Personally I like Earl Grey,and Constant Comment but I would like to try a green tea with an english blend.I usually have coffee at hand,go thru about 4 to 5 pots a day (on a slow day).If I'm smoking a new blend or a real mellow blend I drink water.If I load EGR or OJK, I fill my low ball with scotch.Once or twice a year I might buy beer but don't count on it.
Lapsong Souchong is a great smokey tea to pair with English blends. Twinings has a great LS loose leaf tea that is one of the best I've found and easily the most affordable.
Ok, I'll admit being in the south sweet tea is my thing. I've never tried loose leaf tea but have always wanted to. Any suggestions where to start or what I need?
@drac2485,you can pick up a Tea-spoon at Walmart pretty cheap,or for me a tea-ball is better.The ball is a small wire mesh job that you fill with loose leaf and the use like a tea bag.I like being able to let it steep longer.
@mhajec,Thank you,but Momma has got me some coming from a friend in Ca.She insists that we have to get the proper tea set now.There goes my next baccy order.Lol
Just remember not to over fill the tea ball or tea spoon. It may look like you don't have enough, however a small amount goes a long way. Plus you can always mess with the amount you brew, 1.5 ounce tins last a while. Also, teas have brew times, sometimes if you brew tea too long it changes the flavor profile towards the bitter end.
I use a gaiwan. It is a lidded steeping cup. You just put the tea leaves in the cup, pour your hot water in, then put the lid on. When it is finished steeping, you just hold the lip of the gaiwan (that's why it is flared) and hold the lid slightly ajar to pour the tea into your cup. No filters or anything else required. Some people even drink from the gaiwan itself, straining the leaves by holding the lid firmly in place, but I've never had luck with that method.
WARNING: Getting into fine teas is another leaf-related money hole. You've been warned.
@LostMason be sure to get a clear pot one of these days and get a tea bloom. They are cool to watch rehydrate and if you pick a good one the tea is not so bad either. Is she going to send you to finishing school too so you can learn the proper pour technique and high tea etiquette as well?
@mhajec,Lol,I'm pretty sure she's trying to get me fitted for bloomers.In truth though she's more interested in the Japanese tea ceremony.But I just like a good stout tea to relax with and a gentle tea for smoking.I know that both are supposed to be the same thing but alas sometimes the relaxing can be more work than the smoking.
I know a Buddhist master who was also a Japanese tea ceremony master. He doesn't ever do the ceremonies any longer, even though there is a tea house on the temple grounds. He has gone over entirely to practicing gongfucha or Chinese tea ceremony. When asked why, he said, "Because Japanese tea ceremony is all about the ceremony, and Chinese tea ceremony is all about the tea."
So far as tea goes, I prefer English or Irish Breakfast blend brewed strong and served with a bit of milk, sweetener optional. My second choice is Constant Comment doctored with a little brown sugar.
@LostMason ceremonies be damned, I'm with @tomatobodhi's Buddhist friend, it's about the tea, not the flash. Not to say that the ceremonies aren't beautiful or steep in tradition, I just personally forgo the formality and go straight for the drinking of it. LOL
I can agree that it should be about the tea,but,(Saw that coming didn't ya) Some times it's about the culture and people behind the tea.I take the short road enough when I fire up a cigarette and down a pot of coffee from my Bunn.When I meet people I ask them where they're from and about those places.Tea is a worldwide tradition from many cultures,I would like to learn and touch on as many of them as possible.I like the English tradition of lemon and honey,and can't fathom using cream.But I am willing to try anything as long as it legal.
There is a large Indian population in my area (thanks to WalMart HQ), so I buy tea masala (spice) in the grocery store and it is quite delicious.
Many people here boil their tea leaves directly in milk and then add spices, but I haven't figure out quite how to do that right. I just spice the tea and pour in some cream.
I have never given any thought to pairing Indian spiced tea with tobacco. I probably never will, either... The spices are quite strong.
The spices? I don't think the spices themselves make it 'chai.' Well, boiling the leaves in milk is how they make traditional chai in India. It is like comfort food. But the spices themselves... They are actually hot n spicy. That kind of spicy.
So, if you lightly spice the tea and milk while it boils, you get chai. The milk softens the flavors.
But people also simply put the spices into normal hot black tea, in which case it is like tea-basco. (See what I did there? )
Obviously, a little spice makes it a little spicy, but it doesn't take much to qualify. The stuff has kick.
Well, looks like I learned something new, and oddly it has nothing to do with pipe or tobacco. I'm going to have to give that a try, I love trying new things (to a certain extent).
I learned a long time ago that a properly made ice tea is sweet enough on its own without added sugar. During the summer months I make sun tea by the gallon and refrigerate it as soon as it cools to an indoor temperature. I drink unsweet iced tea with my pipe most afternoons and its always enjoyable.
I'm with JamesH71: Twinning's either English / Irish Breakfast - a quality dark strong tea, 1 packet sweet'ner, no lemon, no cream & whatever tobacco I have on hand. Pipes & tea may be better together than pipes & coffee.
Comments
an english blend.I usually have coffee at hand,go thru about 4 to 5 pots a day (on a slow
day).If I'm smoking a new blend or a real mellow blend I drink water.If I load EGR or OJK,
I fill my low ball with scotch.Once or twice a year I might buy beer but don't count on it.
tea-ball is better.The ball is a small wire mesh job that you fill with
loose leaf and the use like a tea bag.I like being able to let it steep
longer.
@mhajec,Thank you,but Momma has got me some coming from a
friend in Ca.She insists that we have to get the proper tea set
now.There goes my next baccy order.Lol
WARNING: Getting into fine teas is another leaf-related money hole. You've been warned.
she's more interested in the Japanese tea ceremony.But I just like a good stout tea to
relax with and a gentle tea for smoking.I know that both are supposed to be the same
thing but alas sometimes the relaxing can be more work than the smoking.
Some times it's about the culture and people behind the tea.I take the short
road enough when I fire up a cigarette and down a pot of coffee from my
Bunn.When I meet people I ask them where they're from and about those
places.Tea is a worldwide tradition from many cultures,I would like to learn
and touch on as many of them as possible.I like the English tradition of
lemon and honey,and can't fathom using cream.But I am willing to try
anything as long as it legal.
Many people here boil their tea leaves directly in milk and then add spices, but I haven't figure out quite how to do that right. I just spice the tea and pour in some cream.
I have never given any thought to pairing Indian spiced tea with tobacco. I probably never will, either... The spices are quite strong.
So, if you lightly spice the tea and milk while it boils, you get chai. The milk softens the flavors.
But people also simply put the spices into normal hot black tea, in which case it is like tea-basco. (See what I did there?
Obviously, a little spice makes it a little spicy, but it doesn't take much to qualify. The stuff has kick.