(Part 2) Top products from r/tea

Sorry, generic tea copypasta coming though here.

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New to Tea? New to loose leaf? Let me help.

Hello, new friend. So you've stumbled your way into /r/tea, you probably though this was a subreddit for the Mr. T, but no worries you're here and you're in good hands. We're all tea fiends and we're all eager to share our fifteen minutes of meditation, our hobby and our little slice of heaven. So why should you consider switching from Lipton to something crazy like leaves some Chinese person picked off a tea bush?

• Loose Leaf tea is often higher quality than your traditional tea bags.
  
  
• Less preservatives or additives.
  
  
• A greater variety of teas that are too delicate for tea bags or can't be effectively brewed that way.
  
  
• Greater access to fine teas, you can't find good premium teas in tea bags.
  
  
• It's more cost effective. You can pick up Twinning's Irish Breakfast tea (20 tea bags) for $2.99 at your local supermarket and that'll make you 20 cups of tea. With loose leaf tea you can buy 125 grams of Irish Breakfast from Upton Tea for $5.60, which will make you 100-150 cups of tea. You can re-brew the same tea leaves two or three times when it comes to loose leaf, but with a tea bag all the water penetrates the "tea dust" the first go.
  
  
• It tastes better. That's 100-150 cups of far better tea than Twinnings. Not to say you can't get good tea out of a tea bag, but you'll get better tea with more control/flexibility when it come to loose leaf.
  
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  So, Where To Start??
  
  ^^buy ^^theses ^^teas ^^first!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  Where | Why?
  ---|---
  GoodLife Tea's $7 for 7 Sampler | Free Shipping! Robb has a fantastic variety of tasty high quality tea important for building up your tea pallet.
  Verdant's Five Teas for $5 | Free Shipping! Again, Verdant sells some premium quality tea. Think of their sampler as a crash course into the rich people's side of tea. But the catch with tea is that it's a lot more affordable than wine could ever hope to be. The sampler is great for building up your tea preferences and giving you a kickstart in the right direction.
  Upton Tea | My personal favorite store, they send a nice little paperback catalog every quater. They sell a huge variety of teas, from traditional English Breakfast to Tie-Guan-Yin. Not only that but they sell their teas in different grades meaning you can dabble in what is traditionally an expensive tea by trying a lower quality (but still delicious and tasty) grade of tea. You can find the grade and variety of tea that matches your wallet and taste. They also sell cheap samplers, if you wish you can take $20 and order around 15 samples and see where your cuppa takes you.
  Adagio | A personal favorite of /r/tea if you can find a store nearby! But don't fret, most of us buy our tea online so no worries if you're in Kodiak, Alaska and can't get down to an Adagio. They sell nice quality tea, their stores people are incredibly informed and helpful (unlike a certain Starbucks owned tea store). They also have Adagio XL which sells tea in bulk.
  Harney & Sons | Amazon Prime Shipping. I love my Amazon account, that's usually by go to place online shopping and being able to two-day ship a simple tin of Harney & Sons tea without the shipping cost is fantastic. They sell lots of teas and they're all very good. Maybe not the premium tea you'll see Chinese diplomats drinking but they in my opinion sell tea that all tastes great.
  Coffee Bean Direct | Who knew a place called Coffee Bean Direct* sold tea too? Again, with Amazon Prime Shipping this seems to be the place to buy tea in bulk. They're well reviewed and their tea seems to be good. If you're like me and cold brew ice tea frequently then this might be the best place to pick up some bulkier tea to last you the season.
  Crimson Lotus | Owned by a frequenter of /r/tea, Puerh_Lover stocks a great store with lots of neat little stuff. Be warned, he caters to pu'er which is a type of fermented tea pressed into bricks or pellets. In other words this is a special variety of tea that needs special equipment and special knowledge to brew. Don't fret if you're not walking out of /r/tea after a day brewing in a gaiwan.
  White2Tea | More lovely pu'er.
  Yunnan Sourcing | Again, more pu'er, but also lots of green and white teas too. They sell teaware for good prices too so if you're looking to pick up a traditional china teacup or gaiwan this is a good place to get that.
  What-Cha | Another beloved store on /r/tea, but they're pretty pricey at times. But you can always expect good quality tea and a looser wallet from here.
  
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  Just How Do You Make Tea?
  
  Traditional Western | Gongfu | Cold Brew
  ---|---|----
  The way you're probably familiar with when it comes to brewing tea, all it requires is a teapot like this one (I highly recommend this teapot). Western or Traditional works well with every kind of tea. It's the universal method of making tea and the best place to start. | This kind of brewing is very specific as it only works with Chinese type teas like pu'er. This method of making tea is hands down the best way to make a Chinese styled tea and does wonders to enhance and bring out the best in the leaves. But this method wont work for a cuppa English Breakfast or Japanese Sencha. To brew Gongfu style you use a gaiwan which is fancy talk for a tiny cup with a lid. The idea behind Gongfu is more leaves, less water and time. You use micro-infusions instead of waiting minutes like Western or hours like Cold Brewing. | Cold Brewing is for those of us who just love iced tea. It's simple to cold brew, a vessel like this will brew a mean pitcher of ice tea. All you have to do is leave the leaves in the filter and wait 5-12 hours for the tea to brew, perfect for leaving overnight. Fair Warning: tea can go bad, the kind of stuff you'd buy at the store has a massive amount of preservatives in it. Keep your cold brewing tea out of the sunlight and don't let it sit for more than 48 hours.
  
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  On Kettles
  
  So you're going to need a way to keep your water hot. A stovetop kettle is probably the most accessible and the biggest no brainer out of everything here. A microwave heats water inconsistently, can leave an odd taste if your microwave isn't properly clean, and you really don't have a good way of knowing how hot the water is. Temperature is important. Brewing a cuppa green tea in boiling water will result in a pretty shitty cup of tea, and brewing some black tea in the water appropriate for green tea will result in a disappointing cuppa.
  
  You also have electric kettles like the Cuisinart CPK-17 which is going to cost as much as a decent coffee machine but if tea is your caffeine fix then it might be worth it. The Cuisinart is a variable temperature kettle meaning you just have to press a button and it makes the water the appropriate temperature for whatever kind of tea you're drinking.
  
  
  Tea | Temperature
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  Black | 212
  Green | 175
  White | 190
  Oolong | 185
  Pu'er | 212
  Herbal | 212
  
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  Where To Buy Tea Equipment? What Equipment Might You Want To Buy?
  
  Umi Tea Sets sells lots of cute tea sets. They also sell pretty much any kind of vessel you can brew tea in, from Yixing to Japanese tea sets.
  
  Mr. Coffee Tea Kettle A simple, $10 stovetop kettle to boil some water. It seems to have a little hole in it for a thermometer to go in if you need to measure your water temperature.
  
  Glass Whistling Kettle I have one of these, you can tell water temperature from the bubbles if you learn to read them well. It’s pretty handy but if I could I would exchange it for the Mr. Coffee.
  
  CPK-17 Electronic Kettle probably the device that makes most of /r/tea’s mouths water (that might just be the tea). This is pretty much the best electronic kettle you can buy, cheaper than a K-Cup Coffee machine. It has temperatures for making all kinds of tea labeled nicely. I have one and I love it.
  
