Like anything, shopping for tea for the first time can end up being a frustrat- ing experience if you don’t know anything about it. If you’re like most of us (me included), your first tea purchase came from the shelves of your local supermarket. |
And that’s okay. I’m in no way a “tea snob.” Some of my favorite teas (Lipton Black Tea with Lemon, and Snapple ready-to-drink bottled iced tea) come from the supermar- ket shelves.But if you want to experience the fullness, flavor, and subtleties of tea, you’ll have to eventually take a step up and try loose leaf |
I know how confusing it can be in the beginning, with hundreds of names flying at you, and not understanding what in the world it all means. That’s one of the reasons I created The Tea Detective – to help you understand and embrace all that tea has to offer. |
Choosing the Right Brew For You
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Since there are so many different kinds of tea to choose from, the best way to decide is to rely on your own personal tastes, what you like, and dislike. Think of tea as wine. Each different kind has its own unique personality- some are light and sweet, some dry and heavy. Like wine, each tea has its own unique flavor, depending on where it was grown, the soil, climate, type of processing, etc..So how do you choose the right tea for you? Depend on your palate. Do you like light, sweet flavors, or do you go for bolder, more intense, in-your-face kind of flavors? Do you want something stimulating, or would you rather something relaxing? If you want a mild tea, very light and low in caffeine (although at about 20 – 50 mg per caffeine compared to coffee and soda), you might start out black, whole chai tea is just the ticket. This spicy black tea of Hot or cold, day or night, flavored teas are wonderfully satis- scented tea will definitely fit the bill, The good news is that with all the choices of tea available blended, flavored, scented, herbal, chai |