Lunacy Tea? Coffee? Yes, Please!

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

I take my tea and my coffee pretty fucking seriously.

My morning doesn't go well, or at least as planned, if I don't have my morning tea - or coffee, to a lesser extent. Or without my cannabis.

And my nights are tossing and turning without my herbal tea. Or without my cannabis.

For early in the day tea, I tend to "go green." Sencha (with the Kyusu and everything) plus a little Lemon Citron vodka.

Dragonwell, Jasmine Pearl, Gunpowder Green, any of those are great too.

But some days you have to do an Earl Grey. Just classic stuff. And don't forget the biscuits!

If I'm going the coffee route for the morning, I tend to like a basic "Breakfast Blend." Organic and Fair Trade and blah blah blah. AND..... I add Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream plus Kahlua. Or Bailey's plus Kraken spiced rum. But bourbon cream is so so so much better than Irish cream.

I don't use a "coffeemaker" since they tend to make shit coffee unless you spend an explosive shit ton of money. They basically just leak lukewarm water for a matter of seconds through the grounds. Utter shit. So I do it manually.

I take two mason jars, and put two tablespoons of coffee into each of them. Add boiling water and whisk it up. I then cover them with the tops of medium-sized Cvaults (don't ask). Wait 3 minutes. Then whisk it up again and cover. Wait 3 more minutes. Whisk one more time then filter into your mugs. Two cups of coffee. Much more labor intensive, but worth it.

Afternoon is a crapshoot.

Nightime, and it's GOT to be chamomile or honeybush or rooibos. At sleepytime, it's got to be an herbal blend featuring catnip and hops and passionflower and lemongrass in there somewhere.




I encourage folks to take note of proper temps and proper brew times for teas. You don't just boil water and pour it over a bag of tea (You shouldn't be using tea bags anyway! Yes, I AM totally judging you. ) and then leave the bag in your water the whole time. No, no, and no - you can only do that with herbal teas, though I still prefer not. Temp and time is everything!



And yeah, I work at a laundromat, so.... kind of an expert here on, you know, Everything.

I use THIS to heat my water. Super fast, and the water touches only stainless steel.

Your thoughts on tea and coffee?

 

[GreenHopper]

I'm all about the oolong.

Daily staple is the: Nepal Red Thunder

Really nice, creates a rich dark brew, love it.

When I want something more chilled I go for: Li Shan

Creates a lovely light velvety brew. Great stuff.

 

[VaporsVaporizer]

I drink both tea and coffee. I wasn't a coffeemaker fan till I got a Nespresso machine. For tea I like Yorkshire, Barry's and Thompson's Titanic blend. I use a Krups Kettle.

 

[Seren]

I'm also partial to a good old cuppa! Well, I'm British after all! .......

I've never really enjoyed fruit teas - I've tried to like them - but they're not for me. I prefer to stick with green, white and black varieties.

Having spent some time in Ooty, I tend to gravitate toward Nilgiri teas. I also really enjoy Himalayan Sikkim, and I'm partial to a little Earl Grey and Lady Grey too.

I used to drink lots (and I mean lots!) of coffee, but I found it made me a little racey, and wasn't too good for my concentration at work. I particularly enjoy Guatemalan, Nicaraguan and Ethiopian when I do indulge. ​

 

[Stevenski]

I need a triple shot flat white to start my day & two pod Nespresso at work by mid morning. My morning barista makes some of the best coffee I have ever had though & that includes the baristas in all the micro fair trade roasting market I worked with. Afternoon time I usually have a two bag mug of tea with no sugar. A good cuppa makes many things better.

Perfect way to start a Saturday

 

[Squiby]

Perfect way to start a Saturday

I LOVE your BIG BURLY BOWL!

 

[GreenHopper]

I LOVE your BIG BURLY BOWL!

I Agree, @Stevenski is that a glass lid for the bowl section too?

 

[deep_meditation]

Cream Earl Grey and also Oolong are two of my faves. Especially Milk Oolong.

During the winter I love a London Fog.

 

[Cuckfumbustion]

I don't drink actual tea for personal health concerns but I drink and vape any mint I can get my hands on, lemongrass, lemon balm, chamomile and had Tazo's Passion tea. Also made tea out of what was vaped earlier.

There is a local place that has a locally harvested tea's and herbs and one particular blend with apple mint in it that is amazingly good. And in a vape too. Which rekindled up my curiosity into local plants and their medicinal effects.

Simple glass french press for Coffee and tea. Like to get my coffee freshly roasted and delivered (at a decent price BTW). Even though there is a rec'd two week time for gasses to leave the beans.

