John Wagner & Sons, always had fine teas, sadly long since out of business.
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| The detail on the label is amazing! |
Finding good teas today is always a challenge with many old brands gone and many new brands of very questionable quality showing up, it's always a process of try and see, and half the teas I buy I end up throwing away. I'll list here what I've tried and the results.
I only drink tea that contains TEA, with no fillers, no flowers or fruits added, and certainly not pesticide soaked weeds from Colorado (never drink Celestial Seasonings).
The problem with most websites selling teas is they are more about selling you an imagine than selling actual tea.
Mostly my perference is black teas from China like Keemun Mao Feng. For blended tea I prefer the slightly smoked Russian Caravan. I've had many good teas from India and Africa (most tea sold today is grown in Africa), but I've never found a great tea from anywhere but China.
Upton Tea is the best mail order tea company in the world. The level of detail for their teas is unmatched, they list by region, grower, time it was picked and they assign a code to each tea crop so you know precisly what you are getting. With other tea sellers, Twinings for example, you have little to no idea where the tea comes from, when it was picked or how long its been sitting on the shelf.
The problem I have with Upton is their Russian Caravan bend is unremarkable, all of their teas are good, but expensive, their Mao Feng is really the best I've found and rates ^ will buy again.
The simple rating system I use is: "\ = bad" "- = good" and "^ = great, buy again"
Kusmi Tea, Russian Evening, Rate ^, buy again
Kusmi is a French/Russian tea company that's been around for over a hundred years. All of their teas are very good, I would say their Russian Evening tea is the best tea currently on Amazon. (recently I've been in touch with Kusmi and they are no longer producing this blend)
Solstice Tea Traders Russian Caravan, good enough, Rate -, I would even buy again except that Davidson's is both cheaper and better. Speaking of Davidson's Russian Caravan, it's great, the best tea on Amazon for the price, $15 a pound. Rate ^^^
Basilur teas, Rate \ magnificent tins, however this "Vol I" claims to be "100% Pure Ceylon Tea", which it's not, it's cut with some smelly flowers. Here we have yet another tea that's going in the bin, I certainly would not drink the stuff. But they seem to be a serious tea company so might have a look at their other volumes. Russian Country Blend, Harney & Sons, Rate ^. Excellent tea and you can get a pound bag, well worth trying. However, it's around 3 times the price of Davidson's. So. I can't say which is really better tasting, they are about the same.Russian Royal Tea Delux Rate Rate \. Drinkable but not buying any more of this.
Czar Nicolas Russian Caravan Tea Rate \. Nope, tasted off.
Enjoying Tea Russian Caravan. Rate \ Expensive, yet poor taste.
The single best tea I've ever had, on the right, Red Pearl Rate ^^^ Comes from the Mountain View Tea, a small shop in California run by people from Taiwan, I think 100% of their tea comes from Taiwan. But ar $23 for 50g, I won't be having this too often.
Every tea from Mountain View Tea rates ^ by again, however, they are really too expensive and their website doesn't seem to work, though the Yunnan was cheaper, I think $12 for 150g and that rates ^.
The English tea merchants, Twinings, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, Whittard of Chelsea. I'd like to say better things about them, Fortnum's Russian Caravan is good, but not worth buying again, same with Twinings and Harrods, good teas, but nothing great. Whittard's currently is the best of the lot today, their Russian Caravan is perfect. Twinings Russian Caravan was my daily drink for years until they discontinued it, I hear it's back now, but I've not seen it.
And many others I've tried, Grace Tea Company is expense and tasted old. And a nice tin above left I picked up when I was at the Imperial War Museum, Ration Tea. No idea what was in it but it was fine.Twinings Tea Tasters - Russian Caravan Tea
2019, New finds
1) Impra Large Leaf Special Tea $102) Akbar Yellow Gold Tea $11 -
3)Akbar, Gold Range, Premium Quality Ceylon Tea, 100% Single Origin, Black Tea $11 ^
Akbar teas come from Sri Lanka, the Yellow Gold is good, but no so good I would buy again, the Gold Premium is better. The Impra was the best.
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Marhumar 100 Pure Ceylon Tea Large Leaf |
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| Recently sold, half my tin collection. |
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Now you got it, how to brew it!
All we're doing is boiling water and keeping the leaves in for a few minutes. It actual works fine to buy a $20 Mr. Coffee no frills unit, put the tea in the filter, let it boil and steep for a few minutes, then slip the carafe in which allows the tea to pour in from the filter. Results are as good as you get fiddling with an electric kettle, infuser and tea pot are. And the hot plate keeps the tea warm. Just add a cheap kitchen timer.
The new way I brew tea is with the no touch automated Nesco. You put the tea and water in, press one button and tea!
Side by side, 35cm vs 25cm tall, yet the Breville holds 200ml more tea (1000ml vs 1200ml)
The quick comparison; the Breville has start time and water temperature controls (neither of which I use) and is all glass and stainless steel. The Nesco has only power and steep time controls (it simply boils the water, all I need it to do). The brew chamber is plastic, the carafe is glass. So for $150 more in cost than the Nesco, the Breville has more glass and extra features I'll never use. The tea tastes exactly the same from each unit and both provide an automated process with exact temperature and brew time that's needed for a perfect cup of time.
The Breville is more compact, however the because the Nesco separates the tea carafe from the brew section means it's lighter and easier to pour from. Adding water to the Nesco takes longer due to the small opening on top, this is the only thing I really dislike about the Nesco. With the current trend in "luxury appliances" I expect people would pay more for the Breville because it looks more expensive, and in fact the build quality is excellent.
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Quite a lot is said about water temp and steep time, but rarely do any experts talk about the water you use to brew with. I've found the water makes a much bigger difference than temp and steep time, tap water from location to location is quite different, the water will totally change the taste of the tea, and over the course of the year tap water changes. I've seen a brown froth forming around my tea water after boiling during the rainy season. Not that this muddy water will kill you but it can put you off your tea. So I use the Megahome Distiller. It takes out the excessive amounts of chlorine and fluorine they add to the water here too.
What's in the bag?
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Quite a lot is said about water temp and steep time, but rarely do any experts talk about the water you use to brew with. I've found the water makes a much bigger difference than temp and steep time, tap water from location to location is quite different, the water will totally change the taste of the tea, and over the course of the year tap water changes. I've seen a brown froth forming around my tea water after boiling during the rainy season. Not that this muddy water will kill you but it can put you off your tea. So I use the Megahome Distiller. It takes out the excessive amounts of chlorine and fluorine they add to the water here too.
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| 19th century Cockatrice teapot |
What's in the bag?
Russian Caravan Tea recipe
1 part Lapsang Souchong
1 part black tea
2 parts Oolong tea
27 APRIL 1773 TEA TIME:
