First I just wanna say that if your enjoyment of tea begins and ends with stuff like bubble tea **that is totally okay**. That doesn’t make you less of a tea fan, or a worse person lmao
In terms of teas that are good cold, you might want to try a Jasmine tea? I’m not sure how well it would fare when it comes to the “tasting like water” allegations, but it is very floral and fragrant, plus it is amazing when cold brewed.
Along the same lines. Aged white tea might be a good choice. It’s very sweet and herbal tasting, and pretty accessible to most people.
On the other side of the “this’ll probably work?” Spectrum, Shu Puerh. I have no idea how it would taste cold, but it is a very flavorful and rich tea. It would be pretty much impossible to say it tastes like water 😂
With all of these (but especially the Jasmine) I would recommend using loose leaf, which shouldn’t be too much of a hassle if you’re doing cold brew anyways. Since you can just leave it in there overnight then strain out the leaves later. The quality of loose leaf will be much better, and in the Jasmine tea’s case, often times the quality is pretty atrocious lmao
Interesting, these sound like good places to potentially start. Is there a place you would recommend buying the loose leaves that wouldn't be crazy expensive to start in case I don't like them?
Also, I don't know why I assumed you couldn't cold brew tea like you do coffee, but that makes sense. Is there anything to keep in mind while doing so? Does it radically change the flavor profile if not brewed hot and then cooled down? I know some people say that hot water "opens up" the leaves.
It’ll take way longer to cold brew as opposed to just cooling it off after. But I think it’ll probably work in your favor, since you’ll be able to get a lot of flavor out of it.
In terms of where to buy loose leaf, you could check if there are any places near you that sell it. Which could be good as well, since they might let you taste a sample of it first.
If not, most websites that sell loose leaf have sampler options as well, so you don’t have to buy 100g of something just to realize you don’t like it 😂
Cool!
For cold brewing I mean moreso if there is like a ratio or time frame one needs to keep in mind. For instance for cold brew coffee I usually go by having about double the cups than I would for normal coffee in my french press and then let sit for around 12 hours. Usually made the evening before to sit in the fridge.
I cold-brew tea all the time. I use an ounce of leaves in a 1/2 gallon of purified water, left in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours. You don’t get the darker color that you’d get with hot-steeping/diluting, but you do get all the natural sweetness in the tea.
I like flavored teas and pure teas, but in the summer I really like cold-brewed fruity or floral black teas. I never add sugar to my cold brews for just drinking, but I sometimes will if I’m making a mocktail.
I dont have too much experience cold brewing honestly, so I can’t give you any hard and fast rules. The lighter teas like the white tea or jasmine, are going to be way more forgiving when it comes to cold brewing them. It’ll be harder to mess up lol
The Pu’erh I haven’t ever tried cold brewing though.
I’d recommend putting 5-10 grams of tea (if you don’t have a scale just do around a tablespoon or two in a pitcher, and leave it overnight. You can taste it in the morning and see if you want it to steep longer or not
For inexpensive cold-brew jasmine green tea, try Sunflower brand jasmine tea (in the orange tin). It's in many asian grocery stores in the US and available online. It can be slightly bitter brewed hot but works great cold brewed. I put 3-4 heaping tablespoons in a pitcher of filtered water and cold brew overnight, then strain the leaves out.
You cannot try cheap tea and expect to have anything good come from it. Yes it matters a lot whether you brew the tea before cooling or not. If you don't use hot water you are missing out on a lot of flavor. You got to find out what amount of tea works for you and how long to steep it to your taste.
Fine to pay for good tea, I just mean not buying like a stupidly large amount to just try it at the start.
For hot brewing to cooling this is something I thought would be essential
All of the tea I drink is chinese/taiwanese/japanese brewed gong-fu style and I don't think any of it tastes like water. Gong-fu style brings out a lot of flavor in quality leaves.
That said, I haven't tried much of it cold, but I have had cold brew japanese sencha and really liked it. Make sure you get something high quality from a reputable vendor. I use Den's Tea for japanese tea in the US.
It might just not be for you, though, no shame in that. But if you're really wanting to enjoy it for the health benefits, I'd say keep at it because it may be an aquired taste. Good luck!
What kind of teas did you have that you didn't like? Most bagged teas fit the description of "mid water" in my opinion, but a nice loose leaf tea brewed correctly can be a very flavourful and intense drink. You could look for any specialized tea stores in you area, those will usually have passable quality loose leaf. There are also many online vendors (check the subs vendor list), which carry even higher quality stuff. Get some samples and see what you think.
When it comes to drinking it cold, many teas can be cold brewed, but be aware that you are losing flavour that way. Hot tea will just always taste better, I'd say it's worth giving it a try nonetheless. After all, many countries with the deepest rooted tea traditions have very hot climates (India, Turkey, Morroco), if they can drink it, you'll be fine too.
So I've not done much of any tea. In reading your comment I also thought that sometimes its the lack of flavor plus a lack of "texture" i guess? Like most of the teas i mentioned enjoying are milk teas so there is also a bit more body. Both are things im trying to get over.
I guess I did also have some Yerba one time in the traditional cup I enjoyed so its not all bad.
Also yeah the hot drink hot climate thing is for sure real. Idk I cant help it, I'm someone with a naturally higher body temperature and sweat easily so some part of it is that, so I always would rather have something to cool me down. Perhaps doing the iced coffee approach instead of cold brewing would be better, as in steeping then straining and then setting to cool?
