What tea did you have this morning...or afternoon?

[Timbo]

I had a lovely pot of loose leaf Dilmah black tea this arvo.

Their loose leaf English breakfast and exceptional exquisite Early Grey arrived today, so I'll be having a pot of each tomorrow and will post my results here.

 

[Blackhorse]

Loose Leaf Yorkshire Gold.

 

[Timbo]

Both the teas were excellent, the English breakfast was a full flavoured affair, quite malty and was a good start to a trying day at work.

https://www.dilmah.com.au/tea-brands/dilmah-gourmet-tea/english-breakfast--31.html
The Earl Grey was a 5 out of 5 compared to the 4 out of 5 for the bagged version, a slightly stronger bergamot flavour and more robust tea flavour as well.

https://shop.dilmahtea.com.au/tea-mood/exceptional-elegant-earl-grey-100g-leaf-tea-refill-pack

 

[Blackhorse]

Timbo wrote: “The Earl Grey was a 5 out of 5 compared to the 4 out of 5 for the bagged version, a slightly stronger bergamot flavour and more robust tea flavour as well.”

Maybe you used 20% more tea doing it with loose as opposed to bagged.

 

[Blackhorse]

Taylors Scottish Breakfast Blend...via a bag.

* started looking at the issue of micro and nano plastics in tea bags. No definitive scientific conclusion on actual harmful effects as yet but just the fact that SOME bags used by major blenders and/or the glue used to seal those bags have billions of nano and/or micro particles of plastic known to be harmful is a bit scary. So this morning I used 2 very slightly rounded tsp of loose Yorkshire Gold in my little 2 cup Cobalt Betty pot and poured the resulting brew trhough a fine mesh strainer. Using my very recent addition to the cupboard...a cool Mad Hatter Mug I am enjoying everything immensely.

 

[D.L.Ruth]

Taylors Scottish Breakfast Blend...via a bag.

* started looking at the issue of micro and nano plastics in tea bags. No definitive scientific conclusion on actual harmful effects as yet but just the fact that SOME bags used by major blenders and/or the glue used to seal those bags have billions of nano and/or micro particles of plastic known to be harmful is a bit scary. So this morning I used 2 very slightly rounded tsp of loose Yorkshire Gold in my little 2 cup Cobalt Betty pot and poured the resulting brew trhough a fine mesh strainer. Using my very recent addition to the cupboard...a cool Mad Hatter Mug I am enjoying everything immensely.

View attachment 938

That is an awesome mug

 

[Blackhorse]

The other side is cool too...and on the inside it says...”There’s always time for tea.”

 

[D.L.Ruth]

Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass are such great stories

 

[Blackhorse]

And...verification that excellent drugs were available on a widespread basis back then.

 

[Timbo]

Timbo wrote: “The Earl Grey was a 5 out of 5 compared to the 4 out of 5 for the bagged version, a slightly stronger bergamot flavour and more robust tea flavour as well.”

Maybe you used 20% more tea doing it with loose as opposed to bagged.

I may very well have sir, but I only put two teaspoons in the pot as it's a two cup pot and I normally leave the bag in the cup when I use a bag so I don't quite know though I do suspect it is a different blend to the loose leaf. I might have to empty one of the bags into the pot and see how that brews up. Science for the win.

Had another pot each today of the English Breakie and the Earl Grey and they were just as good as yesterday's.

 

[Blackhorse]

Timbo - interesting for sure. I’d maybe cut open a tea bag and compare what it looks like to the loose leaf. I’m sure we’d all love to see a side by side photo.

 

[Blackhorse]

Yorkshire Red Loose Leaf...Taylors of Harrowgate. A very friendly blend.

 

[Blackhorse]

I tried this a while ago and it didn’t come across well at all...but I had some tonight and it was great.

 

[Timbo]

Timbo - interesting for sure. I’d maybe cut open a tea bag and compare what it looks like to the loose leaf. I’m sure we’d all love to see a side by side photo.

Sorry BH, work has had me run ragged the last week or so so no piccies yet, I will get around to it at some stage for you though.

 

[Blackhorse]

I’ve got a few in both bags and loose so I’ll try and show a side by side of those. Not getting to it right away for me is just plain laziness.

This morning I’m enjoying Glengettie Gold. It’s specifically a Welsh brew. Ordered it from one site and it never came but another vendor was successful. The Glengettie and the Welsh Brew line are supposedly real by gosh Wales teas.



My top three are still Yorkshire Gold, Taylors Scottish Blend and Thompson’s Irish Breakfast. There’s nothing WRONG with any of the others listed here by me or others. It’s all a matter of preference.

 

[Brewdude]

Have switched from my usual coffee in the morning to a cup of this, as coffee started upsetting my stomach -

I do like this English style with a splash of milk.

This afternoon had a lovely cuppa of this with a slice of lemon. Heavenly!

Cheers,

RR

 

[Blackhorse]

Two extremely excellent choices BD.

This afternoon, with my biscuit, I had Taylors Irish Breakfast.

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

Colonial Bohea. Still trying it out. Its like the latakia of teas

 

[Timbo]

Hmmm, just had a cup of Dilmah Early Grey from a foil wrappered bag which I've not had previously. I'd say that this is yet again a different blend to the Dilmah Earl Grey bulk baggies and also a different blend to their loose leaf EG as well. It was milder in both tea and bergamot flavours, much more subtle than what I'm used to drinking from Dilmah, if it didn't say Earl Grey on the foil I'd swear it was a Lady Grey tea. The other two mentioned examples were much closer together on the spectrum flavourwise.

Maybe tea is similar to tobacco both being farmed crops, the flavours differ from year to year and soil to soil. Both seem to need master blenders to keep things consistent.

 

[Brewdude]

Hmmm, just had a cup of Dilmah Early Grey from a foil wrappered bag which I've not had previously. I'd say that this is yet again a different blend to the Dilmah Earl Grey bulk baggies and also a different blend to their loose leaf EG as well. It was milder in both tea and bergamot flavours, much more subtle than what I'm used to drinking from Dilmah, if it didn't say Earl Grey on the foil I'd swear it was a Lady Grey tea. The other two mentioned examples were much closer together on the spectrum flavourwise.

Maybe tea is similar to tobacco both being farmed crops, the flavours differ from year to year and soil to soil. Both seem to need master blenders to keep things consistent.

Tim, I've heard some claim the use of tea bags rather than whole leaf reduced the overall degree of flavor. And while it's equally possible for the whole leaf brewer to add a bit more while measuring rather that the set amount in a bag, what are your views in general?


Cheers,

RR