The coffee/tea appreciation thread

[Sir Beregond]

Just add water.

[UltraMega]

1 hour ago, Sir Beregond said:

Just add water.

haha yea I guess that makes sense. 

[Andrew]

4 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

Just add water.

This combined with electric kettles being super popular outside of North America.

I originally thought it was a power thing, like 120v takes significantly longer to boil water than 240v, but North America does have higher amps so the power is roughly the same. Technology Connections has a couple of videos on this topic. Turns out it's more of a cultural thing.

[UltraMega]

1 hour ago, Andrew said:

This combined with electric kettles being super popular outside of North America.

I originally thought it was a power thing, like 120v takes significantly longer to boil water than 240v, but North America does have higher amps so the power is roughly the same. Technology Connections has a couple of videos on this topic. Turns out it's more of a cultural thing.

Why not use a drip if you're using a kettle? 

 

[Andrew]

1 minute ago, UltraMega said:

Why not use a drip if you're using a kettle? 

 

That still takes quite a lot of time + you have to buy filters vs just pouring boiling water on some crystals.

 

This is pretty good. It's 95% the flavour of some freshly made coffee with 5% the effort required to make it.

 

Either that, or you could buy one of those £500+ coffee machines that you just put beans in and it does everything for you with just one button.

[Slaughtahouse]

Grabbed a new bag of beans today. Ran into a rep from the roasting company and he walked me through a recommendation for my machine.

 

 

We also placed an order on Tealish for a variety of black and green teas. I’ll follow up with a photo when it comes in

[neurotix]

Would love to see your tea. Thanks for the post. I need to get all of my fine teas and set them out on the counter and take a picture of all of them. Maybe do the same thing with my junky sugar flavored coffee too, lol.

[Slaughtahouse]

23 hours ago, neurotix said:

Would love to see your tea. Thanks for the post. I need to get all of my fine teas and set them out on the counter and take a picture of all of them. Maybe do the same thing with my junky sugar flavored coffee too, lol.

 

Tea arrived

 

https://tealish.com/products/english-breakfast-organic-black-tea

https://tealish.com/products/cold-fighter-green-tea-tin

https://tealish.com/products/stress-buster-herbal-tea

https://tealish.com/products/lavender-mint-green-tea

https://tealish.com/products/earl-grey-cream-black-tea

 

Edited January 16 by Slaughtahouse

[neurotix]

2 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Tea arrived

 

 

Are those loose-leaf or do they come in sachets? How do you make them, what do you use?

[Slaughtahouse]

18 minutes ago, neurotix said:

 

Are those loose-leaf or do they come in sachets? How do you make them, what do you use?

 

I haven't opened them yet but they should all be loose-leaf. We have a similar type of metal mesh baskets to the link below to infuse the tea leaves. We brew tea per cup and not in a larger tea pot (batch serving).

 

Typically I do one tablespoon per mug / basket. Depending on the tea, like green tea, I may temper the water or simply wait for it to cool down before brewing. 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Basket-Leaves-Strainer-Teapot-Filter/dp/B016DT2KZY

 

Once it's brewed, take out the basket, and I usually add lemon and honey.

 

It's not popular here but if you go into any Germanic / Eastern-European (German / Polish) type grocery store, you can buy fruit syrups for tea or drinks. My wife introduced them to me years ago. I'm not a huge fan but if you like a sweet drink, you can add that too. https://polka-deli.com/652-herbapol-syrups

 

I specifically chose the "Earl Grey" loose leaf tea as I wanted to try and make a "London Fog"  https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/london-fog-tea-latte-london-fog-drink/

 

 

 

[neurotix]

29 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

I haven't opened them yet but they should all be loose-leaf. We have a similar type of metal mesh baskets to the link below to infuse the tea leaves. We brew tea per cup and not in a larger tea pot (batch serving).

 

Typically I do one tablespoon per mug / basket. Depending on the tea, like green tea, I may temper the water or simply wait for it to cool down before brewing. 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Basket-Leaves-Strainer-Teapot-Filter/dp/B016DT2KZY

 

Once it's brewed, take out the basket, and I usually add lemon and honey.

 

It's not popular here but if you go into any Germanic / Eastern-European (German / Polish) type grocery store, you can buy fruit syrups for tea or drinks. My wife introduced them to me years ago. I'm not a huge fan but if you like a sweet drink, you can add that too. https://polka-deli.com/652-herbapol-syrups

 

I specifically chose the "Earl Grey" loose leaf tea as I wanted to try and make a "London Fog"  https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/london-fog-tea-latte-london-fog-drink/

 

 

 

 

I just use a french press for my tea, it makes two of these:

 

 

Cup looks larger than it is. I'm guessing its about 10oz.

 

I drink all grades of tea but in the last few months I've only wanted tea with honey. You can't really put honey into something like sencha. So I haven't really been doing strong greens.

 

I'll for sure check out the flavoring syrup as I'm interested in that. Thanks.

 

Tomorrow I'll try and haul all my tea out and take photos and provide links.