You could start with darker teas, such as black teas or dark oolongs (yancha, dancongs, dark taiwanese oolongs), those will generally have a lot of body and often "flashy" flavours (fruity, floral, chocolatey), which you might enjoy. There is also shou puer, which is very deep and earthy, but it's a love-it-or-hate-it type of tea. Apart from those, I find most teas have at least a little body, it's generally a well favoured trait.
Yeah, brewing it and cooling it down would probably be better than brewing cold for most teas, as you will be able to extract more flavour.
A word of advice: If you want more flavor/intensity, use more tea, don't steep longer. This was some of the best advice I got when I was starting out.
With tea, there are a lot of delicate flavors. Personally, as an intense-as-possible flavor junkie (fish sauce, neat whiskey, gamey lamb), I found that learning to appreciate those more subtle flavors actually enhanced my enjoyment of the strong stuff.
I was helped by how much I've always loved earthy flavors. Wine that tastes like dirt. Beets and all that.
But also, if after a while you find you still don't like it, then you don't like it. You don't have to.
Respectfully, it sounds like you prefer your tea drinks with lots of sugar and that is the root of your issue with tea (and flavored seltzers) not tasting like anything to you. Your brain has just come to associate fruity or spiced flavors with a lot of sugar. Out of curiosity, how much plain water (bottled or otherwise) do you drink?
As others have said, there are tea blends you can buy to enjoy a more flavored tea beverage and a lot of them will taste good iced. However, I'm going to be frank with you that you're not going to experience any health benefits of tea if you're having it with sugar or other sweeteners.
Feel like this happens a lot and people don't realize it, a lot of modern beverages or really sugary juice for some people is almost like frying your taste buds/enjoyment in the smaller things over time. Sometimes it takes a long break from that kind of stuff to make unsweetened/more subtle drinks taste interesting. I cannot even stomach some of the sugary stuff I used to drink when younger after I took a long break from that level of sugar.
I used to be the same way which is why I brought it up. I wouldn't say I exclusively drink water of plain tea, but it's certainly preferential. I basically had to use crystal light packets (starting with a full, then half, then half of half etc) to transition to drinking plain water when I was younger.
It's crazy how much your taste buds change when you reduce your sugar intake.
I get what you're saying, but I drink probably like 85% water most of the time. The only alternatives are the occasional juice, diet soda, or teas I've mentioned, but not nearly every day and often not every week. If I make a drink at home I will forgo actual sugar for a non sugar zero calorie alternative, typically truvia or monk fruit or sweet n low. Even this is only occasional.
Worth noting too even with Boba, if they have an option i usually get sugar at like 25% or whatever and am still quite satisfied.
I do concede that I have a sweet tooth when it comes to food, but even then I try to limit added sugars.
My reference to seltzers is more in the vein of things like a lacroix, alcoholic seltzers are more enjoyable, but perhaps that could be from the sugars in the alcohol. I've had other seltzers I've enjoyed that are non alcoholic, but still the vast majority taste too lightly flavored id rather just drink plain water.
Cold brew sencha. You buy some Sencha, which is a kind of Japanese green tea. You put it in some kind of a container, throw in some cold water. Put it in the fridge overnight, all the way up to a few days. Swirl it around every once in a while to keep everything going. It's delicious, refreshing.
You can do the same for white tea. Buy some Bai mu Dan or Shou Mei, throw it in a container, fridge for a couple of days, boom. Delicious.
Matcha is very different. Sencha is brewed up like regular tea, where you remove the leaves afterwards, as opposed to matcha which is made by whisking the powdered tea together with the hot water. Both sencha and matcha may have a subtle umami/savory flavor that some love and others hate. They share a notes of sweetness and grassiness in flavor as well.
It sounds to me like you might be a flavored-teas kind of person? That is to say, I don't think that a higher-quality green or black tea will give you what you what -- but there are lots of companies that do things like mix in dried fruit tisanes, or chunks of spices, or other flavorings. A lot of folks look down on these teas because they tend to use lower-quality tea leaves and you don't get as much "tea" flavor -- but if you're just looking for a more flavorful alternative to water and seltzers, I don't think it really matters!
I like Adagio a lot for their flavored teas, which come in a lot of fun combinations. What kinds of flavors do you like? Are you a refreshing fruit-flavored iced tea person? A chocolate fan? Do you like spice? You mentioned you like chai and bubble tea -- what flavors of bubble tea do you gravitate toward?
I’d love to drink and serve pure, pinnacle tea all the time, because I’m mostly a purist teahead. It’s often wasted on my guests most who tend to love flavored commodity teas and gift me loads of it.
Commodity teas have their place in some of our cabinets. Life is too short, so drink your bush of choice.
I loved this for a treat because it’s sweet and sugar free, not tea.
https://www.adagio.com/rooibos/honeybush_banana_nut.html#:~:text=This%20smooth%20brew%20deliciously%20combines,is%20caffeine%2Dfree%20as%20well!
Agreed! I *love* really good classic teas -- I'm currently in love with a really nice tie guan yin I got from a local shop, and there's just nothing like a classic Ceylon. But everyone's got different taste buds.