  OTHER
  
  Want to find the right kind of tea for you? Here’s a tea discovery wheel! Try it out here.

Ontario-based tea snob chiming in.

Capital Tea has been one of the best tea shops I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with. Owner is a solid human being, and they have extremely accessibly priced, high quality teas. My favourite part of the shop is the absolute full transparency in its selling. Really recommend the shop.

Give Tao Tea Leaf a shot for China teas. They are a little on the pricey side, but honestly, they are the best China teas I've ever had. Tao, the owner, goes to China every year to buy from different estates. He grew up in China, and I believe his parents worked in tea, too, so he has the kind of knowledge and connections to get extremely good quality tea. Seriously. Buy some. Especially the "Award-winning" teas. They were picked out as winners, by professional cuppers, at the North American tea championship. Free shipping over $35. Can't go wrong. Don't bother buying non-China teas there.

For Indian teas, especially Darjeelings, go for House of Tea. They're online ordering isn't the best, but if you can make it into Toronto, they're worth checking out. In the springtime, call ahead and ask when they're getting their first flush Darjeelings in. It's better if you know what you're talking about before you go (I've had pretty unhelpful service there, a staff member didn't even know what I was asking when I inquired about the estate).

For blended teas, check out Herbal Infusions. The owner is, again, a solid guy, and a complete wizard with his tea blending. The mint cacao tea, and the grapefruit oolong have been two of the most memorable blended teas I have had.

Camellia Sinensis is really great, too, as /u/exmechanistic mentioned. All four taster-importers know what they're doing, and all of them are passionate about their work. I've met Kevin, one of the taster-importers and authors of this book, and they all seem crazy knowledgable about their product. There aesthetic is brilliant, their packaging, great. Their shop itself is all done perfectly. The one thing I'll say about them is that for the price point, the quality of some of their teas can be improved. I'm not blaming them at all, but if you have a very sensitive palate, some of the teas can be a little disappointing for the price. I was the tea consultant for a coffee shop that just opened in Toronto, and the first thing I did was taste like thirty samples from the shop. Some samples hit it out of the park. Others left something to be desired.

In terms of general knowledge of tea, I've found these books immensely helpful.

The Story of Tea This is the official textbook of the Tea Association of Canada's Tea Sommelier certificate program (of which I'm taking) and is probably the best tea book out there right now, in terms of amount of content and quality of content. At least of the ones I - and everybody I talk to in the community - have come across. Comes in paper and in e-book form.

Tea I've had the chance to talk to Kevin, one of the authors of this book. He, not to mention his co-authors, are immensely knowledgeable. He and the three others are taster-importers, and have been in the business for twenty years. This book has beautiful pictures, and is a great general resource on tea. I used to manage a tea shop owned by a taster-importer, and once I started, he held up the book and asked "Have you read this book? Yes? Good. Because it'd be the first thing you do on this job if you hadn't." What I'm trying to say is that it's a good book. Not on e-book, to my knowledge, but it's a great thing to have on hand.

The Tea Companion This was the first book I picked up on tea, and after a fair amount of time, it's stayed among the books I'd recommend to people. It's an incredible, gentle introduction to the world of tea.

Finally - and this may be a little audacious of me - but I'm currently writing a tea book. I'm in the rough draft stage currently, but I'm uploading all of my content for free on a blog I run. When the time comes to publish, I think I'll set up a pay-what-you-want for the e-book format. I've gotten the thumbs up from one of the co-founders of the Tea Guild of Canada, and like to think the information is pretty good and relevant. It's not done yet; not even halfway done, but if you want an opportunity for a bunch of free content on tea, which will eventually become a book, here's my blog.

Hope you can find some use! (and by the way, if you guys have a problem of me promoting my to-be book, I will totally take down the last link. I don't monetize it, I don't have a shop, and truly just want to share my knowledge of the lovely camellia sinensis plant, but just let me know and it'll be gone!)

Quick start? Buy this which works great in mugs as well as many medium to larger teapots, and then find a company that you can order samples from and start exploring.

What company I'd recommend starting with would depend on your tastes.

If you want to get into single-estate black teas, one company that really got me into tea was Upton Tea Imports. They have small (and inexpensive) samples of virtually all their teas. They have some strengths (black teas, esp. from India, inexpensive black and green teas from China, inexpensive oolongs of surprisingly good quality, herbal teas) and weaknesses (especially avoiding getting Pu-erh from them, their Japanese teas aren't great IMHO).

Harney & Sons is another company I love that also is great for sampling and offers small sample sizes of nearly all their teas. I find them more well-rounded than Upton, i.e. they're more consistently good but don't offer quite as amazing bargains as in Upton's areas of strength.

If you live near a Wegmans, that's a great option, because they sell the tea in a bulk section and you can measure it out in small sample sizes...it's actually cheaper than ordering samples from virtually any company because you have to do the work of measuring it all out. Maybe not quite as good in quality as Wegmans, many natural foods stores stock Frontier Coop and/or Mountain Rose Herbs, sometimes other tea companies, with self-service stations. If the stock is fresh (big if) these can be a great inexpensive way to get started with sampling, again saving a ton of money because you're doing the labor of measuring out all the small quantities.

When you're getting started, I recommend avoiding any company that insists on selling 2 ounce / 50g sizes as the smallest size...it doesn't seem like much tea, but it's a lot of tea if you don't like it, and it limits the amount you can buy. Buying 1 ounce or better 0.5 ounce or 15 gram packets, you can sample a lot more and you can learn much more about tea in a short period of time. And you'll be much more likely to discover all-time favorites that way. That's how I got started...

Then once you get going, and you have an idea of what you like, it can be worth ordering stuff from companies with 50 or 100g, or 2/4 oz minimum sizes.

I drink looseleaf with an infuser like this one, or in a ceramic teapot (haven't gotten around to shelling out for a clay one yet.) This is my process for making black tea, which is what I usually drink.

1. Put water in the kettle. Bring it to a boil.
   
2. Pour a cup or so of water in the teapot or infuser, put the lid on, and let it sit for a few minutes to warm up.
   
3. Bring the kettle back up to a boil. (If you're using a kettle on the stove, just leave the burner on until the second pour in step 6.)
   
4. Dump the water out of the teapot.
   
5. Put in a few teaspoons (this will vary according to taste and will change as you get more practice) of tea in the teapot.
   
6. Pour boiling water over the leaves, as much as you're planning to make (this, too, will vary, and you'll settle into a usual amount. A few cups, perhaps).
   
7. Wait 3-5 minutes (I set my phone timer for 4).
   
8. Pour into a cup. If you're using a teapot with the loose leaves floating around inside, strain it. I use this strainer, but if you want to go fancy, you can get something like this. They just sit on the rim of the mug.
   
9. Add whatever you want. I usually do a few drops of liquid stevia and a squeeze of lemon juice. Sometimes I'll do a little cream instead of the lemon. Sometimes it's just sweetener. Sometimes I drink it without anything added. Depends on how I feel.
   
10. Enjoy!
    
    I'm not a huge fan of tea bags, because I'm sort of elitist about my tea and because I can't find many bagged teas that are as delicious and full-flavored as looseleaf teas.
    
