Good Tea Sources?

[panda]

this is the best tea i've ever tried (even better when iced and sweetened with truvia). but i can't justify paying those prices for tea.
http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/best...-pop-tea-blend

[quantumcloud509]

Interesting to see beets in that tea panda.


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[panda]

it tastes phenomenal, bought $25 worth and yielded only 2 gallons which is outrageous, lol. their 'rock sugar' is stupid however, don't even bother with that.

[AFKitchenknivesguy]

Some of the prices, especially in the first few posts, where a bit crazy. Yeah I know you can get more than one brew out of tea, but I'm not paying $60-$100 for a lb of tea.

[mpukas]

Prince of Peace
They sell/distribute other products from Asia. Their tea in "gift boxes" is excellent. I stock up when I get to a Pacific Ocean Marketplace on the front range. Especially the Pearl Jasmine - really, super duper nice. Spendy though - don't just look at the price, also look at the amount per box because it varies with each tea.

http://www.popus.com/store/index.php...26&language=en



Tao of Tea
Visited Portland OR a few years ago and went to the Chinese Gardens, and had tea in the Lansu Tea House. They sell Tao of Tea, a local Portland company. Very nice teas. Especially look out for the Silver Needles white tea - that stuff gives me a wicked buzz for some reason.

http://www.taooftea.com/

[mpukas]

Some of the prices, especially in the first few posts, where a bit crazy. Yeah I know you can get more than one brew out of tea, but I'm not paying $60-$100 for a lb of tea.

Good teas are far more expensive than coffee, and IMO tea is under-rated and under-estimated in our culture which has become dominated by good coffee. I love coffee too!

You really only need to buy 4-6 oz of good tea at a time, and you can get 3-5 good cups from teaspoonful. I steep my tea in a 20 mug (about a tablespoon) and usually get 3 mugfuls out of it. Depending on how long I steep each round, the last cup can be quite mild.

[mpukas]

Anyone have a recommendation for a good tea kettle? I go through several kettles from Oxo, Le Creuset, other randoms, and now on an All-Clad. They are all ok, but all kinda lame in their own ways.

I've been thinking of getting a traditional Japanese iron kettle like this, but don't know anything about them. Plus, the GF wants a whistle...

[ptolemy]

Anyone have a recommendation for a good tea kettle? I go through several kettles from Oxo, Le Creuset, other randoms, and now on an All-Clad. They are all ok, but all kinda lame in their own ways.

I've been thinking of getting a traditional Japanese iron kettle like this, but don't know anything about them. Plus, the GF wants a whistle...

I have been using zojirushi hot pot. It always keep water at 195 and I can brew as I need to. In my experience, most electrics die within 2-3 years. My stepfather went through at least 4-5 different brands in the last 10 years.

[quantumcloud509]

Ive been spending $30-$40lb for teas which I like. I use a 2" mesh ball on a chain to steep my teas in a tall quart mason jar. I will resteep 2-3 times depending on my mood. 2lbs per year on a slow year sounds about right for me... Using an OXO kettle right now but definetly want something cooler...a Russian Samovar or a cool JKettle would be nice eventually.

[Jordanp]

I dunno I've got quite a few from http://www.davidstea.com which are pretty good but I think I'm going to try a few from the ones listed and see how they compare.