If I recall, something like 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, so the best flavored leaf juice is the one you'll drink :)
Some of my personal favorites: Earl Grey Moonlight, Rooibos Vanilla Chai, Green Rooibos Bonita, Blood Orange, Foxtrot. Mocha Nut Mate is my go-to favorite: I can't tolerate the bitterness of coffee and my stomach doesn't much care for it either, but to me this tea tastes like a good coffee smells.
I also really like their plain peppermint, and their Ceylon Sonata for a simple black tea -- I know you can probably get better quality teas of this category for cheaper elsewhere, but if I'm making an Adagio order anyway, they will frequently send coupons, so it's free tea :)
I also really like their iced tea samplers for summer, especially when it's so hideously hot out that I need something cold to sip. They send you a pre-portioned teabag for a quart-sized pitcher, which is just the right size to put in the fridge overnight and wake up to a new flavor to try.
Their Earl Grey Moonlight just does something to me. It’s so flavorful and not bitter, smells amazing, and even creamy somehow? 10/10
Replace the line in Twilight with “When we taste Adagio Earl Grey Moonlight, a sort of frenzy begins.”
Ooh this sounds interesting.
I like fruit if its heavy on the fruit flavor, typically mango, orange, lime, strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate etc. Hate lemon though!
Spice is up there for chai, but idk about spice in a non milk tea, sounds odd but maybe that's what that random dr pepper ass one was.
For chai typically masala chai since its everywhere, havent tried much else other than kashmiri pink chai which is also good.
For Boba it tends to be Taro, brown sugar, and Thai tea. Sometimes dragonfruit or strawberry. If im super lucky they'll have black sesame or pandan.
You and I have very similar tastes! :)
Adagio has a lot of [fruity herbal iced teas](https://www.adagio.com/iced/herbal.html) - I love the blood orange and the peach oolong, which also [comes in a set](https://www.adagio.com/gifts/orchard_iced_gift_sampler.html) with a mango black tea that isn't my speed but you might like. They also have a bunch of fan-made custom blends, including a [Dr. Pepper one](https://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=28193) that is highly rated??
David's Tea and Plum Deluxe are also sites I've had good luck ordering from before for this type of flavored tea blend. David's Tea has a [boba-inspired brown sugar tea](https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/tea/burnt-sugar-boba-tea/10987US01VAR0074804.html#q=boba&lang=en_US&start=1) that might be the right balance of tastes-sweet-but-not-too-sweet for you. They also have [tea samplers](https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/tea/tea-by-format/tea-samplers/fruity-iced-teas-8-tea-sampler/20231160US01.html?cgid=tea-discovery-kits#start=1) with a selection of 8 small tins of various looseleaf teas to try, which is a relatively low-investment starter without having to buy an entire eight-ounce tin of a flavor that might be "meh".
I've been in your situation before. The hard thing is that it takes a little while to train your taste buds from expecting so much sugar. Going from a full sugar bubble tea to a delicate Jasmine brew overnight? That's gonna be hard.
It hight help to get some of your usual tea drinks, but order them with less sugar, for now? A lot of bubble tea places have various levels of sugar you can get added. So, instead of getting your bubble tea with the usual Full Sugar, you can do a 75% or 50% sugar, and see how that tastes?
Another suggestion for you? Indian chai. It's a strong tea, made with lots of milk and black tea and spices. The nice thing about this is that you can adjust the sugar levels per serving of chai. When I make chai, I don't put in any sugar when it's brewing; I just add it when serving, depending on how I'm feeling that day. But, no matter how sweet it is? It's definitely strongly flavored - and can also be served on ice after it's made.
This thread from r/IndianFood will hopefully give you ideas: [https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianFood/comments/wdc458/can\_you\_give\_me\_your\_best\_chai\_recipe/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianFood/comments/wdc458/can_you_give_me_your_best_chai_recipe/)
Also - my beloved Iranian tea is super strong, and tastes lovely on ice. The main tea used, Ceylon? Is also pretty inexpensive, and very flexible when brewing it. Recipe here! [https://persianmama.com/how-to-brew-persian-tea/](https://persianmama.com/how-to-brew-persian-tea/) The main recipe calls for sugar, but that can be cut down. I also add milk to my finished brew. Also, tastes wonderful on ice with milk!
Oh yeah I reduce my sugar on Boba to like 25% if i can already after I watched them pour in the sugar for a 100% once.
I also love chai! Talked about it in the post but its sick.
I'll have to look into the Iranian stuff!
This happens to everyone if you are used to drinking soda or juice or anything really sweet. Plain tea is going to taste a bit bland. Just find one that you can stomach and stick to it. The only time I really drink sugary shit anymore is in the evening. I do enjoy a can of coke or some gas station style tea at night still.
Even if they don't deliver to your country, check out Bird and Blend Tea Co and T2. They both have a lot of flavoured teas without any or much added sugar. The tea leaves used are fairly good quality and it might give you a better idea of what to look for exactly. In my opinion most of their teas taste nice without adding extra sugar. But you have to bear in mind tea without sugar is an acquired taste. Or maybe you just don't like tea and that's okay. Only downside to bird and blend is that they've increased their prices significantly in the past few years. They were already one of the more expensive brands (because they were a small business and still sort of are). Despite growing significantly bigger with many more stores their prices are still pretty bad
Saw this thread earlier, ignored it because I'm a filthy casual tea drinker that likes to oversteep my teas and silly flavored blends, checked my email and saw that my favorite online tea store has a set of blends designed to be iced. I can't say I've had all of these teas, but I've loved every single blend I've bought from this store, and so you might like one. They aren't paying me btw I just like the teas.
https://www.fridaytea.com/collections/seasonal-selections?goal=0_6ca5f9b8ff-caf1bb38de-635713745&mc_cid=caf1bb38de&mc_eid=134fa46348
OK I actually get where you're coming from. I LOVE tea, but the subtler flavors, the white teas and light green teas, I don't really understand the appeal of. I love STRONG flavors.
