Tea Troubles

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nothininmypocket
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Sat Apr 20, 2019 5:08 pm

Here in the states, specifically in mississippi, It is difficult to get a good cup of tea. All the tea is in teabags. What do you think of Bigelow?
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Baisao
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 1:52 am

nothininmypocket wrote:
Sat Apr 20, 2019 5:08 pm
Here in the states, specifically in mississippi, It is difficult to get a good cup of tea. All the tea is in teabags. What do you think of Bigelow?
Since you have an internet connection you have the world at your fingertips. You can buy domestically online or buy from shops anywhere in the world if you want to.

I’m not a fan of Bigelow or most purveyors of bagged tea. Open one up and examine the tea contents. It will mostly likely look either like worm dirt or some dusty herb from a long forgotten spice rack.

Fresh loose leaf tea by comparison tends to look “alive”, in part because it is usually fresher than bagged teas. This is especially obvious with green teas. The comparison would be like 10 year old dried basil vs fresh basil. Which do you think will taste more vibrant?
.m.
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 2:33 am

I don't want to sound snobbish, but if you want a good cup of tea, don't buy in groceries and don't buy teabags. What drives me crazy with teabags is not even the quality of the tea - i have no expectations there: if it doesn't leave me feeling a bit nasty/poisoned, i take that as a bonus - but the fact that these days most tea bags are made of a mix of paper and plastic: they still look like paper, but throw them in a compost and a year later your left with a fine plastic net, this just grosses me out...
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Baisao
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 3:14 pm

.m. wrote:
Sun Apr 28, 2019 2:33 am
I don't want to sound snobbish, but if you want a good cup of tea, don't buy in groceries and don't buy teabags. What drives me crazy with teabags is not even the quality of the tea - i have no expectations there: if it doesn't leave me feeling a bit nasty/poisoned, i take that as a bonus - but the fact that these days most tea bags are made of a mix of paper and plastic: they still look like paper, but throw them in a compost and a year later your left with a fine plastic net, this just grosses me out...
Yes, it certainly isn’t about snobbery. It’s common knowledge that the U.S. receives and consumes some of the worst coffee the world has to offer. It’s the same, but much worse, for tea. Supermarket teas (including Whole Foods and other premium grocers) are universally* poor quality and often have toxic packaging.

* Perhaps there are exceptions but I have never seen or heard of one at least on par with a mid-tier loose leaf.
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Victoria
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Sun Apr 28, 2019 4:49 pm

@nothininmypocket Welcome to TeaForum, nice to have a member in Mississippi. I lived in Starkville for a year teaching at the University there. Had a great time there, made life long friends. If you are just starting out with loose leaf teas, I recommend you get a broad spectrum of samples online to narrow down the field. Any teas you like so far? Ah, now is a good time for you to introduce yourself so we can know more about your tea path so far.

Here in Los Angeles, the Japanese markets have some pretty good Japanese teas, medium to a higher end, but not at the level of O-cha or Thes du Japon. The LA Tea Festival, that happens once yearly, also has some higher quality vendors like Tillerman, Glenburn, and Kagoshima Co..... Nice to have this local.
chofmann
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Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:24 am

Baisao wrote:
Sun Apr 28, 2019 3:14 pm
.m. wrote:
Sun Apr 28, 2019 2:33 am
I don't want to sound snobbish, but if you want a good cup of tea, don't buy in groceries and don't buy teabags. What drives me crazy with teabags is not even the quality of the tea - i have no expectations there: if it doesn't leave me feeling a bit nasty/poisoned, i take that as a bonus - but the fact that these days most tea bags are made of a mix of paper and plastic: they still look like paper, but throw them in a compost and a year later your left with a fine plastic net, this just grosses me out...
Yes, it certainly isn’t about snobbery. It’s common knowledge that the U.S. receives and consumes some of the worst coffee the world has to offer. It’s the same, but much worse, for tea. Supermarket teas (including Whole Foods and other premium grocers) are universally* poor quality and often have toxic packaging.

* Perhaps there are exceptions but I have never seen or heard of one at least on par with a mid-tier loose leaf.
Exceptions exist. We sell to a large grocer that has several locations throughout RI, and I imagine we can't be the only 'quality' company doing so... but your general rule is definitely correct.
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Victoria
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Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:28 pm

chofmann wrote:
Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:24 am
Exceptions exist. We sell to a large grocer that has several locations throughout RI, and I imagine we can't be the only 'quality' company doing so... but your general rule is definitely correct.
Yes, I was going to mention that Whole Foods sometimes has boutique kiosk pop-ups that sell specialty loose leaf teas. So far though I’ve only come across medium to slightly higher grade teas in these.
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