Where to start in the Tea World?
I recently started being interested in the tea world, or should I say in the art of tea?. I have NO IDEA where to start o how to begin with it, I just know that I would love to taste different kinds of it and enjoy every cup.
I’ve read some answers you gave to similar questions, however some of the things you recommend require some knowledge in the matter. I need a “Tea 101” introduction. Can you please help me?
Well, I guess, do you know what kind of flavors you like in the first place?
If you just want to try a bunch of tea, I’d suggest buying lots of samples of teas that seem interesting to you before actually diving in and making a large purchase. For example, there is Teavivre and adiogo teas that do this. If there is a Davidstea in your area, you can often buy just an ounce or something there.
I would also recommend lurking on blogs, reading reviews, etc. Personally, I called up this vendor called TeaSource to ask a few newbie questions before purchasing some of their teas and it was quite useful to apply to other purchases from other vendors. Just kind of… lurk, I suppose, best advice to give.
I know that I like fruit teas and some green teas I’ve tasted so far. However I would like to taste some other different kinds. Thanks for the recommendations, there is no Davidstea here but I noticed that in Teavivre they ship to the UK so I’ll see if I can get some tea there :)
Isabel – If you are in the UK, you might want to check out BlueBird Tea Co – they are also in the UK. They have some interesting and tasty fruit blends. http://bluebirdteaco.com/
If you aren’t sure what you like, I agree with the others, order a bunch of samples with different bases and see where that leads you. I find that I like fruity green or whites, dessert (chocolate, caramel etc) rooibos, black everything, and not much into flavored oolong. I know this because I’ve tried lots of teas – you need to explore and find where your tastes are. Good Luck with your journey. :))
What a fun project you have ahead of you! At the highest level of abstraction (and oversimplification), there is the western black/flavored tea tradition to dive into – especially if you imagine yourself with milk, sugar, and scones. I don’t have much advice on that, but I’m sure others do.
In contrast, there is the eastern green/oolong/pu’er/black tradition that relies on processing technique, terroir, and just a few traditional scents for flavor and variety. That’s quite a bit more complex, and this book is a terrific guide: http://camellia-sinensis.com/en/gift/tea-history-terroirs-varieties. It even provides some fairly specific examples of things to try and really helps categorize things for you. It may sound counterintuitive, but their country-based (rather than green/oolong/etc.-based) classification is actually a very helpful way to understand teas. At $25 it will take you much farther than $25 worth of tea samples will, especially if you’re starting from scratch. And if you are heading down this road, some shops will be more helpful than others: Mandala, Verdant, Camellia Sinensis, and Teavivre come to mind as great places to start.
Beyond samples many tea stores offer tons of information on a wide range of topics. They often publish these articles on their blogs.
But I think your best place to start is just trying samples. Your tastebuds will direct your curiosity to wanting to know more about your flavor fave.
Honestly, beyond learning how to make tea, you really only need to know if you like the tea you are drinking.
Sample everything! And be willing to come back to different varieties down the road as your palate evolves. I started out on black teas and now drink mainly green/whites and don’t like how the majority of black teas taste at all.
Tasting, tasting, tasting, is one key. Another is a good reference – I recommend The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J Heiss for a wonderful overview in words and pictures of various tea families and tastes. Amazon available at http://smile.amazon.com/The-Tea-Enthusiasts-Handbook-Enjoying/dp/158008804X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1395899510&sr=1-1. You have a wonderful adventure in store for you as you explore this world of tea.
Check the places tab on the top of the page…not sure if they have listings in the UK or not, but they might. Or google for close by tea shops and stores. (Some are places that just sell tea and teaware, but not serve it. A way to get an idea as to what you might like is to smell the tea, if it smells nice, you’ll probably like the taste. (Though not always.) If it smells nasty to you, good chance that it will taste that way as well.
For information on Japanese teas, check out my blog: www.myjapanesegreentea.com
You can learn many things, and it’s free.
I too recommend the Tea Enthusiasts Handbook – I think I paid about £8 for it on Amazon. I love it not just for the tea it recommends (we will all have different tastes) but for the advice in the first few chapters, what is tea, where is it grown, what difference does one country have over another, how does weather affect tea, how to brew it, what quantities to use, what water temperature etc. It really is a brilliant resource.
I got my first tea order from http://www.tea-and-coffee.com/ who are very reasonably priced and offer hundreds of different teas at very sensible prices. Invest in some airtight containers – I got plastic ones from my poundshop 2 containers for £1 and a roll of sticky labels and scribbled on each one what the tea was and when I bought it. Be prepared to free up a cupboard as once you start buying you can’t stop.
Price wise, I’ve had teas that didn’t cost a fortune that I love that were dirt cheap, I’ve had expensive teas that I wouldn’t drink again so for me price doesn’t always mean quality. I use a lot of online vendors too and for me how helpful they are indicates wether I would use them again. I bought two packs of Ceylon tea from www.pmdtea.com and they were brilliant – they threw in some freebies and was very helpful with me.