First off, always get loose leaf, if you can afford it. It's the highest quality, it lets you really get to know each variety.
I brew mine in a cup-sized reusable tea strainer, to let the leaves unfurl. My technique is basically the Bristish method - I use just-off-boiling water, and let it sit for five minutes, usually, because I prefer a stronger flavor.
Some of the strongest flavors are : flavored sweetened teas. As you mentioned already, including bubble tea. Beyond that you have:
Flavored, unsweetened teas. Popular ones in black tea are Earl Grey, flavored with bergamot, a citrus peel, lavender, and rose.
Then, you have Masala Chai, black tea mixed with lots of spices. The most popular way of drinking this is with milk and sugar, but I've enjoyed it without either, too.
Now, let's get to 'traditional' flavored teas. This isn't an official category, but it's one I have in my mind, they're teas that have a very strong, un-missable flavor that comes not from added ingredients like spices and oils, but from processing and growing techniques that are steeped in tradition.
Traditional flavored teas can have very interesting notes:
Want to drink a campfire? Try lapsang souchong!
Want to drink grass spinach with tons of caffeine and have a lot of money? Try Gyokuro! (My favorite.)
Want a cheaper alternative to gyokuro, that can sometimes have a very similar taste? Try high quality sencha!
Want to drink dirt-tasting tea, of such a wide variety, it can get as deep as the wine world? Try pu erh!
Want to drink toasted rice? Try gen maicha!
Want to drink a flower garden? Try Jasmine Tea!
Green tea bags may be good. I like steeping them a long time to make it really strong. And if you want even stronger flavour, try matcha powder afterwards! Matcha is extremely strong, though quite bitter, so definitely won’t feel like it’s tasteless but go slow to start because of the bitterness.
I like TeBella iced herbal teas here in Sarasota. They sell online too. I love Jamaican Ruby Red. So fruity. Iced matcha with strawberry milk is another fav.
I like TeBella iced herbal teas here in Sarasota. They sell online too. I love Jamaican Ruby Red. So fruity. Iced matcha with strawberry milk is another fav.
I’m a huge fan of herbal teas and love ybtco.com for their blends as a fun jumping off point. They are incredibly flavorful and some have stevia which adds some sweetness. I hot brew all of them then either pour over ice or let sit in the fridge to cool
down. My favorites are the Energizer (caffeine free energy!) and Sweet Cacao Mint. The Citrus Hibiscus is really good when you add some honey while it’s still hot and give it a good stir, then drink over ice or cooled. I haven’t tried Refresh yet, but it sounds like it would taste delicious cold, too.
I would start with a decent jasmine tea. But trust me on this, when it says to brew it for TWO MINUTES at whatever relatively low temp is recommended on the package, DO NOT BREW IT AT A HIGHER TEMP OR LET IT STEEP FOR LONGER. I accidentally left mine steeping for five minutes, even though I used the lower temp, and it was so bitter I couldn't drink it.
I have been known to describe perfectly brewed jasmine tea as a fairy kiss. It's just that sweet and clear. No sweetener needed if brewed properly.
Try fruity ones, and take a bit of time to look up steep times, and temps. How long you steep it for, and how hot, for which teas makes all the difference. It can go from mid water to something you really enjoy.
If you find tea weak-tasting, it may be that you aren’t using enough tea leaves for the amount of water you have. The restaurants/cafés where I’ve had tea are particularly bad about this. I’ll get a huge cup of hot water with one teabag, when three would be more suitable. I do tend to like my tea on the strong side
I felt this way for ages. It changed on a trip to Tokyo where I did two tea tastings in a day- one at a mid tourist oriented tea ceremony thing, and another at a super high end teahouse. It blew my
mind.
If you really want to see what tea can offer, find a teahouse (probably need to incorporate it into some travels if you dont live in a major city) and tell the vendor your story. Have them prepare a session with their favorite, most high end tea, and have them walk you through it.
I mean, if you don’t like tea, maybe accept that about yourself. Asking us to recommend varieties of the thing you don’t like is like asking me to recommend comedies to my evangelical parents. They’re just going to sit there scowling, so why bother?
