Favorite Chinese Teas

[adrianlondon 64]

make my own bubble tea

I've thought about doing that, especially as I can't actually buy (decent OR under £3) bubble tea here in London. But finding the big tapioca balls is hard. Assuming I find a source, is it difficult to make the bubble tea?

[polkadotspeedo 10]

How do you make barley tea? I love it, but after two failed attempts, I am discouraged.

What I did was buy some dried barley, put half the bag into a pan, boil and then put rock-sugar in it. It always turn out as porridge!

[choisum 10]

Green tea usually, 水仙 or 龍井. We also have a very nice tea in our cupboard called King Peony and we used to have a very nice lychee tea too.

[cdn_in_bj 13]

owshawng's comment about making iced black tea reminded me that I also like the southern "cool tea" (凉茶) - you know, the stuff in the red cans "王老吉". It's very refreshing in the summer! I had planned to try making it myself this past summer, but I got lazy. Oh well, maybe next summer!

[owshawng 11]

Adrian,

It's not too hard to make. Use a martini shaker or thermos after you've added the syrup to the tea and shake a bit. Mixes the favor in much better then a fork or stirrer does. Just need to experiment a few times to get the right amount of syrup to tea ratio (the ratio varies depending on flavor.. honey tea needs less syrup then strawberry). So far passion fruit is my favorite. It tastes the most like something you can get from a tea shop. I don't use the tapioca balls, but I think you can get them frozen at an asian grocery store.

In the US the syrups are in the tea or juice sections of asian grocery stores. They cost about $4 US per bottle and make about 2 gallons/8 liters of tea. Roughly 5 to 10 percent of what bubble tea costs in a NYC tea shop.

[owshawng 11]

polkadotspeedo

Check your local Asian grocery for barley tea bags. Should be in the tea section or in the Korean/Japanese section. I've seen bags both in 1 cup size and big enough to make 2 liters. usually sold in packs of 10 to 20 bags. I just boil water, put the bag in the boiling water for a minute or 2, remove the bag and let the tea cool down, then put it in a pitcher in the fridge. You need to keep an eye on it when you are boiling the barley bag because the brew can become dark very quickly and have a much heavier taste then what's served in restaurants. The instructions on the bags are in Korean or Japanese so I'm not sure if this is the correct method, but it seems to work.

[polkadotspeedo 10]

I really like "Gu3 Shan1 Bai2 Yun1" (White mist of percussion/drum mountain) too.

Even the name is so romantic Reminiscence of the principal of YinYang (mist and rock)....

[Yiwan 10]

Earl Gray is horrible. Perhaps mine was too cheap to be good, having such an uncomfortably coarse taste. I like green tea, my favourites being 龙井, 铁观音 and the 日本茶 whose name I've forgotten.

[adrianlondon 64]

I love Earl Grey but really it's just black tea with an aroma (bergamot), so it all depends on the quality of the tea. It's also possible to get green tea Earl Grey, so if you like the aroma but not the tea, try that.

There's something called Lady Grey which is getting popular here in England. It's like Earl Grey but a touch lemony.

Owshawng, you don't use tapioca balls? Sorry, but you can't call it bubble tea without the tapioca!

[owshawng 11]

Adrian,

My wife hates tapioca and the little balls are a choking hazard for our 3 year old so no tapioca balls allowed in the house. Besides, you can fit more tea in the cup without them:mrgreen:

I've also convinced myself that I'm saving calories not using the "pearls' so I can then eat more chocolate. it's very easy to gain 20 pounds/10 kilos in New Jersey and still look thin compared to the herd, so I gots to be careful.

[adrianlondon 64]

Yeah, bubble tea isn't healthy, that's for sure. I still lost (a little bit of) weight when living in Beijing though, as dinner isn't the three-course-with-wine affair that I'm used to here.

[cdn_in_bj 13]

it's very easy to gain 20 pounds/10 kilos in New Jersey and still look thin compared to the herd

Classic!!

[plansdiet 10]

The very best tea of choice is organic - regardless of whether it's black tea, green tea, herbal tea, etc. You can be sure organic tea is of the best quality and grown in chemical-free soil. For the very best cup of tea, choose organic - you will notice the difference.

[adrianlondon 64]

Organic just means the tea isn't grown with the help of chemical fertilisers; it could still be very bad tea ;)

[cdn_in_bj 13]

What about the issue of pesticides? Or is this not as big of an issue as some people make it out to be? I've been thinking about this lately as I drink tea every day.

[dermur 10]

Is it just me or are those hand-tied flowering teas more style than substance?

As beautiful as they are to watch unfolding like some floral pyrotechnics I find that more often than not the taste just doesn't compare to a really good brew of "proper" green, white, oolong or whatever.

[Quest 19]

I like 荔枝红+香片mix.

[here2learn 10]

What about the issue of pesticides? Or is this not as big of an issue as some people make it out to be? I've been thinking about this lately as I drink tea every day.

I noticed that my chrysanthemum tea, after the 3rd or so addition of water and a long time had gone by, was turning BLUE!!! Freaky! I thought maybe they're putting some green dye on the green parts of the plant? Or something else in it that's letting blue seep out after a long time? I have no idea... but I am currently doing a little test... I bought a new brand and I'm about to do a little controlled experiment with them both, in similar cups, with the same water, same time, etc. That's what brought me to this tea thread actually... I'll let you know of the results when they come in.

Oh, right... my favorites:

- Earl Grey

- good ol' Lipton black with milk & sugar like grandma used to make it (that's my 'comfort tea')

- Long Jin

- crysanthemum

- any other flowers & herbs like mint, etc...

I don't like bitter teas - don't like Pu'er at ALL, or even oolong.

I also like to make iced barley tea, with honey. It has a hint of coffee-flavor, doesn't it? Actually I don't like coffee at all, but the barley iced tea is nice.

[gougou 147]

I don't like bitter teas - don't like Pu'er at ALL,

Did you try drinking it shortly after adding the water? I'm not a friend of anything bitter, but I love Pu'er when it hasn't gotten too strong yet!

[here2learn 10]

Well I didn't wait VERY long. As much as I'd like to say "I love pu'er", I think I just don't like bitterness in general. But if I ever have the chance to try it again (I don't think I'll buy it just to try it again)... I'll remember what you said and maybe even try it very weak.

(my tea experiment is going on right now! Both teas are on their second fill of water, and so far they are both the same normal color. How exciting! Ok, maybe not.)