strongly flavoured. I am very sensitive to bitterness and a lot of blends I tried had assam bases and I brewed them badly. So, I may have thought the base tea was inferior, and it may have been in some cases, but the real problem was my tastes and not knowing how to steep tea.

Now, I drink almost entirely unflavoured teas but I do occasionally drink an herbal or flavoured blend, and I enjoy them still. I just like people to drink what they enjoy, how they enjoy.

I mostly drink unflavoured teas but do enjoy a flavoured one every so often, usually in the mornings.

One advantage to unflavoured is that I can brew them “grandpa style” for days when I’m really busy. Toss some leaves into a tumbler, fill that and a thermos up with hot water, and I’m out the door.

I like flavored teas, although they aren’t something I would drink every day. If I could find some good flavored teas made without “flavoring” and with high quality bases, I’d probably like them just as much as straight tea. I just ordered Golden Orchid from Whispering Pines, and I have high hopes.

I honestly like both the same….
Sometimes I want flavoured, other times I just want the leaf.
My cupboard may have more unflavoured at the moment, but I have nothing against flavoured teas, unless they have a sugar substitute as part of the flavouring (but that’s just personal preference; I don’t ‘look down’ on those teas).

I currently drink mostly herbals, and the occasional flavored tea – mostly chai or dessert teas. I haven’t really tried many unflavored teas, though I would like to get around to that eventually.

I have a love-hate relationship with flavored teas. They were my introduction to the world of tea so they hold a special place in my heart. Over time though as my palette has matured and I’ve discovered quality teas, my preferences now lean towards straight teas. But I still enjoy drinking some lightly flavored teas.

Every now and then I take a gamble on a flavored tea only to end up regretting it. My problem with flavored teas is many of them tend to be low quality, overpowering and/or artificial in taste, contain chemical flavorings, and the aroma seldom reflects the actual flavor of the tea.

i only love earl grey (a green one), or a green chai that is it. Don’t drink any other flavoured teas.