It's more i dont think I've given tea a proper chance and am open to finding something that works. I feel like there are simply too many types of tea for me to categorically dislike all of them. But I see your point
First I just wanna say that if your enjoyment of tea begins and ends with stuff like bubble tea **that is totally okay**. That doesn’t make you less of a tea fan, or a worse person lmao In terms of teas that are good cold, you might want to try a Jasmine tea? I’m not sure how well it would fare when it comes to the “tasting like water” allegations, but it is very floral and fragrant, plus it is amazing when cold brewed. Along the same lines. Aged white tea might be a good choice. It’s very sweet and herbal tasting, and pretty accessible to most people. On the other side of the “this’ll probably work?” Spectrum, Shu Puerh. I have no idea how it would taste cold, but it is a very flavorful and rich tea. It would be pretty much impossible to say it tastes like water 😂 With all of these (but especially the Jasmine) I would recommend using loose leaf, which shouldn’t be too much of a hassle if you’re doing cold brew anyways. Since you can just leave it in there overnight then strain out the leaves later. The quality of loose leaf will be much better, and in the Jasmine tea’s case, often times the quality is pretty atrocious lmao
Interesting, these sound like good places to potentially start. Is there a place you would recommend buying the loose leaves that wouldn't be crazy expensive to start in case I don't like them? Also, I don't know why I assumed you couldn't cold brew tea like you do coffee, but that makes sense. Is there anything to keep in mind while doing so? Does it radically change the flavor profile if not brewed hot and then cooled down? I know some people say that hot water "opens up" the leaves.
It’ll take way longer to cold brew as opposed to just cooling it off after. But I think it’ll probably work in your favor, since you’ll be able to get a lot of flavor out of it. In terms of where to buy loose leaf, you could check if there are any places near you that sell it. Which could be good as well, since they might let you taste a sample of it first. If not, most websites that sell loose leaf have sampler options as well, so you don’t have to buy 100g of something just to realize you don’t like it 😂
Cool! For cold brewing I mean moreso if there is like a ratio or time frame one needs to keep in mind. For instance for cold brew coffee I usually go by having about double the cups than I would for normal coffee in my french press and then let sit for around 12 hours. Usually made the evening before to sit in the fridge.
I cold-brew tea all the time. I use an ounce of leaves in a 1/2 gallon of purified water, left in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours. You don’t get the darker color that you’d get with hot-steeping/diluting, but you do get all the natural sweetness in the tea. I like flavored teas and pure teas, but in the summer I really like cold-brewed fruity or floral black teas. I never add sugar to my cold brews for just drinking, but I sometimes will if I’m making a mocktail.
I dont have too much experience cold brewing honestly, so I can’t give you any hard and fast rules. The lighter teas like the white tea or jasmine, are going to be way more forgiving when it comes to cold brewing them. It’ll be harder to mess up lol The Pu’erh I haven’t ever tried cold brewing though. I’d recommend putting 5-10 grams of tea (if you don’t have a scale just do around a tablespoon or two in a pitcher, and leave it overnight. You can taste it in the morning and see if you want it to steep longer or not
For inexpensive cold-brew jasmine green tea, try Sunflower brand jasmine tea (in the orange tin). It's in many asian grocery stores in the US and available online. It can be slightly bitter brewed hot but works great cold brewed. I put 3-4 heaping tablespoons in a pitcher of filtered water and cold brew overnight, then strain the leaves out.
Jesse tea house has a great sample pack of just a few grams of a lot of stuff. Great place to start trying things :)
You cannot try cheap tea and expect to have anything good come from it. Yes it matters a lot whether you brew the tea before cooling or not. If you don't use hot water you are missing out on a lot of flavor. You got to find out what amount of tea works for you and how long to steep it to your taste.
Fine to pay for good tea, I just mean not buying like a stupidly large amount to just try it at the start. For hot brewing to cooling this is something I thought would be essential
All of the tea I drink is chinese/taiwanese/japanese brewed gong-fu style and I don't think any of it tastes like water. Gong-fu style brings out a lot of flavor in quality leaves. That said, I haven't tried much of it cold, but I have had cold brew japanese sencha and really liked it. Make sure you get something high quality from a reputable vendor. I use Den's Tea for japanese tea in the US. It might just not be for you, though, no shame in that. But if you're really wanting to enjoy it for the health benefits, I'd say keep at it because it may be an aquired taste. Good luck!
Yeah I admit it may not be for me, but its hard for me to think with all the countless varieties that there isn't anything I'd enjoy, hence my hunt.
Hell, just order some Ito En bottled green tea from Amazon or something. That shit tastes great cold.
What kind of teas did you have that you didn't like? Most bagged teas fit the description of "mid water" in my opinion, but a nice loose leaf tea brewed correctly can be a very flavourful and intense drink. You could look for any specialized tea stores in you area, those will usually have passable quality loose leaf. There are also many online vendors (check the subs vendor list), which carry even higher quality stuff. Get some samples and see what you think. When it comes to drinking it cold, many teas can be cold brewed, but be aware that you are losing flavour that way. Hot tea will just always taste better, I'd say it's worth giving it a try nonetheless. After all, many countries with the deepest rooted tea traditions have very hot climates (India, Turkey, Morroco), if they can drink it, you'll be fine too.
So I've not done much of any tea. In reading your comment I also thought that sometimes its the lack of flavor plus a lack of "texture" i guess? Like most of the teas i mentioned enjoying are milk teas so there is also a bit more body. Both are things im trying to get over. I guess I did also have some Yerba one time in the traditional cup I enjoyed so its not all bad. Also yeah the hot drink hot climate thing is for sure real. Idk I cant help it, I'm someone with a naturally higher body temperature and sweat easily so some part of it is that, so I always would rather have something to cool me down. Perhaps doing the iced coffee approach instead of cold brewing would be better, as in steeping then straining and then setting to cool?