I am not blessed with any tea vendors in Manchester but I do know two tea shops that also sell their teas in take out bags so that might be a good place for you to start too.
So buy small, get tasters and figure out your tastes and you will have a lot of fun with this. I still do
I’ve been looking to some of the recommendations everybody has made. However, I see that most of them are about loose leaf tea. I’ve read that it is better but I still don’t have all the “tools” to brew it properly. I think that it might be a good option to start with bagged teas until I find what kind of teas I like better and until I get all what I need (I don’t know exactly what to buy haha). What do you think? Any suggestion about this?
Its just my opinion of course but baggged tea wont tell you a lot about loose leaf tea. Pyramid bags will get you closer though.
But brewing loose leaf is really very easy and “proper equipment” is as simple as an infuser basket for a mug you already own. Lots of companies also sell loose leaf samples for less than a box of bags.
On the other hand bags are every where and often easier to find. Bags arent a bad way to go at all. However the experience is quite a bit different from loose leaf. If you are truly interested in loose leaf just jump in with both feet. It really wont cost you more to get started.
Hi again. I’ve never found teabag tea to rival loose tea on any counts. The best teabag tea I’ve ever tried was Dilmah Breakfast Tea which you can still get in Sainsburys.
Pyramid tea pouches are good but false economy – Teapigs are around £4.50 for 15 drinks, Twinnings ones are similar price too. It’s not that cheap.
So equipment wise. A solid pot with infuser or a mug infuser or buy a pack of tea paper filters and drop your loose tea in and brew in a mug.
You can make this hobby as expensive or as cheap as you want but I sit in the middle ground but I buy the best I can afford without throwing silly sums of money at it.
Yeah, definitely don’t start with bagged tea. I would rather start with a pot on a stove and a standard strainer (you, know like this one http://www.cookingfor.us/catalog/images/OXO%20SteeL%2058891%206-Inch%20Strainer.jpg) You could even get started with that. But not bagged tea.
This is a great tea 101 book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Little-Book-Tea-Series/dp/2080105450
Another advice I would give you, is when starting out, prefer to buy in person rather than online – so you can get a feel (ideally in a place with 100s of teas) of how different teas smell and look, what prices they are, what is the difference to your senses between a tea costing $ and another costing $$$ when their origin is the same and the description seems similar. What smells appealing to you, and that is impossible to judge online.
It’s nice to go to a proper tea shop but it’s all about where you live. Even in Manchester we are not graced with a speciality tea shop unless you count Whittards. However if you live in London or Edinburgh the situation is much more different.
If you do have a tea shop, go in and ask and see what gets recommended for you to try. Chances are they will want to sell you something you enjoy and you will return back to them.
This is one of my favourite tea shops when I’m in London: http://www.theteahouseltd.com/ and they have little sample jars of the tea for you to open and smell. I bought the most delicious smelling Gingerbread Rooibus from there and it is amazingly good. Lovely shop although it does get very crowded.
I’m living in Durham, I’ve only seen Whittards here and a couple of tea rooms. By the way… another very silly question: Are tea rooms a good place to go? I mean, I’ve read about it on the internet but I’ve never been there and I’m not sure what to expect (I’m from Mexico).
Hello again
Whittards is good but expensive so don’t expect much change from £5 – £6 for a 50/100g bag of tea you might not like. I’ve had mixed experiences with their staff, they are polite and helpful but one just served me what I wanted and the other was much more helpful asking what do I like, what have I tried before and just generally helped me but without pushing sales on to me.
A good tea room is brilliant and most I use will use loose tea but I’ve been to some that are tea bags! A good person serving you will take time out to explain different types of tea. Some tea rooms sell the tea to take away with you to drink at home.
Part of this is the fun you will have exploring different types of tea. Supermarkets are getting better all the time too. My local tesco stocks WeAreTea and both there Breakfast Tea and Ceylon Vanilla are lovely.
Sample packs may be a good place to start or a tea subscription service. Perhaps others on here can recommend a good UK one now TeaHorse has closed down.
I love different types of tea:
Ceylon (the best black tea IMHO)
Japanese cherry bancha (awesome green tea)
Rose Congou
Silver Needle
Mint Humbug (Twinings tea pyramids)
I say start by buying a few samples and a nice teapot or tea steeper. I started off with Adagio sampler sets ( http://www.adagio.com/list/tea_samplers.html ) and their IngenuiTEA (I mostly use a basic ceramic teapot now) and it served me well. I can even email you a $5 certificate if you want :) (It’ll give me some points towards my next purchase. hehe)
Watch at who you are using online – I only buy my Ceylon from two different suppliers but buy quite substantial orders to keep the cost down on P&P keep doing small orders at at time. I don’t find Adagio great on price.
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