Tea... an important issue

you should try it with milk, it will blow your mind.

I'm currently enjoying Supreme Dragon Well Green Tea (or the v similar Dragon Well Organic Green Tea) and Tie Guan Yin Oolong - both with no milk (sugar optional). They are pricey compared with supermarket tea bags, but it's worth it and you get multiple cups out of a serving of leaves in the mug.

Also Puerh tea can be a bit of an acquired taste, but its definitely worth trying.

https://www.theteamakers.co.uk/supreme-dragon-well.html
https://www.theteamakers.co.uk/organic-dragon-well.html
https://www.theteamakers.co.uk/iron-goddess.html
http://www.cantonteaco.com/loose-leaf-tea/type/puerh-tea-1.html

I've been loving a lady grey in the afternoon.

Mmmm zesty.

Mmm, milfs... #illgetmycoat #itsbeenalongday

Lady Grey is my default tea at the moment

I'm a big fan of Kusmi teas, particularly a lot of their Russian blends

We visited Nuwara Eliya yesterday, a stunning road trip from Kandy through dramatic ever changing landscape of paddy fields, reservoirs, teak rainforests, waterfalls, pine forests then epic scale tea plantations at higher altitude circa 1400- 2300m. The town was ordinarily British with plenty of rain, complete with lake, racecourse (horses), golf courses and colonial style hotels.

The Sri Lankan Tea industry maintains the highest quality in the world market and ISO 3720 is the minimum standard applied for the products. The Country has the capability to produce the cleanest tea in the world in terms of minimum pesticides and residues. Methyl Bromide was removed from the production process in 2012. Therefore, Sri Lankan tea has been identified as an “ozone free tea” in the world trade. Sri Lanka is also adjusting well to the stringent ISO 22000 series and to the health & safety regulations stipulated by the European Community.

Growers are constantly educated to practice Good Agricultural Practices(GAP). The Processing/Manufacturing facilities owned by the export companies comply with local standards (SLSI) and with International Quality Standards such as ISO,HACCP, and EU Standards. Traceability throughout the supply chain is monitored in order to guarantee a safe product to the consumers.

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Tea types from the region.
Gold and silver tips being the most expensive.
Green tea before fermentation
Then a host of black varieties til you get to dust which ends up in the tea bags.

BOPF - English Breakfast
Forget Earl Grey, it's shite tea with perfume
Refused tea ends up as compost

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Stunning!!!

I'm working my way through the inventory at curioustea.com

They seem have a good eye for interesting leaves, and venture further than the usual Chinese / Taiwanese Oolong's, Japanese greens and Indian black teas - with Vietnamese and thai greens, Indian Oolong's, and blackbteas for Georgia and south america.

And they're not as bonkers expensive as some of the online tea hawkers can be

DREDGE!

I hate tea but my significant other loves it. She's been given some Fortnum & Mason Celyon loose leaf but we don't own an appropriate brewing device.

Does anyone own a stylish infuser pot they'd recommend?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F172813879713

Cheap and perfect.

Would this work better than a pot with a basket suspended in it?

It works just as well, but without the fanciness. I like it as it just goes in the drawer, rather than having a teapot to store.

Also it is very easy to adjust strength: just take it out of the mug when it's ready. Otherwise you need a teapot with a plunger. Bodum do one of them. It's nice but pricey.

I never really got on with those dip-in infuser things; I may have just had a duff one, but it always lost about half the leaves when trying to remove it. The teapots with a basket work fine, and possibly give the leaves more room to infuse; I like my tea strong, so these days I just make it in my trad brown teapot and use a strainer when pouring. For fancier use we've got a swanky Marimekko pot which looks lovely but isn't as good a pourer.

Looks like Argos are selling Bodum glass teapots cheap (£15) at the moment: http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6879417

Get the bodum

I find these far too small to be much good - the leaves are smooshed together, and water cannot circulate, particularly if your tea is whole leaves (not the shredded stuff you most often get)

They can also be a pain to fill, and have an annoying habit of being emptied into your teacup.

These in-cup baskets are brilliant:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06VXXCL6J

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000I68NCS

I knew there would be some varying opinions on this, haha.

I think a pot with strainer is preferable, I'd seen the Bodum one but wasn't sure if it was any good.

I've found the best success with teapots where the basket takes up as much space as the pot itself - then taken the basket out when it's brewed.

I have Mr Tea for work

Like this one:

https://www.hario.co.uk/chacha-kyusu-maru-teapot-700ml.html

Like that.

I imported one similar from the US at huge expense.

Then smashed it

*sadface*

Hario make nice things.. Might have to be one of them.

If you have a "The Range" you can pick one of these up for £5 or £9 delivered. I have used it with tea and it does work.
https://www.therange.co.uk/tableware-and-dinnerware/teapots-and-cafetieres/cafetieres/the-original-coffee-co-cafetiere#534011

There's one near my parents place so good shout I'm off there next week, I'll see if they have any bargains.

I hadn't thought about using a French press but I think looking like a teapot would be preferable.