"How Do You Take Your Tea?"

I get our tea from T2.

I liked Yorkshire Gold from World Market but it comes in bags.

Out of Portland, the Tao of Tea. Readily available, even on Amazon, or direct order.

McNulty’s on Christopher Street in the West Village (NYC). I’m not entirely sure, but I have a hunch it’s the oldest surviving business in the neighborhood. Great selection, lovely people.

[quote]"How Do You Take Your Tea?"

Same way I take my men...weak.

Upton. Until I started drinking multiple pots of delicious tea per day and realized that it dehydrates me like no other substance on earth. Everything stopped.

Birchall.

Mark T. Wendell.

Amazon.

Steven Smith Teamaker puts out very good tea although I think they're a little overpriced.

Tealyra

It's probably not "high-quality" enough for you, but I get mine from Republic of Tea. I buy the various black teas, green teas, and herbals. They make really good hibiscus teas.

I buy loose tea from The Tea Spot. I drink Gunpowder Green tea or Dragonwell.

Barry’s. Teabags but good, strong black tea.

My parents are from Ireland and every trip back they would load a suitcase with tea. When we ran out, it was Red Rose which is basically garbage now but years ago it was good.

I go to the tea shop in town and buy loose tea. The supermarket has some good loose tea too, as does the Turkish green grocer.

R2, Yorkshire Gold also comes in loose leaf form. That sounds like I’m talking about 3-ring binders and I can’t think of the correct phrasing but I just woke up from a fitful nap and my brain isn’t working. Which is why I’m making myself a cup of Yorkshire Gold right now.

I order all my teas from Fortnum & Mason in London. In addition to the usual Darjeeling and Assam they also do their own proprietary blends. I can heartily recommend their Afternoon Blend. It's milder than an Assam, but full of flavor and never bitter.

The last time I ordered Fortnum & Mason’s Royal Blend I was disappointed. It tasted like nothing. Might have been old, as I got it from Williams-Sonoma. I have enjoyed their Afternoon Blend.

Dont forget the scare last year - many many teabags release microplastics into the tea. A lot.

Iced and sweet with lemon. Hot tea should be reserved for bug killing IMO.

Take tea, and SEE.

Mountain Rose Herbs. Loose leaf. Many delicious blends!

What brand does DL Fave and Arbiter of Good Taste Nicholas Fairford serve his guests at his lavishly scrumptious afternoon teas?

Lady Nicolas at home in the beige bunker? PG Tips all the way.

I used to order a lot from Harney and Sons, but I really don’t drink that much tea anymore.

Anytime you order Fortnum and Mason tea, you should order it directly from them. Other suppliers tend to have old stock, and/or raise prices sky high (I'm looking at you, Amazon).

F&M does one-price shipping for a very large box, rather than by weight, so I always order a good supply of tea and many bottles of their outstanding jams and preserves. Their apricot jam is the best I've ever had, and puts to shame every brand I've ever tried here in the US. Ditto for their Highgrove Estate strawberry jam. It's as close to homemade as you can get. I lay in a six-month supply. In the winter box I'll order some of their chocolates, too! Summer box I add Scottish shortbread. Sadly, they can't ship anything with alcohol, so I have to go to London for the brandied peaches, the strawberry-champagne jam, and the plum jam with port wine.

Francophiles should check out Palais des Thes and its website. Very swellegant shop in Le Marais was my first encounter, and they will ship to the US (currently running a 20% discount for 4th of July).

R27 Their Paris tea is so tasty, but I find their other teas very delicately flavored. I suppose PG Tips has ruined my palate.

Upton Tea.

Period.

Superb sources from around the world. including a full range of Indian and Chinese by plantation and region, with plenty from Assam, Taiwanese, African, Sri Lankan growers.

Superb.

R28, if you don’t find PG Tips itself to be a very mild tea, your palate is indeed ruined.

I have some different loose teas that we get from Central Market, but tbh, I like Bigelow Earl Grey bags, too. Less fuss for a cuppa.

Can you believe they discontinued Lipton instant decaffeinated iced tea?

R32, I was looking for that last week. Heck, wasn't aware that they discontinued it.

Mariage Freres.

[quote]if you don’t find PG Tips itself to be a very mild tea, your palate is indeed ruined.

Do they make G, PG-13, R, and X PG Tips too?

Yes R33, it's gone forever. A friend brought this to my attention, because he spent months searching for it. I wrote the Lipton people, and they confirmed the product was discontinued at the end of 2023. There is no similar product available.

Fortnum and Mason (mail order from the UK)

Also, if I'm in Germany or some other place where they have a store , this one:

King Cole Orange Pekoe. Delightful blend.

Southern Sweet Tea is an abomination. Might as well drink Kool Aid.

Seriously, I don't know how people talk about that shit so reverently, and with a straight face, no less.

That Twinings unless it's for iced tea, which is what Lipton is great for.

Harney and Sons has a great selection

Another vote for Barry’s but I can only find it at supermarkets serving Boston’s dwindling Irish community.

Oliver Pluff has some good teas inspired by the colonial era