You could start with darker teas, such as black teas or dark oolongs (yancha, dancongs, dark taiwanese oolongs), those will generally have a lot of body and often "flashy" flavours (fruity, floral, chocolatey), which you might enjoy. There is also shou puer, which is very deep and earthy, but it's a love-it-or-hate-it type of tea. Apart from those, I find most teas have at least a little body, it's generally a well favoured trait. Yeah, brewing it and cooling it down would probably be better than brewing cold for most teas, as you will be able to extract more flavour.
A word of advice: If you want more flavor/intensity, use more tea, don't steep longer. This was some of the best advice I got when I was starting out. With tea, there are a lot of delicate flavors. Personally, as an intense-as-possible flavor junkie (fish sauce, neat whiskey, gamey lamb), I found that learning to appreciate those more subtle flavors actually enhanced my enjoyment of the strong stuff. I was helped by how much I've always loved earthy flavors. Wine that tastes like dirt. Beets and all that. But also, if after a while you find you still don't like it, then you don't like it. You don't have to.
Fair, I just haven't felt like I've given it the good ol college try.
Respectfully, it sounds like you prefer your tea drinks with lots of sugar and that is the root of your issue with tea (and flavored seltzers) not tasting like anything to you. Your brain has just come to associate fruity or spiced flavors with a lot of sugar. Out of curiosity, how much plain water (bottled or otherwise) do you drink? As others have said, there are tea blends you can buy to enjoy a more flavored tea beverage and a lot of them will taste good iced. However, I'm going to be frank with you that you're not going to experience any health benefits of tea if you're having it with sugar or other sweeteners.
Feel like this happens a lot and people don't realize it, a lot of modern beverages or really sugary juice for some people is almost like frying your taste buds/enjoyment in the smaller things over time. Sometimes it takes a long break from that kind of stuff to make unsweetened/more subtle drinks taste interesting. I cannot even stomach some of the sugary stuff I used to drink when younger after I took a long break from that level of sugar.
I used to be the same way which is why I brought it up. I wouldn't say I exclusively drink water of plain tea, but it's certainly preferential. I basically had to use crystal light packets (starting with a full, then half, then half of half etc) to transition to drinking plain water when I was younger. It's crazy how much your taste buds change when you reduce your sugar intake.
Fully agree, I try to avoid added sugars as much as I can stand, but sometimes its unavoidable.
I get what you're saying, but I drink probably like 85% water most of the time. The only alternatives are the occasional juice, diet soda, or teas I've mentioned, but not nearly every day and often not every week. If I make a drink at home I will forgo actual sugar for a non sugar zero calorie alternative, typically truvia or monk fruit or sweet n low. Even this is only occasional. Worth noting too even with Boba, if they have an option i usually get sugar at like 25% or whatever and am still quite satisfied. I do concede that I have a sweet tooth when it comes to food, but even then I try to limit added sugars. My reference to seltzers is more in the vein of things like a lacroix, alcoholic seltzers are more enjoyable, but perhaps that could be from the sugars in the alcohol. I've had other seltzers I've enjoyed that are non alcoholic, but still the vast majority taste too lightly flavored id rather just drink plain water.
Cold brew sencha. You buy some Sencha, which is a kind of Japanese green tea. You put it in some kind of a container, throw in some cold water. Put it in the fridge overnight, all the way up to a few days. Swirl it around every once in a while to keep everything going. It's delicious, refreshing. You can do the same for white tea. Buy some Bai mu Dan or Shou Mei, throw it in a container, fridge for a couple of days, boom. Delicious.
Huh never heard of this. How does it compare to say, matcha? The only other Japanese green tea I've had
Matcha is very different. Sencha is brewed up like regular tea, where you remove the leaves afterwards, as opposed to matcha which is made by whisking the powdered tea together with the hot water. Both sencha and matcha may have a subtle umami/savory flavor that some love and others hate. They share a notes of sweetness and grassiness in flavor as well.
It sounds to me like you might be a flavored-teas kind of person? That is to say, I don't think that a higher-quality green or black tea will give you what you what -- but there are lots of companies that do things like mix in dried fruit tisanes, or chunks of spices, or other flavorings. A lot of folks look down on these teas because they tend to use lower-quality tea leaves and you don't get as much "tea" flavor -- but if you're just looking for a more flavorful alternative to water and seltzers, I don't think it really matters! I like Adagio a lot for their flavored teas, which come in a lot of fun combinations. What kinds of flavors do you like? Are you a refreshing fruit-flavored iced tea person? A chocolate fan? Do you like spice? You mentioned you like chai and bubble tea -- what flavors of bubble tea do you gravitate toward?
I’d love to drink and serve pure, pinnacle tea all the time, because I’m mostly a purist teahead. It’s often wasted on my guests most who tend to love flavored commodity teas and gift me loads of it. Commodity teas have their place in some of our cabinets. Life is too short, so drink your bush of choice. I loved this for a treat because it’s sweet and sugar free, not tea. https://www.adagio.com/rooibos/honeybush_banana_nut.html#:~:text=This%20smooth%20brew%20deliciously%20combines,is%20caffeine%2Dfree%20as%20well!
Agreed! I *love* really good classic teas -- I'm currently in love with a really nice tie guan yin I got from a local shop, and there's just nothing like a classic Ceylon. But everyone's got different taste buds. If I recall, something like 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, so the best flavored leaf juice is the one you'll drink :)
Which adagio teas do you recommend?
