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MadAussieInLondon
12-13-2003, 19:37
cant let the dang coffee tribe be the only voice!! :banana

i like tea. I'm a tea-man. tea tea tea!

i plan on taking tea on my thru hike next year.

If I drink red tea (black tea or normal tea for most people), i usually put milk in it, green i drink milkless.

(ive found powdered milk doesnt taste good to me in tea).

one red tea that drinks VERY well without milk is Early Grey. plain Early Grey has that wonderful aromatic scent and tastes just awesome..

now id think, in a shelter were a bunch of people have partaken the refried beans and whatnot, youd need that aromatic tea to get rid of that ugh bean waft.. :D

for no red tea drinkers, who prefer a green tea or herbal tea (peppermint tea is very nice on a cold day), it goes without saying, they dont have milk, so all you need again is some spare hot water... nice green teas are the bog standard jasmine...

if you do like the taste of powdered milk in your tea, i 100% reccomend you get some chai, this is a red tea with cinnamon and spices (most chai usualy contain cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, chicory, cloves, fennel, licorice, orange peel, black pepper, nutmeg, etc). its naturally sweet, caffeine free and tastes awesome!

i'm still debating between earl grey and chai...

just curious what you other tea drinkers take on hikes!

(there must be SOMEONE else who drinks tea here amongst the coffee tribe...)


gimme a :banana T :banana E :banana A :banana

Streamweaver
12-13-2003, 19:48
Early grey?? I be a tea drinker too!! I cant stand coffee!! I think its because of the first cup of coffee I ever drank ,I prolly put enough instant(I think it was instant lol) coffee in it to make 3 pots!! then of course there was the loads of sugar and creamer to try to make it taste better .Man I didnt sleep fer days after that one!! LOL I usually just take the regular orange pekoe type teas . Honey is good in tea but dont put it in with milk!! itll curdle the milk something awfull! a shot of whiskey in my tea is good once in awhile(good for colds) but it too will curdle milk. Streamweaver

RagingHampster
12-13-2003, 20:34
Personally I enjoy the "Cider" packets over coffee/tea/hot chocolate. It tastes great at any temperature, and gives you a little sugar rush.

But I will drink 10 cups of tea before I drink 1 cup of coffee. I hate coffee. I prefer green tea with honey. The powdered Japanese ceremonial green teas are absolutely phenomenal, but they cost an arm and a leg.

Doctari
12-13-2003, 21:26
I am not a coffee drinker, it makes me nausious, don't know why. I do love Earl Gray, and carry it on the trail. Another hot drink I like in the AM is Gatorade. Yep, Gatorade. I heat a liter of the stuff (any flavor), pour it into my water bottle & drink it as I walk. Which works out as I rarely eat breakfast in camp, it's usually a granola bar or whatever while walking. But a cup of Early gray on a slow morning, oh yes. Or even on a lazy afternoon.


Doctari.

smokymtnsteve
12-13-2003, 22:07
Irish Breakfast in the AM

darjeeeling in the afternoon....with lots of honey.

Rain Man
12-14-2003, 01:36
cant let the dang coffee tribe be the only voice!! :banana

if you do like the taste of powdered milk in your tea, i 100% reccomend you get some chai, this is a red tea with cinnamon and spices (most chai usualy contain cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, chicory, cloves, fennel, licorice, orange peel, black pepper, nutmeg, etc). its naturally sweet, caffeine free and tastes awesome!

i'm still debating between earl grey and chai...

just curious what you other tea drinkers take on hikes!

I take a tea with mint or orange spice and lots of honey... or International Coffeee Chai mix. Yummm, yummm!

:banana

oyvay
03-04-2004, 01:10
I like coffee, but it's easier to carry and brew up a cup of tea. I do it for the caffeine, my drug of choice for the trail. I let the bag steep until it's strong enough to strip paint off the wall and probably stronger than most coffees!
:banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Crash
03-04-2004, 01:25
Early Grey. plain Early Grey has that wonderful aromatic scent and tastes just awesome..


I am glad that there are other Earl Grey tea drinkers out there besides me. I'm not English but you won't catch me out there in the midday sun without having it first thing in the morning.

jec6613
03-04-2004, 02:00
For a single shot from the coffee camp.