    When I'm drinking tea, it's usually before or with breakfast, so I'm generally just eating breakfast alongside it. However, for a treat, I like to get some McVitie's digestive biscuits to nibble on with a pot of tea. If you're American, you can often find them in international food stores (or order online!). They go wonderfully with tea, and they're way more appetizing than they sound.
    
    I hope this helped, and that you can forgive my penchant for abusing paretheses! :)

Do you live in a major metropolitan area? A tea shop where you can ask for advice is a great place to visit, and usually you'll be able to sample a wide variety of teas on the spot. Check out the FAQ on the sidebar for some light reading or a site like Teaclass for a little heavier reading.

A supermarket isn't a bad place to start out, though there's usually more choices in something like a whole foods or trader joe's. An asian grocery store usually will have better quality chinese/japanese tea, both in loose leaf and in teabags, and specialized tea shops are the best places to go.

If you're set on online shopping, a site like Upton Tea or Adagio where you can order a wide variety of samples so you can find out what your tastes gravitate to is the best route to go.

In terms of tea preparation, start out simple. If you have a mug, great! All you need is a way to steep your tea. If you choose teabags, that's it. If you want to go for loose leaf, you need an infuser basket or a tea ball. You want a way to boil water, either a stove top kettle or an electric kettle, and a way to measure the water temp like a meat thermometer. Different teas have different steep times and water temperatures to use so your brew doesn't come out bitter from oversteeping or burning it with water too hot. That's it to start off with!

If you are looking at teas from unusual origins, say the country of Georgia, try what-cha.com.

if you are looking mainly at Chinese teas, Yunnan sourcing and teavivre are good places to start.

you can get some wonderful Taiwanese teas at Beautiful Taiwan Tea, and they have a very reasonable threshold for free shipping. You can also go to Yunnan sourcing's Taiwanese sister site taiwanoolongs.com

If you want to go down the rabbit hole that is Puerh, try out white2tea (they also have some gorgeously yummy black teas and oolongs) as well as the aforementioned Yunnan sourcing.

yunomi is a decent place to go to for Japanese teas, but since it is a marketplace type website, you would have to do some hunting (and Japanese teas are not my speciality, so I will leave much of that to other users.)

for flavored teas- there's really a plethora of places to get those, but the one that I have found with the best tasting flavored teas of the bunch is New Mexico tea company. This is just personal opinion, some people like Adagio better (and I do love Adagio's chestnut tea as well as a few others, so don't take that as a strike against Adagio).

I would stay away from most mall-type stores like Teavana because a lot of their teas are more cheap filler ingredients and less tea, just to cover up the low quality of their teas.

On the subject of tools, seeing as you are a coffee guy, might I suggest a hario teapot? A gaiwan would be the next step in going towards the gong fu style of tea. A very basic 100ml gaiwan would cost you less than 5 bucks + shipping. (shipping is expensive from here, so I would suggest getting more than one item).

For very basic tea drinking there are always in mug basket infusers.

Or you could always go grandpa style, where you just toss your leaves in a mug and refil the water whenever it gets low.

Since you didn't specify what kind of tea she preffers, I'll say this; Gun Powder Green Tea! I've had many brands but HERE is my favorite thus far! It's cheap, it's organic, great reviews, great experience! You'll need a metal infuser to go along with it though, if she doesn't already have one. If she doesn't have one, HERE is the one that I use. It doesn't have great reviews, but it works perfectly if you just line it up when you close it. Hope this all helps!

These are not stupid questions! I grew up with poor quality tea bags, when we had them at all, and now I drink almost exclusively loose-leaf tea. We didn't have a kettle or teapot in the house and now I can't live without them. So I had to learn this stuff, too.


> Can anyone recommend what type/brand of equipment to get and where to get it or is it all just based on personal style and preference?

It is based on personal style and preference as far as teapots and kettles go. Basically you have two types of kettles: one that is stovetop, that you place directly on the burner, and an electric kettle, which is very convenient and fast. Something like This would be just fine. As for teapots, have fun shopping around. I found mine at a thrift store for $2.50. You don't have to have the fanciest of teapots; if you like it and it's functional, buy it!


Never use a teapot as a kettle, even if it is cast iron. There is too much risk of breaking the teapot and hurting yourself. A teapot should only be used to steep tea and serve tea. Kettles should only be used to boil water, and use new water every time.

> Strainer question

You can buy strainers that fit one cup or a pot. Sometimes one strainer can work for both. You may also be able to find disposable tea bags to put your loose leaf in; I am guilty of using these sometimes, though it is bad for the environment and I've also heard there's some risk of chemicals you don't really want to ingest seeping into the tea. Not sure how true that is. Another person linked examples so I'll let you read that one.

> How do you determine how much tea do you put in the pot? Is there a specific amount or is this just something that just my a preference based on tea strength?

Another person here made a pretty good table of amounts/steep times, but when I started making loose leaf tea, I didn't know anything about how much to use. I just experimented, and now I just eyeball it. It does depend on personal preferences; I like very strong teas, so I might use more than some people here, or steep for longer.



I hope that helps. What kind of tea do you like so far? I could give you some recommendations and tell you my favorite places to buy. I always recommend trying a tea without sugar and milk first, too. Some people might hate me for this but I think most people put too much sugar in their tea and it ruins the flavor (I don't take any sugar at all, myself).

I don't recommend buying tea from Teavana, if you have them in the area. While the tea itself isn't bad (in fact, one of the best black teas I ever tried came from them on their 75% off sale), their sales tactics and prices ARE bad. You can get tea just as good or better for a lot less. I can't help but want some of their teapots, though.

My ritual includes the following items which make tea at work for me:

• The electric kettle
  
• The personal tea mug
  
• The meeting tea pot
  
  This is the best $60 I ever spent. These are my favorite teas I can recommend:
  
  
• Ahmad Barooti Assam - for the mornings
  
• Rooibos - A root tea popular in Africa, also called "bush tea" for the afternoons
  
  Boil water, steep and drink! I usually load up on the tea and steep for about 5 minutes because I like my tea strong. The Nissan Thermos is the best insulated mug I've ever owned. It has kept my tea hot for about 4 hours with the lid on. Absolutely amazing.

The Story of Tea is, from my readings, one of the most thorough and well-researched books on the subject. While it places a heavy emphasis on history and cultivation, it delves deep into specific growing regions, the teas they produce, and the tea cultures of those regions. My only gripe is that they didn't mention samovars in their brief section on Russian tea culture, but a) it's forgivable, and b) now you know.

For similar breadth but (slightly) less thoroughness, Tea is an excellent choice. In fact, this is the book that I would recommend to anyone starting their tea journey. Of course, you can always read both. ;)

Happy reading!

This electric kettle was $22 when i got it, but it's served me very well for over 2 years now. And it even survived my coworkers using it as a fucking teapot

=^ ]

multiple times.

https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Balanced-1750-Watt-Electric-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1467010643&sr=1-7&keywords=electric+kettle+adjustable

$27


And this is my suggestion for a teapot for 2 reasons

https://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Ceramic-Teapot-Infuser-16-Ounce/dp/B00HFGSPWM/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1467010804&sr=8-18&keywords=forlife+teapot

It's cheap and safe. For borosilicate glass i dont have time to temper shit .-.