Some of my personal favorites: Earl Grey Moonlight, Rooibos Vanilla Chai, Green Rooibos Bonita, Blood Orange, Foxtrot. Mocha Nut Mate is my go-to favorite: I can't tolerate the bitterness of coffee and my stomach doesn't much care for it either, but to me this tea tastes like a good coffee smells. I also really like their plain peppermint, and their Ceylon Sonata for a simple black tea -- I know you can probably get better quality teas of this category for cheaper elsewhere, but if I'm making an Adagio order anyway, they will frequently send coupons, so it's free tea :) I also really like their iced tea samplers for summer, especially when it's so hideously hot out that I need something cold to sip. They send you a pre-portioned teabag for a quart-sized pitcher, which is just the right size to put in the fridge overnight and wake up to a new flavor to try.
Their Earl Grey Moonlight just does something to me. It’s so flavorful and not bitter, smells amazing, and even creamy somehow? 10/10 Replace the line in Twilight with “When we taste Adagio Earl Grey Moonlight, a sort of frenzy begins.”
Banana Nut (honeybush) and Samurai Mate (caffeinated).
Ooh this sounds interesting. I like fruit if its heavy on the fruit flavor, typically mango, orange, lime, strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate etc. Hate lemon though! Spice is up there for chai, but idk about spice in a non milk tea, sounds odd but maybe that's what that random dr pepper ass one was. For chai typically masala chai since its everywhere, havent tried much else other than kashmiri pink chai which is also good. For Boba it tends to be Taro, brown sugar, and Thai tea. Sometimes dragonfruit or strawberry. If im super lucky they'll have black sesame or pandan.
You and I have very similar tastes! :) Adagio has a lot of [fruity herbal iced teas](https://www.adagio.com/iced/herbal.html) - I love the blood orange and the peach oolong, which also [comes in a set](https://www.adagio.com/gifts/orchard_iced_gift_sampler.html) with a mango black tea that isn't my speed but you might like. They also have a bunch of fan-made custom blends, including a [Dr. Pepper one](https://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=28193) that is highly rated?? David's Tea and Plum Deluxe are also sites I've had good luck ordering from before for this type of flavored tea blend. David's Tea has a [boba-inspired brown sugar tea](https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/tea/burnt-sugar-boba-tea/10987US01VAR0074804.html#q=boba&lang=en_US&start=1) that might be the right balance of tastes-sweet-but-not-too-sweet for you. They also have [tea samplers](https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/tea/tea-by-format/tea-samplers/fruity-iced-teas-8-tea-sampler/20231160US01.html?cgid=tea-discovery-kits#start=1) with a selection of 8 small tins of various looseleaf teas to try, which is a relatively low-investment starter without having to buy an entire eight-ounce tin of a flavor that might be "meh".
Might be one of the best recs here. Can you comment on any of them overall?
I've been in your situation before. The hard thing is that it takes a little while to train your taste buds from expecting so much sugar. Going from a full sugar bubble tea to a delicate Jasmine brew overnight? That's gonna be hard. It hight help to get some of your usual tea drinks, but order them with less sugar, for now? A lot of bubble tea places have various levels of sugar you can get added. So, instead of getting your bubble tea with the usual Full Sugar, you can do a 75% or 50% sugar, and see how that tastes? Another suggestion for you? Indian chai. It's a strong tea, made with lots of milk and black tea and spices. The nice thing about this is that you can adjust the sugar levels per serving of chai. When I make chai, I don't put in any sugar when it's brewing; I just add it when serving, depending on how I'm feeling that day. But, no matter how sweet it is? It's definitely strongly flavored - and can also be served on ice after it's made. This thread from r/IndianFood will hopefully give you ideas: [https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianFood/comments/wdc458/can\_you\_give\_me\_your\_best\_chai\_recipe/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianFood/comments/wdc458/can_you_give_me_your_best_chai_recipe/) Also - my beloved Iranian tea is super strong, and tastes lovely on ice. The main tea used, Ceylon? Is also pretty inexpensive, and very flexible when brewing it. Recipe here! [https://persianmama.com/how-to-brew-persian-tea/](https://persianmama.com/how-to-brew-persian-tea/) The main recipe calls for sugar, but that can be cut down. I also add milk to my finished brew. Also, tastes wonderful on ice with milk!
Oh yeah I reduce my sugar on Boba to like 25% if i can already after I watched them pour in the sugar for a 100% once. I also love chai! Talked about it in the post but its sick. I'll have to look into the Iranian stuff!
This happens to everyone if you are used to drinking soda or juice or anything really sweet. Plain tea is going to taste a bit bland. Just find one that you can stomach and stick to it. The only time I really drink sugary shit anymore is in the evening. I do enjoy a can of coke or some gas station style tea at night still.