You can get me to give up coffee when I am sent up to the big hiker in the sky and you pry my 2 lb backpacking espresso maker from my cold, dead hands. :p

loonyhiker
03-04-2004, 07:37
I love the smell of chai as well as drinking it. I guess that is "aromatherapy". I wonder if bears like the smell of chai too? :D

Hammock Hanger
03-04-2004, 10:35
I have never been a coffe drinker. I drink multiple cups a tea a day. I am strictly a non-caffine tea person whenever, possible.

On the trail I always have a variety. During the day I sometimes throw a Sports Tea Bag in the water bladder, it has electrolyes and stuff like Gatorade. At the end of the day I like a nice mint or green tea. If it is cold I love hot chai. I carry a Chai mix that is very similar to hot cocoa as it has the milk already in it. -- I carry a couple of licorice tea bags in case I need a little help in the bowel dept., ginger for upset stomach.

I carry a lot of tea!! I do use a sweetner (except with the sports tea in my water bladder) no milk, except the premixed chai.

Hammock Hanger

Jimbo0104
03-04-2004, 10:54
I know you're all talking about hot tea and using it to replace coffee but to me tea is meant to be served ice cold. Furthermore, I shouldn't have to specify if i want sweet tea. Tea is understood to be served with at least a cup of sugar per gallon with a little honey added in for flavor. When it starts getting the consitency of warm maple syrup from all the sweet stuff you added you know you've got real tea

bobgessner57
03-04-2004, 20:39
Amen, Brother!
I want to figure out how to get the ice on the trail in summer (and the barbecue sandwich, but we won't start that argument).

I like hot Earl Grey or Irish breakfast in the am and sometimes before bed. But dinner time is sweet tea time. To me they are as different as Guinness and and a pale ale. Both good in their own time.

Chip
03-04-2004, 20:40
Well I kicked the coffee habit 3 months ago after 37 years of drinking the stuff (I started young, in my teens). Basically because I started drinking hot
green tea in the morning every now and then.Next thing I knew I was drinking it instead of coffee all the time. Now I am a teaoholic. Drink about 6 cups a day. I will always drink alot of water when hiking and save the tea for mornings and evenings.:clap

Jimbo0104
03-04-2004, 21:36
While we're on the subject of tea... has anyone ever tried putting teabags in one of the lighter colored nalgenes and making sun tea while you hiked. Just a thought. Let me know if you've tried it and how it turned out.

Hammock Hanger
03-04-2004, 21:40
when I carried Nalgene's I always had a tea bag or two or three floating in my bottle.

I use platty's now and still have a bag or two floating around. HH

charlottebronte
05-06-2004, 15:17
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=43171#

charlottebronte
05-06-2004, 15:18
American teabags are AWFUL. To get "proper" teabags, you'll need to ship them to yourself or go to a gourmet store (NOT a supermarket, especially in the South). You need a Wild Oats or something. I can usually get PG Tips or Harrogates at the latter. Note that even American Twinings is "de-Britished." You can also get good teas from the british import stores (online) and have them shipped to you en route. Hey, that way you could stock up on Vegamite and chocolate biscuits!

I'm an ex-Brit....with tea in my veins.

Streamweaver
05-07-2004, 23:59
The chocolate biscuits sound good but Ill have to pass on the Vegamite!!!LOL Streamweaver

Moon Monster
05-08-2004, 13:02
I love African red tea (rooibos, usually from South Africa).

Something I discovered that works very well for a cup is a used yogurt cup. It's fairly crushable without being breakable and it's very lightweight. Plus, if it cracks, you buy more yogurt in town and you have a new one.

Speaking of southern sweet tea, why does the Homeplace restaurant in Catawba, VA not serve it?? Everything else there (including their lemonade) is dead on southern family style. I grew up in the Piedmont of North Carolina, so maybe I'm misunderstanding those folks in SW VA.

Creaky
05-11-2004, 16:29
We drink tea from Harney & Sons. The real deal. Our standard is their basic Ceylon and India blend, but they offer many, many types, including several Earl Grey variations, along with other flavored teas and herbal teas. We drink loose tea at home, but Harney's teabags are top notch. Find them at harney.com.