And the second being you can Take out the strainer to use in cups and it is very good quality. Or you can do that WITH the black part and lid to keep the cup sealed and warm while you steep it in a cup. I like to have the option to do both and honestly, yea all teapots are pricy. But you'll pay $13 for a single cup brewer set anyway and this is one of the cheaper teapots available that isn't going to break.

Same thing, 2 years, still perfect.

If you have a kettle and want an easy to manage work teacup, I'd check out this or this. The Kati's infuser is really easy to clean if you have a small trashcan nearby (just put a grocery bag inside) and although they're a bit pricy, you'll save money by being able to use loose-leaf tea. The Forlife is a bit harder to clean but is still doable.

However if that still doesn't work, Twinnings has a good range of flavored black teas. I also would check out Harney and Sons. A little bit more pricy, but totally worth it. I've had Paris, Florence and a red raspberry tea and all three have been nice.

All the people I know who've owned glass tumblers have had them break. I'm usually very careful with my stuff, so I bought one too, but it broke within 6 months. It looked nice while it lasted, but what a waste of $25.

This one from Zojirushi is the best one on the market and a great example of Japanese engineering. They ripped off the design from Nissan, which at the time had the most well-designed tumbler on the market, but they made several modifications that made it even better. The older model maxes out at 16 oz, but the newer model comes in 20 oz. The newer model also has a high quality non-stick lining that should prevent any odors. Also, it's small enough to fit in a BMW cup holder.

They're a little expensive (around $32), but they last forever. My parents have used the older model daily for 3 years, and the mugs still look brand new.

Hi! If you want to get into tea, I would reccomend starting by watching Alton Brow's episode on tea here. It's a good background on everything involving tea and tea brewing.

If you have a Peet's Coffee near you, you can go and order mugs of tea (brewed with loose leaf). They will give you free hot water refills so you can drink as much as you can handle. You can find a tea you like without having to commit to a huge container.

I prepare my tea in the morning in a tea pot (I have this one, but I don't like it because it's hard to clean) and pour it into a travel mug.

They make travel mugs that are similar to a frech press (here) where you put the leaves and hot water in and just push down a stopper to stop brewing. I'm really picky about the lids on my travel mugs, so I don't own one.

For resusable tea bags, the most popular style is a [tea ball] (http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Stainless-Steel-Mesh-Ball/dp/B00004RIZ7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407090137&sr=8-1&keywords=tea+ball) (although the one I linked is a little too small to allow the tea to fully unfold). They are cheap and fairly easy to clean, but you have to be careful where you store them so they don't get bent up.

They also make tea bags for loose leaf tea. These would be easy to pop into your travel mug. You can also find bags made of muslin that can be washed out, but I don't know where you would do that.

I replaced mine with a glass teapot. Hario has a really great one with a huge infuser basket. They're pretty popular around here, too. It comes in 700ml, 450ml, and 300ml. It's all glass/stainless steel, and a lot easier to keep clean.

If you want a fresh boil this isn't your selection, but if you don't mind a boil and hold temp with three selections I love my pot like this

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-CD-WBC40-TS-4-Liter-Boiler-Warmer/dp/B00M0GOI78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450279932&sr=8-1&keywords=zojirushi+hot+water+boiler

What makes it amazing for me is that the water is always at temp so tea is always just a steep away. For me that was a game changer

WAIT WAIT.

I have exactly the thing for you. I got it when I had no where to put my tea bags when I was studying in the library or in a class room. It works great.

The Aladdin Tea Infuser Mug, only $20. It has an basket that you can put a tea bag, tea leaves or even coarse coffee grounds in and then, after a few minutes, you can flip the basket up into the lid of the mug and away from the water!

I've had it for a little over a year, and I think I might replace it sometime soon. The plastic got stained from the tea, so it's not perfectly clear, and the basket is starting to degrade. (Not the netting, but some plastic bit on the wire netting). But it's still working perfectly! It's also 100% leak-proof - every morning, I pour in hot water, close the lid immediately (not waiting for the water to cool), and throw it into my bag with my laptop or textbooks. I've never had a problem.

EDIT: While the libre tea thermos being made out of glass is great (no staining, even if it's a bit heavier), note that you can't infuse the tea by pouring hot water over the leaves. I've done a lot of looking into this, and the Aladdin is really the best bet. You can infuse the tea by flipping down the basket and pouring your water over the basket, underneath the lid. I can take a video/picture if this is hard to explain - or I can show you the degradation of the product over a year of really heavy use (more than once daily).

Really I'd recommend getting a filter like this one and an electric kettle. They have some cheap ones (like ~$15) that you should be able to use in your dorm room. Just put water in and hit the button, it shuts off when it's done. There are more expensive ones that allow you to set the temperature which is nice for some of the more delicate green and white teas but in a dorm setting, I'd just go for something like this.

As for tea, I highly recommend anything from adagio. They also have some kettles but they are Stainless Steel and more expensive. They are also the makers of the IngenuiTea which you can get from them or elsewhere. My coworker has one and it's nice. I prefer the strainer I originally linked to because I can just store it in my mug and it doesn't take up that much space.

Guayusa is super energizing, even moreso I think than a strong black tea or matcha or even yerba mate. But like camellia sinensis tea it gives you a sustained type of energy, not like the peaks and valleys of the coffee buzz.

I hate bags, but one of the better bagged greens from a grocery store I've had is Costco's Kirkland Green tea with sencha and matcha. It is by Ito En, which is a good tea seller that does matcha/greens pretty good. FYI, this has matcha so the caffeine will be high.

If you don't have a costco, you can buy online. https://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Matcha-Blend-Japanese-Tea-100/dp/B000WB1YSE

If you can find Harney & Sons in store, they have good teas too and come in bagged form.

edit: since you are new. Refer to the side bar for temperatures. Green tea needs to be done at a lower temperature or it'll be a bitter mess.

http://www.runa.org/

I don't know about OP, but I bought my bag on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FSASKU/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M3T1_ST1_dp_1

At basically $1/oz, it's a pretty awesome deal.

I use this and it works great for me. I only drink black and green, but there are three settings, the middle being for oloong or white. Works great so far. Bonus it is quite small for a non-traditional brewing spot like an office or a personal room.

While not a true Camellia Sinensis, guayusa is a great caffeinated holly tea native to Ecuador with natural sweetness. You can check it out here and here. Yaupon holly, a sister plant to guayusa, is also a naturally sweet caffeinated holly native to Southeast North America.

This is the one I have and like I said, the white plastic mouthpiece pops out for cleaning and the sillicon stopper can be pulled off to clean as well. Cleaning is very easy with this and I really like it.

If you want simple western style brewing, which of you are in the Americas or uk is the norm these two items will get you set up right. All you need is tea. especially if you want to get into oolongs, which can be very fussy about temperature, you will find a kettle with temp control a dream come true.

Also if you were in the USA look at Harney and sons. They a great first step, offering a wide variety of low cost samples with free shipping.

