Any Tea Lovers?

I have to admit before hand that I am a coffee lover, but I do drink tea once a day.
The descriptions I've read on making tea, wow!!
I think I make sambhaar :D

Informative and educational thread though.

Cheers,
Raghu
 
@moktan

I ordered the Gopaldhara last week from their website but was delivered a "Rohini Tea Estate" tin.
I have contacted Gopaldhara for a clarification as I am not sure if I was delivered the correct item.

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Update: A gentleman by the name of Rishi got in touch with me. Apparently the pandemic has been causing a fair amount of disruption in their operations. He assured me that I have indeed been delivered the Gopaldhara but mistakenly packaged in the Rohini tin. At first I was not happy but he later called to reassure me that all was well.

Have not yet tasted this tea but will open the tin now that the clarification has been given.


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I think I make sambhaar :D

Informative and educational thread though.

Cheers,
Raghu
Open a new thread. Why not? A good sambhaar is better than chicken soup for the soul for us Indians! First post should be to educate us to NOT pronounce it as "sambur". It's sambhaar as you rightly wrote!!! :p
 
Is there a reason why different sites have significant price differences?

I looked at the Castleton Muscatel Summer Tea and its 1679 in Teabox.com and the same in this site (https://navvayd.com/products/castleton-summer-muscatel-black-tea?variant=36067373351077) is at Rs. 679.

What am I missing? BTW, is this a good tea for my evening brew with honey/lime or criminal :)
Tea Box would mention when the tea has been plucked and packed. Most probably it will be a 2021 production. If Navvayd is promising a 2021 then it should be fine. Fresh tea would taste better.
 
I went ahead with two teas from Teabox, the ayurvedic evening tea and the assam black for morning.

The evening tea smells nice but till now havent really enjoyed it, will work on different ways to brew it and see if it becomes better.
 
This might be interesting for some - the Vahdam Tea Infuser. Highly recommended.
Absolutely wonderful with very fine mesh to infuse and strain the tea leaves really well.

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This might be interesting for some - the Vahdam Tea Infuser. Highly recommended.
Absolutely wonderful with very fine mesh to infuse and strain the tea leaves really well.
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Nikhil, I use a tea infuser like this to brew my tea every day.
Its very convenient for brewing 1 cup.
Only if I need to make 2 or more cups of tea, I use a teapot.

Is there a reason why different sites have significant price differences?

I looked at the Castleton Muscatel Summer Tea and its 1679 in Teabox.com and the same in this site (https://navvayd.com/products/castleton-summer-muscatel-black-tea?variant=36067373351077) is at Rs. 679.

What am I missing? BTW, is this a good tea for my evening brew with honey/lime or criminal :)

Have ordered this. Will try and post after I get it.

I buy Castleton Muscatel from Tea Box quite often. So should be able to compare.

All I can say is Tea Box packaging etc is super.
 
I hope this doesn't take this thread on a tangent but thought this was really good to know.




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I am a tea lover. Ginger milk tea is my every day 4 pm beverage. Chakra Gold for now but sometimes Ooty tea and Srilankan tea also.
 
It all depends on your upbringing. For those who seldom sip tea, the finest Darjeeling/Nilgiri tea might invigorate, but for us, brought up with "Kadak" chai, the tea sold by teabox is fluke, ghaas phoos, no colour no taste. Just like in the West, even the overhyped Rothmans or Camel or Marlboro is just nothing in front of Charminar.

I remember "Aap ki Pasand" a tea taster's paradise in front of Golcha cinema in Daryaganj, old Delhi, tried their best to serve "your type of flavour" tea for over a decade. Later the owner admitted, that majority customers liked the Assam variety with a small sprinkling of Darjeeling tea, as their choice. Today almost all packaged CTC variety has that mixture.

I visited teabox, but with "each teabag" costing updards of 9-10, is not what will work for me. The flavours look attractive, but surely not my cup of tea. I have tried that "Dip-dip-dip" tea as a last resort on trains, but even after having a few cups, longed for that "boiled tea" cuppa.
What are your go-to kadak chai brands?
These cultivars come highly recommended from a friend who knows his tea.
1. AV2 (Ambari Vegetative 2). “What is fascinating with AV2 is that it's originally not a camellia sinensis but a cultivar of camellia assamica which usually prefers low altitudes (think tarai). Now AV2 has been thriving in Darjeeling even at higher altitudes giving an exceptional aromatic profile. Also the young buds are very hairy, creating that "silver tips" effect which is a benchmark of quality.”
2. Phoobsering 312
3. Bannockburn 668
The above cultivars are grown in various gardens. Thurbo is getting a lot of attention lately. The highly recommend AV2 ( the go to cultivar for tippy clonal) was , I believe developed in Ambari which is in the plains , so the tea sourced from there will not have the organoleptic profile of those from the higher altitude.
Muscatel Clonal Tippy Summer 21
Gopaldhara Enigma Honey Muscatel - Second Flush 2021
Thanks. Coming from our man in the hills, they have to be worth trying. Any suggestions on where to buy these?
Morning Tea - milk +50% water plus sugar plus tea, heat it in low sim for a really long time till the colour is deep brown.
Some of us like tea boiled with milk. Some of us add hot milk later. I prefer to add room temp milk later - tastes less milky, yet creamy/smooth that way.
 
My Favourite ☕️s:

1. Lipton Yellow Label:

Tried many brands over the years, but stuck to this as the preferred regular tea for almost two decades now.

My method: Boil water, at the end put teaspoonful tea, keep boiling for a minute more till you start getting the aroma. Stop the heat, allow to settle for a minute or so. Pour in cup, add room temperature milk - just a dash of it and have/serve. I don’t prefer boiling with milk - makes the taste too milky for me. I don’t take sugar in my tea. But add sugar while boiling water for guests who have tea with sugar. Sugar added later spoils the intended taste.

When: Morning breakfast and evening 4 pm.


2. White Tea (Silver Needles)
When the green tea fad came up in the early 2000s, I tried many brands, but never acquired the taste for it. I found green tea too bitter even when lightly infused. So, despite the claimed health benefits, I couldn’t get into the habit.

Until I came across white tea some 6-7 years ago. And how perfectly it suited both my notion of minimally acidic tea with health benefits (will avoid going into that, but I find it helps me with colds and allergies) as well as my palate. White tea is made from tea leaves plucked before the buds open up, the tips are silver which turn white when dried. The taste is not at all bitter, but highly likeable mild aroma and flavour that invigorate. White tea is costlier, almost double the price of green tea. But being dried leaves you get a lot of volume and it lasts long enough to be affordable.

My method: I stick to the advised method. Heat water to about 80-90 deg, add some leaves in the closed strainer provided and leave the strainer inside the hot water for around a minute (more or less depending on how strong you like). Start sipping the tea immediately while also inhaling the vapours, especially if you have cold. The multi-sensory experience is wonderful!

When: Absolutely any time. It’s my first hot drink in the morning (after glasses full of water immediately after waking up). But I also have it around 11 am many a times. And it’s great even after dinner. Has never given an acidity effect. Almost every single guest we’ve offered it to likes it including many who never took to green tea.


3. Special mention: Lopchu Tea
I recently tried the Teabox version of this (their Lopchu Golden Orange Pekoe Black) and quite liked the Lopchu as a variant of tea. I loved its smoky/woody/earthy aroma and the taste that’s a blend of sweetness (berries) and wood. I’d say anyone who likes red wine should try this.

I want to know of some more authentic/older brands making Lopchu and where to procure it from.
 
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