Texas Dreamer
05-11-2004, 17:48
Sweet Tea-- Last year when I stopped eating sugar my family thought it was great. But when I had the nerve to actually make a separate pitcher of tea with no sugar, it was as if I had insulted everyone personally--you'd have thought I had committed a cardinal sin.

That being said, a lot of the restaurants around here are starting to serve unsweetened tea and just putting a large sugar dispenser and those pink packets on the table. Lots of people have switched to artificial sweetener, my theory is that it's not because of health, but because it tastes sweeter.

The barbeque joints still serve it thick and drawin' flies, though.

grrickar
05-30-2004, 21:25
Tea is also my preferred choice of caffinated beverage. I like just plain old Lipton Tea, no sugar, no artificial stuff. Bigelow makes a tea called 'Constant Comment' that has orange peel and other spices, and it tastes and smells great. I guess one could make 'sun tea' in a clear plastic container, and make it string with the intent of watering it down later with coll water so you aren't drinking hot tea (although hot tea can be good also)

Funny story about tea: I was born and raised in the South, and they like their sugary sweet tea in Alabama. I took a business trip to St. Louis one time and a waitress asked what I wanted and I replied 'unsweet tea'. They looked at me as if I was from another country and said 'yes sir, all of our tea is unsweet' and walked away. My business associate laughed and said 'what, did you think they were gonna put the sugar in for you?' I had to explain to them both that if you order tea in a Alabama restaurant, chances are it is 10% tea, 60% sugar and 30% water. If you don't order unsweet, chances are it ain't gonna be unsweet.

Crazy_Al
05-31-2004, 07:27
The place to get loose tea is Plymouth Tea Company who sells loose thru the internet.

I enjoy Japanese tea the most, you know, the boys who brought use the Battan Death March, attack at Pearl Harbor, and Iwo Jima. Before WII, people in the USA drank a lot of Japanese tea.

Green tea removes plaque from the teeth and it has anti-carcinogens.

Tea grows in Japan, India, and China. I do not think any tea grows in England, so the concept of english tea being special, is an odd concept to me.

Rain Man
05-31-2004, 11:07
... But when I had the nerve to actually make a separate pitcher of tea with no sugar, it was as if I had insulted everyone personally--you'd have thought I had committed a cardinal sin.

Well DUH! You did!!!
:jump

Rain Man

.

Pencil Pusher
06-01-2004, 16:20
How many times can you reuse a teabag before the taste disappears?

SGT Rock
06-01-2004, 17:36
Tea is also my preferred choice of caffinated beverage. I like just plain old Lipton Tea, no sugar, no artificial stuff. Bigelow makes a tea called 'Constant Comment' that has orange peel and other spices, and it tastes and smells great. I guess one could make 'sun tea' in a clear plastic container, and make it string with the intent of watering it down later with coll water so you aren't drinking hot tea (although hot tea can be good also)

Funny story about tea: I was born and raised in the South, and they like their sugary sweet tea in Alabama. I took a business trip to St. Louis one time and a waitress asked what I wanted and I replied 'unsweet tea'. They looked at me as if I was from another country and said 'yes sir, all of our tea is unsweet' and walked away. My business associate laughed and said 'what, did you think they were gonna put the sugar in for you?' I had to explain to them both that if you order tea in a Alabama restaurant, chances are it is 10% tea, 60% sugar and 30% water. If you don't order unsweet, chances are it ain't gonna be unsweet.

True story:

Last week I was at a Louisiana barbeque joint and they had the self serve drink set up there with two urns for ice tea. I asked the lady which one was unsweetened and she told me neither. they often don't see a need for unsweetened ice tea down here.

hiker5
06-01-2004, 17:58
Speaking of southern sweet tea, why does the Homeplace restaurant in Catawba, VA not serve it??

Just cut the tea with some of the lemonade. I haven't tried it, but friends of my swear by this method. That lemonade has enought sugar to make your teeth vibrate! :bse




edit: fixed quote tags

Tha Wookie
06-01-2004, 18:19
Sassafras tea is devine, and weightless in the pack it really helps you take in your surroundings.

SGT Rock
06-01-2004, 23:16
Sassafras tea is devine, and weightless in the pack it really helps you take in your surroundings.

You know Sassafras grows all over the south, and I asume it must along the AT in the north too. What part of the plant is used to make it since you could simply pick the plant?

Weeknd
06-02-2004, 10:35
TEA...I love the stuff. On the trail I mostly make it in the morning...I buy a Twinings variety pack and bring several selections. I prefer English or Irish Breakfast, and I make it as strong as possible. I make it the same way at work most mornings.

I personally can reuse a tea bag 2 times and usually make 2 cups in the morning on the trail. Personal tastes and blends vary, try it one day at home or work. When it tastes too weak, go throw it out and you know how many times you can reuse it.

I am a born and raised southern boy. I drink un-sweet tea and have all my life. My dad's parents drank un-sweet tea, (maybe because they couldn't afford sugar?). So, my family has always drank un-sweet tea. I drink a half a gallon or more a day at home and work, so I miss it on the trail. Any ideas about making cold tea on the trail? I can't stand luke warm so I go without.

SGT Rock
06-02-2004, 11:20
I suppose you could take some tea bags and put them into a bottle like a pint gatoraid bottle with cold water and wrap it in a sock that was also wet. It would take a couple of hours for the tea to slow cold brew, but the water would be about the same temp as creek water.

Alligator
06-02-2004, 15:18
Sassafras tea is devine, and weightless in the pack it really helps you take in your surroundings.

You may wish to reconsider drinking Sassafras tea as one of the ingredients released when making the tea, safrole, is listed as carcinogenic.

grrickar
06-03-2004, 01:20
I suppose you could take some tea bags and put them into a bottle like a pint gatoraid bottle with cold water and wrap it in a sock that was also wet. It would take a couple of hours for the tea to slow cold brew, but the water would be about the same temp as creek water.
Won't nalgene stand up to boiling water? If so then that would allow the bag to steep, then you could let it cool and add more cool water later for pseudo-iced tea. The only hot tea I have grown fond of was various green teas.

Streamweaver
06-05-2004, 01:55
Somebody might have mentioned this already ,but adding mint leaves to tea is very good!! Both hot and iced. I also like that Constant Comment tea that Grrickar Mentioned. Also adding one of those small packets of the unsweetened lemonade flavor coolaide to a pitcher of ice tea gives it a good lemon flavor. Streamweaver

lysdexia
06-17-2004, 17:06
While we're on the subject of tea... has anyone ever tried putting teabags in one of the lighter colored nalgenes and making sun tea while you hiked. Just a thought. Let me know if you've tried it and how it turned out.
It works great! I tend to use the oversized Lusianne teabags - just pull off the string and let it soak. You don't even have to set it in the sun. Be warned, it makes for some strong alkali goodness.

Poster
06-17-2004, 18:59
Has anyone ever tried tea made from plants found along their hike? Here's a few.

yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) - grind up a bunch of leaves and twigs from this tree, it has a very pleasant wintergreen taste. And if your in the south, use sweet birch. It's aroma is even more pungent than yellow birch.

Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum) - this species grows in bogs and swampy areas and the tea made from it's leaves has some medicinal properties. Just don't overdo it because it can cause headache and upset stomach if you drink too much.

stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) - use only the leaves for this tea. Careful when handling it because the stems deliver a peculiarly painful sting that lasts for about ten minutes. The tea is loaded with iron.

Does anybody know any others?

Poster

Connie
06-27-2004, 22:53
I like The Republic of Tea: Sky Between the Branches and their estate green tea. I also like Bancha Twig Tea, AZO mint tea, and Lipton Cold Brew.

The Lipton Cold Brew has an oversize tea bag, supposedly making a 16 oz tea. I have got about a half dozen 16 oz. drinks from the same Lipton Cold Brew tea bag.

I was looking at the coffee "thread": I think this Toddy Cold Brew for tea http://www.toddycafe.com/shop/product.php?productId=66 may be like the tea I had at Wantage, Berkshire, England. The convent was all stone buildings, and no central heating. I had been warned to bring the warmest dress clothing I own. I brought a Pendleton suit, and warm stocking tights. I was okay.

Then, it was tea time. The tea was like a tea syrup. There was hot water. There was fresh cream. There were little cookies and cakes. I was instructed to add hot water and cream to the tea (syrup) to suit myself. I judged my mixture by color and by texture.

I am telling this story, because after this "tea" I didn't need all the warm clothing anymore. I think the tea was a strong regional blend, but I am convinced the way the tea was made so concentrated and then blended with hot water and cream to suit one's taste, is why the tea was so warming.

I had my own "central heating" after that tea !

Maybe taking some tea "syrup" along, and adding hot water anbd canned cream would be worth it's weight in allowing less heavy and bulky clothing !

Connie
06-27-2004, 22:57
Oh ..the closest flavor tea I have found to that tea was a "Yorkshire tea" I found in Berkeley, CA.

supermonster
08-12-2004, 14:20
For me its Earl Gray. I drink a few cups of coffee in the morning but its tea after that. I add some honey, the small single servings that you can pick up at Chick Filet, etc.

ridgewalker777
08-13-2004, 11:32
I like any healthy quality herbal tea, green, chai, or even black tea--though tannin is a major health concern if overdone--what do you suppose they tan leather with? Imagine potent tannin-rich tea in your stomach. I use my titanium pot with cap as a tea pot--it filters beautifully.

Jonas4321
08-27-2004, 21:24
Some thoughts on tea...

If you are using store-bought tea bags, do yourself a HUGE favor and get some loose tea (there are lots of places online) and experiment with different kinds. You'll be amazed at how much better it is than the floor-sweepings you buy in pre-made tea bags. Earl Grey, darjeelings and Assams are a great place to start for first-timers. Make it weak.

You can get make-yer-own teabag pouches called Teeli Flip and dump in a little loose tea, twist, then tie an overhand knot in it, make up several and pack them in the little 2" high snack-size zipper bags. I am NEVER without these in my pack.

Red tea and Earl Grey drinkers (I am with you!), try something called Emperor's Red from specialteas.com. It's pricey, but you will love it, I promise. It takes multiple steepings very well. Green tea folks- try Cui Ya.

I like the milder effect that tea caffeine has on me compared to coffee. I make my tea fairly weak to enjoy the flavor subtleties of the varieties. Made weak, you never have to add anything to tea, imo.

If my wife ever saw the drawer full of different teas I have in my office, she would kill me... I am a tea LOVER, great to hear from others!

neo
12-08-2004, 16:22
i prefer green tea sweetened with stevia,i like sleepytime at nite sweetened with stevia:clap :jump :) :banana :sun

tanichols
12-08-2004, 17:11
Just like Capt. Picard it's "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot." for me..... If I'm drinking Hot Tea I'll take it with nothing in it, or if I'm in a sweet mood a shot of honey is fine.

As far as cold tea goes, Sweet Tea all the way Baby! I swear that stuff flows in my blood. I'm a Southerner trapped in the body of a Northerner. I love every bit of food that speaks South and I love good sweet tea. It's ALWAYS in my fridge homemade. When I say I'm a southerner trapped in a northerners body, my mom is from DEEP down south grew up in the panhandle of Florida and they skipped across the Alabama line when she was young. Her whole family is still down in Andalusia, AL and I visit often. She met my dad who was going to school down there and was from near Harrisburg, PA and we've been here ever since. Despite them divorcing last year after 20+ years, my moms here for good. But she still puts out some great southern cooking and sweet tea!

Take it easy all!

~Ted
Lemoyne, PA
NOBO GA----->ME '06!

Puck
12-09-2004, 11:57
You know Sassafras grows all over the south, and I asume it must along the AT in the north too. What part of the plant is used to make it since you could simply pick the plant?
Sassafrass grows in souther new england as well. find a small sapling, 1/2" diameter or so and pull it out by the root. Snap the root off at the base. Scrub well then boil it in half a liter of water or so. One root could be used 2-3 times. Or you could dry the root and chop it up. Sassafrass root tea was on the market until the FDA determine that it was a hepatic carcinogen in rats. I was told by a cherokee herbalist the risk is no greater then having a few beers every night.

The leaves are good in salad or just to munch on. dry them out and pulverize them and you have file'.

I have heard of the ledum tea but I would treat it as a medicinal.

Raspberry leaf tea is very nice for an herb tea.
Personally I don't like Earl Grey. I love Barry's Irish tea. I have been lectured by British freinds and instructors how Americans don't know how to make a proper cup. "The water must be boiling..."

SGT Rock
12-09-2004, 20:34
I never heard of eating Sassafrass leaves. Is this something you heard or have tried?

Groucho
12-09-2004, 21:30
http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/UnconventionalTherapies/SassafrasTea.htm

Puck
12-10-2004, 10:14
I never heard of eating Sassafrass leaves. Is this something you heard or have tried?Oh yea...in the spring and early summer. I have snacked on it. I really don't know what to compare it to. "taste just like spinach" is to cliche'. by fall they are a bit tough. The leaves are dried and ground up, called file', and used in gumbo.

Don't take my word for it...I am just a stranger on a web forum. Petterson's has a great book on edible plants.

kncats
12-10-2004, 11:48
http://www.mexgrocer.com/9816.html

Gumbo File. Often used to thicken gumbo, Gumbo file powder is ground sassafrass leaves. Use gumbo file with shrimp. Gumbo is a "Creole specialty and a mainstay of New Orleans cuisine."

By the way, digging up a sapling in order to use a small portion of the root to make tea is not exactly LNT. However, if you should happen to try it anyway, the bark from the roots is what is used to make the best tea.

tanichols
12-10-2004, 11:57
Sassafras tea isn't all that bad. Though Sassafras HAS been labeled as a carcinogenic agent in mice/rats as is just about everything including air :)

To make Sassafras tea:
4 Cups Water,
5 To 6 Sassafras Roots which are found In The Spring Or The Fall

The roots aren't all that bad to chew on, quite tasty.

One of the neat things about Sassafras for those who aren't familiar is that it has up to I believe 7 different possible leaf apperances.

Most common are the "open mitt", 3 lobed, and the plain old looking leaf.

Here's a pictures of the 3 most common leaf forms:
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/Education/ohiotrees/images/404/cdot02/cdot02-74.jpeg

Lobo
12-10-2004, 12:20
http://www.carolina.com/images/bar/title_chemistry_left.jpg (http://www.carolina.com/chemistry/index.asp)http://www.carolina.com/images/bar/transparent.gifhttp://www.carolina.com/images/bar/title_chemistry_right.jpg (http://www.carolina.com/chemistry/index.asp)Tea-Bag Rocket Warning: The following activity is to be performed only by a qualified science educator observing safe and prudent laboratory practices in a laboratory equipped with all the necessary safety apparatus.

Tea-bag rocket
An inexpensive and easy-to-perform demo that is sure to spark your students' interest in science.


Materials needed病 tea bag病 lighter病 heat and fire resistant surface不cissors不afety glasses or goggles
Hazards
Safety always comes first. Perform this demonstration away from flammable materials.

The tea bag lifts off almost vertically; however, air currents in the demonstration area will affect its path. Do not perform this demo near heating/AC vents, windows, electric fans, or any other sources of moving air.

Preparation
Use the scissors to cut straight across the top of the tea bag, just under staple. Unfold the bag and empty its contents into the trash.
Procedure 1.Put on the safety glasses or goggles.2.Stand the tea bag on the heat and fire resistant surface with its open end down.3.Use the lighter to light it at the top.4.The tea bag lifts off just like a rocket! Note: It will continue to smolder somewhat while in flight.
Disposal
The small amount of charred tea bag remaining can be disposed of in the trash.

What is happening?
Air currents generated by heat are called convection currents. Convection currents form because of the difference in density between hot and cold air. As the air around a heat source increases in temperature, its density decreases (it gets lighter) and it rises, creating an updraft. In this demo, the convection current generated by heat from the burning tea bag creates an updraft. The updraft is what causes the bag to lift off the bench top.

Puck
12-10-2004, 13:32
Preparation
Use the scissors to cut straight across the top of the tea bag, just under staple. Unfold the bag and empty its contents into the trash.

How dare you post this on a thread with tea lovers!:confused:

Do it to a salada or lipton tea bag and call it euthanasia.

CynJ
10-07-2005, 20:53
I'm a coffee lover - but I like tea too!

Earl Grey is a favorite, regular ol'black tea, rasberry, chamomile, and my favorite night time - Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer (sort of a chamomile taste with a little kick)

The absolute best tea I ever had was a homemade rasberry tea made by a 80yr old Native American woman. It was devine. She learned from her grandmother and passed it on to her granddaughters.

frieden
10-07-2005, 22:39
I like Irish Breakfast tea in the morning, rasberry or honey gensing in the afternoon, and cammomile at night.

u812urbad
10-08-2005, 05:26
I enjoy chinese black teas. Very potent and dark. Just like me! My favorite is PUR ER DANTE..get it from ADAGIO TEAS.COM. They have a great selection at good prices by the pound or less.

sarbar
10-08-2005, 11:02
British Breakfats for me in the morning...herbal fruity blends with dinner (usually Celsetial Seasoning). I drink tea at home cold with no sweetener about a quart or two a day..so I rarely use sugar.

Teatime
10-08-2005, 16:08
I am a recent convert to Tea. It happened when I got Bronchittis. I couldn't stand the smell or taste of Coffee. However, I found I actually craved Tea. I still drink coffee but much less than before. I prefer loose Tea brewed in a Brown Betty Tea Pot. I like English Breakfast in the morning and Earl Grey or Darjeeling in the afternoon. On the trail I have used a MSR Mugmate with good results. I also use PG Tips teabags at home; one bag in a 2-cup Brown Betty works pretty good for me if I let it brew for about 2 and 1/2 minutes. I don't like strong or bitter Tea and don't normally use milk. I like it sweetened and with Lemon. I get most of my Tea on-line from englishteastore.com.
As a Southern Man, I also enjoy Sweet Tea. For you yankees, Sweet Tea is Iced Tea that has had sugar already added when it was still hot. Since I'm on a diet I have been using Splenda to sweeten my Tea. I can't really tell any difference.

betic4lyf
10-08-2005, 19:29
for me coffee is an effort to wake up after late nite essays. for me it is all about the tea. my favorites are:constant comment, bengal spice, lemmon zinger, red(rooibos ithink)

Oracle
10-08-2005, 20:50
I like a wide variety of teas, specialty teas included (we get a friend to mail us specialty teas from England), but when I'm on the trail, I prefer herbal teas, especially sharply flavored ones like Raspberry and Orange Zinger (Celestial Seasonings), and Rooibos teas.

Newb
10-09-2005, 11:18
I'm just gonna pile-on with the sassafras thing. I recently developed a passion for all edible outdoors things, and I have to say that Sassafras tea is a great beverage. It is now one of my favorite beverages after a long days hike as it has very noticeable (to me) restorative properties.

Also, for those who would shy away from reaching down and pulling a small plant out of the ground don't worry about it. Sassafras grows from a "suckering" system of roots from a main plant. When you yank one out of the ground you're doing that plant a favor. Besides, Sassafras is in no way endangered.

Also, right now it's autumn. One of the most unique teas you can make is from Sumac berries. It's a little bitter, though, and wants some sugar.

For caffeine, good old earl Grey is just fine, but there are so many wild plants out there that boil up into treats. Enjoy!

Oracle
10-09-2005, 13:27
Mmm...sumac is good. I use ground sumac berries on lamb when I make it. Yummy.

Newb
10-09-2005, 16:06
Mmm...sumac is good. I use ground sumac berries on lamb when I make it. Yummy.
Can you give me the recipe?
I love lamb.

kjumper1
10-25-2005, 04:29
whenever i hike i always pack away some apple-cinnamon teabags. nothing beats sitting around a campfire after a long day of hiking and mellowing out and drinking a hot mug of tea.

flyfisher
10-25-2005, 10:36
I am not a coffee drinker, it makes me nausious, don't know why. I do love Earl Gray, and carry it on the trail. Another hot drink I like in the AM is Gatorade. Yep, Gatorade.

LOL. I'd love to love tea. However, almost all tea gives me a slight headache. I've never had the same reaction to coffee. I've tried Lipton teabags, Red Rose tea bags, and most of a dozen of the leaf teas.

Hot lemonade is also very good as a warming drink. Some of the lightweight versions, such as crystal light lemonade make a good drink, and the sugar versions work quite well too with the benefit of calories.

V8
10-25-2005, 13:23
Someone passed this along years ago - boil some water, add one black teabag, a couple of spoons of Tang, and a chai teabag. Adds some zip to your step...plus warms you up and tastes good.
Never did find out if Russians drink something like this.