I have a cast iron grain grinder that is set to the right flinty grind for a french press and pour those fresh beans in the large metal bowl that sets above the actual handle and grinder. Because of the off gassing of the beans from coming off of being freshly roasted and shipped, A bean will dance and make a 'ping' noise inside the metal bowl. :eyebrow2:

Grind just what I need for a pot, Steep it for 4m in a press, pour and serve. PING! goes another bean....

 

[Stevenski]

I LOVE your BIG BURLY BOWL!

I like it too. It is a little bulky but I mostly use it with company as the edges are perfect handles that fit the right & left hands.

I Agree, @Stevenski is that a glass lid for the bowl section too?

Unfortunately not. It is the base of a waterpipe. I do have some plans for a burl bowl with a lid for daily use. I need to hit up some markets for handcrafts.....

Am I a colonial heathen for liking simple tea like Twinings English breakfast or Lipton black?

 

[GreenHopper]

Am I a colonial heathen for liking simple tea like Twinings English breakfast or Lipton black?

Not at all man, over here in the UK the most popular type of team is 'Black Tea', there's a reason for that, it's good stuff

 

[Drexciya]

I like my oolongs and I like a good Jasmin as well. I try not to drink tea that comes from bags. The use the worst quality teas for bags, its mostly just dust. Slept on a small tea farm when we were in Thailand and bought lots of tea there. It really tasted so good. it's now almost finished so we might need to go back one day.

As a developer I drink huge amounts of coffee during office hours but I rarely drink it at home. A friend of mine entered the Barista WC once and got pretty far. During those times she made me so many espresso's and cappuccinos of extraordinary quality that I got kind of spoiled. It got so bad that when I had a really great diner at a restaurant I would more often than not just skip the coffee to not end the evening on a let down.

@David Brent : Combining your morning tea/coffee with alcohol. Never tried it and by now I am wondering why I haven't sounds like a great plan.

 

[Vitolo]

I make tea every morning for me, and coffee for Patty.
My Teas are all straight from the bags of herbs, many we grow ourselves:
Peppermint, spearmint, Calendula, chamomile,
From commercial Teabags I use:
Blueberry Acai, Green tea w citrus, Rooibos red, honey/lemon/ginseng, etc

Whole Calendula Flowers to make Calendula Oil, and Calendula petals for tea.

 

[Squiby]

I drink coffee occasionally. I either cold brew or use an AeroPress. It makes an excellent and very quick cuppa cuppa.

https://www.amazon.ca/Aerobie-83R01...8&qid=1490397860&sr=8-5&keywords=Coffee+press

The rest of the time I usually have a tea going. Orange Pekoe or herbal combos with ginger are my favourites.

In the winter, I often have Chai Tea brewing on the stove. I like to make a big pot, strain it off and store it in the fridge. It makes the house smell heavenly and the individual spices have all kinds of health benefits. Here's my recipe.

15 Cloves
3 Cinnamon sticks
20 Cardamom seeds
5 Anise seeds
20 Black Peppercorns
8 fresh Ginger slices
1 black tea bag

Grind up the spices a bit, throw into a pot. Add 2quarts of water. Bring to a simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Add tea bag. Steep for 10 minutes. Strain. Serve with cream or milk of choice and YUMMM!!!

 

[Sixstringsmash]

I used to get all my coffee locally sourced and drank everything out of my nice coffee maker and made sure everything was nice and fresh. The same went for my tea. I even have this fancy breville tea maker that steeps the loose tea for you and stuff. I got all those fresh exotic teas and they were awesome and delicious but I think I've gotten lazy in my years. Now those machines are in the closet and I just drink my lipton bags and my K cups because while they might taste like shit, they are super convenient for when I am going for my coffee in the morning. I am super lazy at 5 in the morning!

 

[EveryDayAmnesiac]

Tea time!

Needed two of these to get going today ...

 

[Vitolo]

Early morning teas ( not much dexterity required, or thought....

Afternoon teas (missing a few bags I forgot of saffron, calendula, and fennel

 

[Drexciya]

Tea time!

Needed two of these to get going today ...

What a wonderful set

 

[momofthegoons]

Tried some new 'rocket fuel' from a local deli called Zingerman's. It came in a gift basket... nice and full bodied without being bitter. I think the next time I have it I'm going to use my French press rather than a drip coffee maker so that I can get the full experience.

 

[Marlon Rando]

picked up some various Green/Black tea from the Balkans, most excellent aromas and flavors, and reasonably priced compared to US market.