FORLIFE Curve Tall Tea Mug with Infuser and Lid 15 ounces, Turquoise https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017938B6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_nGsKBbWD971BZ

Epica 6-Temperature Variable Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G7OL9ZW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_OGsKBb3ETZ80H

I use the provided hot water in our office kitchen. We have two systems -- the water cooler gives water at about 180F and the coffee maker provides plain hot water at a slightly higher temperature (both are filtered). I brew in gaiwan, in a Western-style teapot, or grandpa-style in a mug, depending on what I feel like. I don't find that the slightly-cooler-than-boiling water affects the flavor of black or pu-erh teas, and if I'm brewing a delicate green or white tea, I put the water into a mug before pouring it over the leaves to let it cool slightly.

All this said, I'm a bit of "that eccentric tea lady" at work. I find it endearing and enjoy talking to people who enjoy tea, no matter how they take it. I have a small collection of teaware, including a gaiwan, a portable gongfu set, an English china tea-for-one set, and a glass kyusu and two glass cups.

At my old job, I kept a small electric kettle on my desk, plugged into the power strip with my computer and printer. I would boil it and let it cool off for as long as I needed depending on what kind of tea I was drinking. I was less "eccentric" in that job and drank all my tea out of this mug.

I use this for heating my water, it's a great value. I love it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00V9LJF78/ref=psdcmw_289753_t1_B00BFLKVX4

I just got this (http://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-Tea-12-Ounce-Infuser-Blue/dp/B001Q3L9PA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292857228&sr=8-1) as a present and I think it'd be perfect for you. The infuser is built into the lid, so you can remove the leaves when they're done steeping without worrying where to put the infuser, and when your next 15 minute break comes in, just refill with hot water and get another wash of the leaves. It's incredibly easy to clean, just rinse out the infuser at the end of the day. You can heat the water with this pup right here: http://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-6131-Water-Dispenser-Black/dp/B000C3QSPQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292806382&sr=8-1

I love my Aladdin infuser tumbler. I've had mine a year and I have put it through hell but it still looks like new. A friend has had hers even longer and hers is like new, too.

http://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-Perfect-Inufser-12oz-Blue/dp/B001Q3L9PA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413524058&sr=8-1&keywords=aladdin+tea+tumbler

I've been drinking this jasmine tea with about a teaspoon of honey recently. I've found it's usually better on the second or third brew.

Could anyone recommend some others i might like? That, harvey and son's winter white earl grey, and art of tea's green pomegranate are the ones i like most.

http://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-Perfect-Inufser-12oz-Blue/dp/B001Q3L9PA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426190070&sr=8-1&keywords=aladdin+tea+infuser+mug

Been using this at work for a couple years, it works perfectly! sometimes the infuser refuses to plop down but its very uncommon. its a great product.

You can always get cheap steepers from amazon. :) I have this and this. They are both a little small, so the teas can't fully expand, though. My personal favorite is something like this because it has tiny holes that stop anything from escaping, and still plenty of room for larger tea leaves to fully expand.

So there was already a comment about a Zojirushi water boiler and warmer. But I'm here to advocate for the Zojirushi thermos! When at work I go down to the cafeteria and fill it with hot water (and no, I have not needed to preheat it). Keeps my water hot for 4 hours. And it is super easy to clean too.

http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-SM-KHE48AG-Stainless-Steel-16-Ounce/dp/B005PO9T44/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426531572&sr=8-1&keywords=zojirushi+thermos

I bought the Chefman cordless glass kettle and love it, but before that I had the stainless steel and love that one too (it is 1/2 the price).
http://www.amazon.com/Chefman-Cordless-Electric-1-7-Liter-Stainless-Steel/dp/B00J8NJEW0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454274741&sr=8-2&keywords=chefman+tea+kettle

http://www.amazon.com/Chefman-RJ11-17-GP-Precision-Electric-Kettle/dp/B00V9LJF78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454274831&sr=8-1&keywords=chefman+tea+kettle

Anyone that likes Mate should also give guayusa a try. Personally I like how mate feels but not the way it tastes. Guayusa feels very similar but it tastes amazing. I believe they are very similar plants but guayusa is not at all bitter.

I use this FORLIFE mug at work.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0017938B6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1374170929&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

It works well and it is easy to clean. The ceramic lid flips over to hold the metal infuser with the used tea leaves. This is helpful so u don't need to take multiple trips back and forth to the break room/garbage

Steeping tea is enjoyable to me. At minimum, you'll need a device for heating the water (kettle, either electric or stovetop), a container for steeping (teapot), a filter to catch the leaves (can be part of teapot or separate), and a cup for drinking.

I use these:

• Medelco kettle
  
• BIA Cordon Blue teapot and cup
  
• Steel ball strainer
  
  The process is simple.
  
  
• Place leaves into teapot.
  
• Heat water in kettle.
  
• Pour water into teapot.
  
• Place strainer at mouth of teapot while pouring tea into cup.
  
  You can alternatively place the leaves in the strainer and stick it inside the teapot to steep. That's slightly simpler, but it doesn't allow the leaves to fully expand.
  
  Some teapots are also designed to ease the steeping process further, like Adagio's Ingenuitea, which I own and yet don't use as much. You place the leaves inside, steep, and then the tea flows out from the filtered mesh bottom, directly into a cup.
  
  Once you've developed tea as a hobby and have certain regional or style preferences, such as Japanese sencha (green tea) or Chinese oolongs, you can invest in steeping equipment specific to those, such as kyusu or tetsubin and Zisha teapots or gaiwan. These are by no means required, but they can heighten the experience, especially if you decide to prepare the tea in the culturally traditional manner; see Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies.

The next step after a ball strainer is giving the leaves room to expand and infuse better. You want a basket infuser or teapot+strainer.

The next step after supermarket tea is loose-leaf tea from a good vendor (see the sidebar). I suggest buying a sampler that includes green, oolong, and black teas.

List of "Promotional" Sample Sets

Curated sample set

The Story of Tea is a great book. Tons of information and really beautiful.

+1 for Guayusa, though I've only had Runa's version. I bought it for the cheap price and favorable Amazon reviews, but Runa claims it has ~90mg caffeine per cup (on par with coffee). I don't feel particularly buzzed with it, so YMMV, but I'm not very sensitive to caffeine anyway.

The taste took some getting used to. Like canadasmith said, it's not actually tea, so I shouldn't be surprised that it doesn't taste the same as orange pekoe or english breakfast. It seemed more "grassy", like some green teas.

A pack stove is what you're looking for. They run on solid, liquid, or gas fuel and span a wide range of prices. Jetboil is a popular but pricey brand with many models. This means you will be carrying the stove, the fuel, and another container for the water.

If you're talking about a day hike then your best option is to get a good thermos just fill it up before you leave. It will be a lot less hassle, weigh less, and take up less space.

why drink tea if you can't stand it? i like coffee a lot, i just prefer ice cold tea.

while others may post exotic tea ideas, i'll stick with the tried and true just to get you started;

black;

http://www.amazon.com/Yorkshire-Gold-tea-bags-box-bags/dp/B0001LQZOI

green;

http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Signature-Matcha-Japanese-Leaves/dp/B000WB1YSE

it's ok to garnish your tea with citrus juice or milk, sweeten with sugars or honey.

variety packs are fun to sample, just keep in mind they may not be different teas,

just various fruits|spices used to flavor them, kinda like flavored coffee creamers.

The Story of Tea is a really great book that I've been enjoying.

Welcome! I've never used paper towel, but it could work. I fear it may tear after 1 or 2 infusions.

I've used this infuser and its worked well for me. It's a bit pricey @ $19 though.
http://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Stainless-Folding-Infuser-Carrying/dp/B00FOMKNSI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1457753210&sr=8-9&keywords=for+life+tea+infuser

You could also invest in a gaiwan. Half the price at $8.
http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Clay-Tea-Pot-Gaiwan/dp/B00H98UGCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457753354&sr=8-1&keywords=gaiwan

This video helped me understand brewing process. It's a bit long, but hope it helps!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puldqGnW9P0

Thanks for your help, what about something like this? https://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Curve-Infuser-ounces-Turquoise/dp/B0017938B6/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1485972161&sr=1-7&keywords=tea+mug

Invest in an infuser and start drinking loose leaf tea. The dust/scraps that go into bagged tea can't hold a candle to the fresh, rich flavour you get out of the full leaf. You can find single-serve mugs, mesh strainers, and full-size kettles. The difference is noticeable and makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

There's also this since you mentioned a generous budget. Check the different models/features to see what you like. I keep one running 24/7 and always have teawater ready to go.
https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-CD-WBC40-TS-4-Liter-Boiler-Warmer/dp/B00M0GOI78/ref=sr_1_1

This one is just amazing, the water is still warm after 24 hours. I use this for the picnic and the water burns me all the time.

And, get a smaller one for the milk, thermos keeps cold as well! I use it for ice in the summer time.

I second this comment. I am pretty sure they use this one. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NIHZMU/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?pc_redir=T1. It's like 5$ in chinese grocery stores.

That looks like a fairness pitcher:

• http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/index.php?id_category=17655024&controller=category
  
  More glassware here:
  
  
• http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/index.php?id_category=11192170&controller=category
  
  Hario glass teapots are nice and sell on amazon:
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NVMC4I/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?qid=1426813680&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=hario+glass+pot
  
  Lots of teapots ranging from 100-1000ml here:
  
  
• http://stores.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House/Glass-Pots-/_i.html?_fsub=11838200&_sid=150831608&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322
  
  

I will pick something like this

http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Stainless-40-Ounce-Beverage-Midnight/dp/B0017IHRNM/ref=zg_bs_13880501_1

Or something for camping, is good money spent, i have 1 year with mine and is like new.

I gotcha. If time is an absolute crunch in the morning, then there are a few things you can do to shorten the time spent on tea. Here's something that I do whenever I'm on the move. I use one of these, and keep a premeasured dose of tea in it, ready to be watered. When you happen to move toward the kitchen, turn on your kettle to the appropriate temperature, and walk away. When you're ready to steep, just do it and set a timer. Put pants on, or whatever takes ~3 minutes. Remove the leaves/strainer, close your cup and you're ready to go!

I haven't found a do-everything-automatically fix that doesn't have a major flaw. As far as I can tell, the quickest option is to take time beforehand to streamline the brewing process, so you don't have to think about it when it matters.

TL;DR: Setup everything the night before, and push buttons as you fly through the house in the morning.

I cannot speak highly enough for the travel mug by Teas Etc, I've had mine for over two years and plan to get another as a backup. I bought a little thermos sling for it to carry around with me, which more or less keeps it hot the entire day. But even without the sling, it still keeps hot for quite awhile. I really fell in love with it due to the design though. It being see through whenever I'm out with it people comment on it, either they want one or more likely they have never seen loose leaf tea before, so I usually point them in the right direction.

The trick to keeping it from over-steeping is to use less leaf and cooler water. For anyone thinking this is blasphemy, keep in mind that a good majority of green tea drunk daily in China is just thrown into a glass cup with water added to the same leaves as needed throughout the day.

Looks like you're shopping a bit higher end but I wanted to list this one for budget shoppers: amazon link

I got one as a "spare" kettle at work and it heats like a champ. Fast and does have variable temperature, though you need to do some experimentation to figure out exactly what "low" and "high" mean for your particular unit. I tend to leave mine in the middle for my black teas and low for green.

Electric kettles are probably a life saver in your situation. Then I would do a single serving style brewing container. The teavana perfect tea maker or an IngenuiTea are good picks and more of a one piece type deal. They also have a fine mesh strainer so only the smallest bits of tea dust get through when you are done brewing.

If you want to brew in the mug or cup you will be drinking out of there are a lot of mugs with infusers out there. I can personally say that I love my ForLife mug and infuser. The only things to watch for when looking for a mug and infuser is the size of the infuser basket and the size of the holes in it. You want your basket to be big enough for your teas to be able to float around a bit and unfurl, but you don't want your holes big enough that the leaves or small particles to float through.

I've had this model for years: https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Balanced-1750-Watt-Electric-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ It is made largely of plastic, but we like it in our house so much that when my roommate broke it (knocked it off the counter, it landed weird and the side cracked) she bought the same one as a replacement. If the current one breaks and it's still for sale, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. It's currently $31 and has 3 temp settings - white, green and black. I haven't tested how accurate the different temps are since green tea brewed at the green setting tastes good and black tea brewed at the black tea setting tastes good!

I used a 1L T-Fal electric kettle. It's very cheap, pretty small, and it's made of food grade plastic. It was still working after about a year of use, when I upgraded to a better kettle. https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Balanced-1750-Watt-Electric-Temperature/dp/B0086UJQN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468020408&sr=8-1&keywords=tfal+kettle

If I go to re use the loose leaf how do I do it? I usually only drink one cup at a time. Do I just take the infuser out, let the tea dry lol? Or is it only intended on steeping again right after the first?

Also, i was looking at this combo https://www.amazon.com/Epica-6-Temperature-Variable-Stainless-Cordless/dp/B01G7OL9ZW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1486621787&sr=8-3&keywords=variable+kettle plus https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Chacha-Kyusu-Maru-700ml/dp/B000NVMC4I/ref=pd_bxgy_79_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=W6562BAB0YZQKH1YGCTM&th=1 i assume I get the water to the desired temp then pour into the infuser then straight into my mug?

Finally, as for the variable kettle is it okay to only pour one cup into it? Also, I heard a complaint that it didn't heat the water all the way up to the desired temp?

I'm probably not as much of a tea expert as the rest of the guys and gals here but I have this green matcha tea I bought from costco and it tastes good enough to me.

Comes in a huge package of 100 and isn't too expensive at about ~$0.20/bag.


This is tea with matcha however. I'm not sure if that is the same as just matcha.

I have a Chefman electric kettle and it holds at 175F perfectly (my tea's recommended brewing temp). Moves in 5 degree increments like most others.

Only complaint is that you have to press on, then the program button to set it to a specific temperature. It does remember the previous temperature as long as it stays plugged in. If you just press on, it boils the water and I've sleepily made this mistake more than once.

Or the smaller (300ml) version of the Hario teapot. I bought one after it was recommended here, and I love it.

Why not glass? I absolutely love mine. It's durable, completely cleanable, and even though they tell you not to, you can totally use high heat. It's also really fun to watch the water boil.

I used to have an enameled kettle and the enamel would melt and bond to the stovetop, and once you boil it dry its garbage. I have yet to boil my glass one dry, but i'm thinking it might hold up better.

For everyday, convenient "I-need-some-tea-in-me-stat" drinking I quite enjoy Costco's house brand green tea bags. It's actually Ito En tea, sold under the Kirkland name. 100 bags to a box, and if I recall it's about $15. Looks like this (Amazon link; though Costco is cheaper).

Hey guys. I just recently discovered this thread and thought I'd post my question instead of starting a new thread.

I recently ordered this and this. I am looking to wean myself off of coffee and have always enjoyed tea. I mostly drink green tea hence the amazon order. Does anyone have any recommendations on other/better brands?

I'm also looking to get either this addition to my Contigo mugs or just another mug for tea.

I just started using this one today: http://amzn.com/B003FGW71G

It works perfectly and I like it so far! It's going to take a bit of experimenting to get the brew just right though, my first batch was quite bitter. The packaging recommends less tea & cooler water, since the tea sits in the water the whole time.

I was gifted this one for Christmas: http://www.amazon.com/Chefman-RJ11-17-GP-Precision-Electric-Kettle/dp/B00V9LJF78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453571338&sr=8-1&keywords=chefman+kettle

The steeper is fantastic IMO, but there is a drawback of having to make at least ~1 liter of tea in order for the steeper to reach the water. That being said, you can also remove the steeper and use it like a regular kettle

I love this one

This one is nice because it's cheap. These are nice because cleanup is a lot easier. Cleaning out infusers can be a pain.

There's the Kirkland matcha green tea blend that's pretty okay.

I agree, but I recommend this one instead. The only reason I prefer it is that it has the tab/handle on both sides. The ones with the handle on only one side tend to fall or sag into the cup, I find.

Looks like the only way is to open it up and dump the leaves out...

I have this one, and it works well. Yours looks a lot sturdier, and probably holds heat a lot better, tho.

How about a water boiler and a single cup infuser? You could have the water boiler keep water hot all day and just go back there every time you want to make another cup.

Something like this Zojirushi water boiler and single cup infuser. Cheaper versions of both items exist if you're on a budget, as well as smaller or larger water boilers.

Hey, I'm in the exact same kind of setup and just recently dumped soda for tea. There's a hot water spigot on our coffee machine that pumps water out at 200 deg F.

I got one of these: http://amazon.com/dp/B004PV6SXS?tag=dimwellnet-20

If you want something with a built-in infuser, try this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FGW71G?tag=dimwellnet-20

Add that to a box of sample tea bags (I started with a Twinings sample box from Publix, I think) and you're ready to get started.

The mug linked above keeps everything nice and warm for an hour or so.

I'm sure that loose is measurably better, but I'm ignorant and bags are fine. Plus, it's easy to brew a bag while I'm on my way to a meeting and just drop the used bag into the trash before things get started.

I have this guy that works out quite well for me providing I can keep the cup at a flat surface, but other than that, I'd just say bring a couple of tea bags with you and microwave and steep when you can. I've always found that lighter blacks (like Lychee Black or Darjeelings) and Jasmines work quite well over time

If you don't want to spend the extra dollar, you can use bubbles to estimate the temperature. What I'll also do, since I have a non-programmable Aroma kettle that just celebrated its fifth birthday, is boil some water, stick a thermometer inside, and jot down the temperature every few minutes. Then, I'll know, for example, if I want water at 170°F, I should leave the kettle for ~10 minutes after it finishes boiling.

If you are interested in actual caffeine content in an infused cup, there's a LOT to it that results in wide variation. I recommend looking at the chapter on this in the book Tea: History, Terriors, Varieties which has a nice chart of test results with a wide variety of teas. A Google Scholar search will also give you studies on the subject, but many of them compare caffeine of dry leaf, or extracts of tea, rather than an infused cup of tea.

I've had one of these for a while now and it's absolutely fantastic. Couldn't recommend it more!

I have one of these and it serves me well. I read about it on a thread of recommend containers. I'll see if I can dig it up.

I have the teastick, and really don't recommend it. It doesn't leave any space for expansion at all, and it's actually rather a pain to refill. Not to mention, the holes on the teastick are rather big, so any small tea leaves tea will slip though. There's really no winning with this; I can't discourage you away from this enough. A teaball definitely works better than this does.

I would instead suggest these two: FORLIFE infuser with lid and the FORLIFE infuser with carrying case.

Gaiwan, Fair cup, strainer :)

Just put the tea in one of these and you are good to go!


http://www.amazon.com/Prepworks-Progressive-International-GT-3931-Stainless/dp/B00004RIZ7

This is an expensive(ish) travel mug, but it's clear so you can carry in hot water and then flip the lever that lowers the basket of tea leaves when you're settled at your desk.
http://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-Perfect-Inufser-12oz-Blue/dp/B001Q3L9PA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420658486&sr=8-1&keywords=alladin+tea+infuser+mug

Proctors may not be very understanding, though. Do you know what the rule was made to prevent?

I keep it simple - I have a cup, a basket infuser, and the cup comes with a lid that I can sit the basket infuser on when it's done steeping. Here's what mine looks like!

https://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Curve-Infuser-ounces-Turquoise/dp/B0017938B6/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1496790941&sr=1-1&keywords=forlife+tea+cup

It's work, so I try not to do anything too fancy!

I don't believe a quality, all in one solution exists at that volume and at that price. The closest thing to tick most of your boxes will be something like this, but that's not really the best solution if you're drinking quality teas.

If you actually like Keurig coffee and are willing to pay the premium for it, and you drink mostly green or oolong tea, it's probably fine (providing the water actually tastes good). It will be sub-optimal for black tea, since the water won't be hot enough, and you'll probably still want to use a thermometer for green tea.

Personally, I would say it's not worth it (because Keurig coffee is overpriced if you aren't using the reusable filter basket and it doesn't give me any control over the brewing process), and stovetop kettles are cheap, less than a couple packs of K-cups.

I bought a $5 thermometer instant read thermometer from my grocery store. I use that and a pot on a stove and it works fine. No need for a fancy tea maker. This kettle apparently works well and is only $10 as well.

I was looking at hot water heaters like this one a while ago. They use less power than kettles and keep the water hot all day if you want them to. The reviews on that one say it uses 730 watts when heating the water and then 90 watts to maintain the temp. Most of the electric kettles I've seen, and the one I use, will use around 1500 watts.

For a decent budget kettle I quite like this one from Aroma:

http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-X-Press-Cordless-Electric-Stainless/dp/B000KDVTJI/

For single cups I use this basket.

For the pot you should just brew loose and pour through a teacup strainer like this or similar. You get the benefits of a strainer while allowing the tea leaves to fully expand.

• Whenever a vendor has a tea they list as "silver needle", you can safely assume there's going to be a price markup. Ignore teavana's white teas - the cheaper/better tasting teas will come from smaller tea vendors.
  
• I've tried many green tea brands, but the one that sticks out the most is Kirklands Matcha Blend. This is my go-to green tea nowdays. It's cheaper to buy at costco instead of amazon though. It's a blend of matcha powder and tea leaves.

I have this Aroma water kettle and it works pretty well. It's under $30, but I think it was cheaper when I bought it.

http://www.amazon.com/Chefman-RJ11-17-GP-Precision-Electric-Kettle/dp/B00V9LJF78?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00

this is the model I have and love it. It was around 60 new, but I got a used one for I think 38$. It goes up by increments of ten degrees, and even has an infuser already in it.

I've had The Story of Tea for several years and like it a lot.

It's called The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide

After that guy deleted his post, it's like we're having a secret conversation about a secret mug and a secret book. I was almost tempted not to post the reply...

If I were you, I'd invest in something like this. I found one for cheap at a thrift store. Or can't you have one of these in your dorm either?

Well, there are always these options:
this or this

The only problem is the lack of temperature control, it's basically hit boil and it stops. If you care about temperature control, then I recommend buying an instant thermometer(I recommend this one because it will beep when it reaches the desired temperature, make sure to set it to like 180 if you want 185) along with those kettles.

So if you purchase the the cheapest electric kettle and the thermometer, then you don't even break $30.

Alternatively you can always buy a normal kettle and microwave the water but control management would be more difficult.

I see! Well, in that case, try out Gunpowder green tea. It's really inexpensive and if you can find an international or asian grocery store near you, you can get a box for a couple of bucks! Just make sure your steeping temperature is right. Usually 175-180 or you will get a bitter brew.
This brand Is usually the one I see in stores. That's a half-pound, but they come smaller than that. You can also find some Jasmine greens there too. Such as this one. Again, they come in smaller tins than that.

It looks similar to this variety from Adagio.

This site says to steep at 195°F for 2-3 minutes.

You can use a teapot or a tea strainer like this or this.

This is my favorite all around, and I've tried a lot:

https://www.amazon.com/Extra-Loose-Infuser-House-Again/dp/B01N1OTXHW

If you want something a bit smaller and sturdier, but with slightly bigger holes (that will let more tea particles through):

https://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Stainless-Folding-Infuser-Carrying/dp/B00FOMKNSI

Pretty similar, but I prefer this one for traveling.

[The type of tea often served in a Chinese restaurant is similar to the kind served in a Sushi restaurant, good for the place, but you can find better.] (http://www.amazon.com/Sunflower-Jasmine-Tea-LB-454/dp/B000NIHZMU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421519792&sr=8-1&keywords=jasmine+green+sunflower)

A Hario is always worth considering and quite cheap.

Personally I much prefer the method of steeping the tea loose in a teapot and then straining. I use these strainers and absolutely love them.

this one for home and this one lives at work. Both work fine.

You could try a tea pot with a strainer inside like the Hario Kyusu.

i use one of these with a built in strainer. Looks like the yellow one is the same thing.

http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Traveler%C2%AE-Character-Teas-Etc/dp/B003FGW71G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408682120&sr=8-2&keywords=tea+to+go

I found this on Amazon

I use it daily and I rarely get "that" taste of metal, the water is only in the kettle for maybe 60-90 seconds? You might even want to look at the Zojirushi.

Amazon has some alright loose leaf tea for cheap.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NIHZMU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

According to my copy of Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties, Anxi TGY has 17mg and Mucha TGY 12mg of caffiene in a serving (brewed from 5g of leaves).

6oz filter coffee, according to Schott's Food and Drink Miscellany, has 105mg caffiene, and 12oz cola has ~50mg. (The same source claims that 6oz 'Tea' (unspecified type) contains 35mg caffiene...)

I have about 50 books on tea and this is by far the most complete and factual guide to tea: http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Terroirs-Varieties-Kevin-Gascoyne/dp/1554079373

Tea: History, Terroirs, Varietes: https://www.amazon.com/Tea-Terroirs-Varieties-Kevin-Gascoyne/dp/1770853197/

And the Story of Tea: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Tea-Cultural-History-Drinking/dp/1580087450

I haven't read it myself (it's on hold at the library though), but I've heard this is basically the definitive guide to tea.

One of these and one of these and a tin of tea.

There are also much, much cheaper electric kettles. Here's one for 15 dollars. It doesn't have all the various temperature options that the one greentea1985 linked to has, but it boils water.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunflower-Jasmine-Tea-LB-454/dp/B000NIHZMU

the orange tea tin that most (cheaper) chinese and vietnamese restaurants serve. check asian markets to see if the price is cheaper.

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NVMC4I/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?qid=1426813680&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=hario+glass+pot

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Chacha-Kyusu-Maru-300ml/dp/B000NVMC4I/ref=pd_lpo_79_lp_t_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=E24GAVW1XX1D5CKJEAY3

Comes in a 700ml version. Would that be large enough for you?

> Costco green tea

https://www.amazon.com//dp/B000WB1YSE

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017IHRNM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have this one keeps things very hot for an extremely long time and is big enough to hold the maximum amount of tea that I can drink at once, basically.

Here are two I know of, but I don't have any experience with either.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q3L9PA/
www.adagio.com/teaware/activiTEA.html

maybe this one?
https://amzn.com/B002Q710ZY
Porcelain ones are out there too, but you'd need to find one that coordinates with your pattern.

Right here.

heres a link to wikipedia page about it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_guayusa

http://www.amazon.com/Runa-Amazon-Guayusa-Traditional-Tea/dp/B004FSASKU

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOMKNSI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=E45EKS8JK8EG&coliid=I3N1BSOVH037VB

Either the Cuisinart CPK-17 or the Zojirushi water boiler.

You can get a zojirushi for about $100, assuming you're in the US

I use this currently

I brew my tea at home in my pot, then pour it into my travel mug before I leave for work in the morning. This is the travel mug I use. Keeps my tea hot even if I can't get to it right away. It's so hot straight from the mug that I usually pour it into my work teacup and drink it that way.

Not an injury, but came close: I broke my glass kettle (this one by accidentally tripping and dropping it). Thankfully it fell away from my and didn't get cuts. I ordered another one from Amazon a few minutes after :D

I've bought two of these separately for tea and coffee. They both heat water damn fast, which is really all I want from a $30 kettle. In lieu of a thermometer, I just wait a specific amount of time after it reaches a roiling boil.

Hello im new to drinking Tea and have a question

i want to fill a very large thermos with tea using an infuser

in this container

my question is how much loose tea will i need to make a strong/ non bitter tea.


ALSO is there a good stater set i can buy to try different teas again im new to this
thanks

Would a kettle like [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Medelco-12-Cup-Stovetop-Whistling-Kettle/dp/B000V5X826/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463179911&sr=8-1&keywords=stove+top+kettle) work? and I think I have an infuser lying around

Put one of these over your cup and it will catch the loose leaves as you pour.

It's a Tea's Etc. I've been thinking about getting one like this, however, it's made of plastic which turns me off.

I'm really tempted to get a Libre, which is made of plastic on the outside and glass on the inside, but the price is ludicrous.

The cup as a lid isn't hard to find in the least, nor is one with a strainer. It's just finding them both in one package that's tough.

http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Nissan-12-Ounce-Stainless-Steel-Tumbler/dp/B00004S1CV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376626848&sr=8-1&keywords=thermos+strainer

http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Stainless-40-Ounce-Beverage-Midnight/dp/B0017IHRNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376626753&sr=8-1&keywords=thermos

Sure, https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/wiki/faq

The Story of Tea: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1580087450/

Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties https://www.amazon.com/dp/1770853197/

As for the relevance, your post states that Twinings is cheaper than Tazo, and I merely pointed out that a) that isn't necessarily true, and b) insistence upon the cheapest possible tea is arguably a bad thing.