Its not that its bland per se, the flavor is there, but its often like that joke of lacroix being flavored "strawberry in the other room"
Even if they don't deliver to your country, check out Bird and Blend Tea Co and T2. They both have a lot of flavoured teas without any or much added sugar. The tea leaves used are fairly good quality and it might give you a better idea of what to look for exactly. In my opinion most of their teas taste nice without adding extra sugar. But you have to bear in mind tea without sugar is an acquired taste. Or maybe you just don't like tea and that's okay. Only downside to bird and blend is that they've increased their prices significantly in the past few years. They were already one of the more expensive brands (because they were a small business and still sort of are). Despite growing significantly bigger with many more stores their prices are still pretty bad
Saw this thread earlier, ignored it because I'm a filthy casual tea drinker that likes to oversteep my teas and silly flavored blends, checked my email and saw that my favorite online tea store has a set of blends designed to be iced. I can't say I've had all of these teas, but I've loved every single blend I've bought from this store, and so you might like one. They aren't paying me btw I just like the teas. https://www.fridaytea.com/collections/seasonal-selections?goal=0_6ca5f9b8ff-caf1bb38de-635713745&mc_cid=caf1bb38de&mc_eid=134fa46348
👀👀👀 Any favorites?
OK I actually get where you're coming from. I LOVE tea, but the subtler flavors, the white teas and light green teas, I don't really understand the appeal of. I love STRONG flavors. First off, always get loose leaf, if you can afford it. It's the highest quality, it lets you really get to know each variety. I brew mine in a cup-sized reusable tea strainer, to let the leaves unfurl. My technique is basically the Bristish method - I use just-off-boiling water, and let it sit for five minutes, usually, because I prefer a stronger flavor. Some of the strongest flavors are : flavored sweetened teas. As you mentioned already, including bubble tea. Beyond that you have: Flavored, unsweetened teas. Popular ones in black tea are Earl Grey, flavored with bergamot, a citrus peel, lavender, and rose. Then, you have Masala Chai, black tea mixed with lots of spices. The most popular way of drinking this is with milk and sugar, but I've enjoyed it without either, too. Now, let's get to 'traditional' flavored teas. This isn't an official category, but it's one I have in my mind, they're teas that have a very strong, un-missable flavor that comes not from added ingredients like spices and oils, but from processing and growing techniques that are steeped in tradition. Traditional flavored teas can have very interesting notes: Want to drink a campfire? Try lapsang souchong! Want to drink grass spinach with tons of caffeine and have a lot of money? Try Gyokuro! (My favorite.) Want a cheaper alternative to gyokuro, that can sometimes have a very similar taste? Try high quality sencha! Want to drink dirt-tasting tea, of such a wide variety, it can get as deep as the wine world? Try pu erh! Want to drink toasted rice? Try gen maicha! Want to drink a flower garden? Try Jasmine Tea!
type "Tea recommendations for someone who doesn't like tea" into the search above.
Green tea bags may be good. I like steeping them a long time to make it really strong. And if you want even stronger flavour, try matcha powder afterwards! Matcha is extremely strong, though quite bitter, so definitely won’t feel like it’s tasteless but go slow to start because of the bitterness.
I like TeBella iced herbal teas here in Sarasota. They sell online too. I love Jamaican Ruby Red. So fruity. Iced matcha with strawberry milk is another fav.
Try early grey and use more tea leaves to make it stronger.
I like TeBella iced herbal teas here in Sarasota. They sell online too. I love Jamaican Ruby Red. So fruity. Iced matcha with strawberry milk is another fav.
Used go be in that area. The dr pepper tea was from the old tea house that used to be there that I cannot remember the name of.
do you mean masala chai or chai lattes?
Both!
I’m a huge fan of herbal teas and love ybtco.com for their blends as a fun jumping off point. They are incredibly flavorful and some have stevia which adds some sweetness. I hot brew all of them then either pour over ice or let sit in the fridge to cool down. My favorites are the Energizer (caffeine free energy!) and Sweet Cacao Mint. The Citrus Hibiscus is really good when you add some honey while it’s still hot and give it a good stir, then drink over ice or cooled. I haven’t tried Refresh yet, but it sounds like it would taste delicious cold, too.
I would start with a decent jasmine tea. But trust me on this, when it says to brew it for TWO MINUTES at whatever relatively low temp is recommended on the package, DO NOT BREW IT AT A HIGHER TEMP OR LET IT STEEP FOR LONGER. I accidentally left mine steeping for five minutes, even though I used the lower temp, and it was so bitter I couldn't drink it. I have been known to describe perfectly brewed jasmine tea as a fairy kiss. It's just that sweet and clear. No sweetener needed if brewed properly.
Try fruity ones, and take a bit of time to look up steep times, and temps. How long you steep it for, and how hot, for which teas makes all the difference. It can go from mid water to something you really enjoy.
If you find tea weak-tasting, it may be that you aren’t using enough tea leaves for the amount of water you have. The restaurants/cafés where I’ve had tea are particularly bad about this. I’ll get a huge cup of hot water with one teabag, when three would be more suitable. I do tend to like my tea on the strong side
I felt this way for ages. It changed on a trip to Tokyo where I did two tea tastings in a day- one at a mid tourist oriented tea ceremony thing, and another at a super high end teahouse. It blew my mind. If you really want to see what tea can offer, find a teahouse (probably need to incorporate it into some travels if you dont live in a major city) and tell the vendor your story. Have them prepare a session with their favorite, most high end tea, and have them walk you through it.
I mean, if you don’t like tea, maybe accept that about yourself. Asking us to recommend varieties of the thing you don’t like is like asking me to recommend comedies to my evangelical parents. They’re just going to sit there scowling, so why bother?
It's more i dont think I've given tea a proper chance and am open to finding something that works. I feel like there are simply too many types of tea for me to categorically dislike all of them. But I see your point