[Sir Beregond]

4 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Tea arrived

 

https://tealish.com/products/english-breakfast-organic-black-tea

https://tealish.com/products/cold-fighter-green-tea-tin

https://tealish.com/products/stress-buster-herbal-tea

https://tealish.com/products/lavender-mint-green-tea

https://tealish.com/products/earl-grey-cream-black-tea

 

I'm a big fan of mint tea. How is that one?

[Slaughtahouse]

4 hours ago, Sir Beregond said:

I'm a big fan of mint tea. How is that one?

 

The teas literally arrived today

 

So no comment but I will follow up in the coming days / weeks.

 

Edit: Decided to brew a cup before bed. Made Stress Buster for the wife and I went with Lavender Mint.

 

Green and Mint teas are my favourite and I tell you right now this one is delicious and definitely worth your time. It’s lavender forward more than mint but it’s very… decadent.

 

Stress Buster^ 

 

Lavender Mint^

Edited January 17 by Slaughtahouse

[neurotix]

As promised, here are all my teas. I will post links to them all shortly. If anyone is curious as to what they actually look like in their bags, let me know and I'll take a photo of the tea itself.

 

 

 

 

From the left in the first photo:

 

https://rishi-tea.com/products/organic-vanilla-mint-chai-puer-tea (Pu Erh Tea aka red tea. Close to a black tea.)

 

https://rishi-tea.com/products/iron-goddess-of-mercy-oolong-tea?variant=44462596194554 (Oolong)

 

https://www.harney.com/products/japanese-sencha?_pos=1&_sid=b6b3443a7&_ss=r (Japanese green tea, we get loose leaf in a 8oz tin)

 

https://www.cameronscoffee.com/masala-chai-tea/ (Masala Chai. Black tea with herbals).

 

https://www.cameronscoffee.com/french-plum-tea/ (Black)

 

Cameron's Gunpowder, a strong green tea. No link as I can't find it on the site.

 

2nd photo:

 

https://rishi-tea.com/products/peach-blossom-white-tea?variant=44376703959290  (White tea with dried peaches and tangerine peels)

 

https://rishi-tea.com/products/organic-white-peony-tea?variant=44376703205626 (White tea. Been drinking this one the longest. Probably my favorite.)

 

 

 

Edited January 19 by neurotix

[Slaughtahouse]

You can't find a link for the "tea" labeled "Gunpowder"

 

...

 

Spoiler

 

 

lol I kid! Thanks for sharing the spread! I'll need to check them out. I am curious if there is a local distributor so I can to my list of preferred vendors. 

 

[neurotix]

34 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

You can't find a link for the "tea" labeled "Gunpowder"

 

...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

lol I kid! Thanks for sharing the spread! I'll need to check them out. I am curious if there is a local distributor so I can to my list of preferred vendors. 

 

We get Cameron's tea by weight from plastic bins at a grocery store called Woodman's here. Actually they don't have it here in Rockford, but they have it in Madison (where we lived til 2021)

 

If you look on Cameron's website they only sell a bulk amount in a 2 lbs bag. However, we get it in those small sized brown bags and a bag is like $15.

 

Try and find a grocery store that has Cameron's in bins or Rishi and Harney and Sons on shelves. Whole Foods should carry Rishi. We don't have any grocery store here that carries Rishi, so we just buy it online. Same with Harney and Sons.

Edited January 19 by neurotix

[Slaughtahouse]

Tried making a London Fog with Tealish’s Earl Grey Cream tea leaves.

 

Recipe (first attempt) for two cups London Fog:

- 1 heaping tablespoon of earl grey tea leaves

- ~250ml boiling water

- Steep for 5mns.

- 1 heaping tablespoon of honey

- 2 drops of vanilla extract

- Pour batch into two separate cups.

- Froth 250ml milk however you prefer and pour evenly into both cups

 

Edited January 20 by Slaughtahouse

[neurotix]

Not something I am interested in, I do chai lattes, but certainly looks delicious and I'd drink it if you gave me one. Not interested just because of all the work involved to make it

[Slaughtahouse]

10 minutes ago, neurotix said:

Not something I am interested in, I do chai lattes, but certainly looks delicious and I'd drink it if you gave me one. Not interested just because of all the work involved to make it

Thanks  Yea it was a little more effort than my espresso routine but ultimately it's a tea with frothed milk  I need to add more leaves I think, steep it longer, and maybe a bit more honey. It was good but not 100% perfect.

 

Certainly interested in trying a Chai  Never had one.

[neurotix]

Give this a shot. When you try it you'll love it.

 

Masala Chai Tea - Cameron's Coffee

WWW.CAMERONSCOFFEE.COM

---

Chai it, You'll like it. This is how Chai is doen right: with real cinnamon, ginger and fancy green cardamom - full...

 

I drink it black with a heaping spoon (regular spoon) of brown sugar. When I make chai lattes, I do the same thing but add Half and Half to make it creamy.

 

You won't be wasting your money, but go easy on the stuff when you brew it or it will be too spicy. I do a layer that's just enough to cover the bottom of my french press + a little bit more.

[neurotix]

@Slaughtahouse if you decide to get that chai I linked and try it, let me know your thoughts here.

[neurotix]

Hey @Slaughtahouseand anyone else. If you want me to take pictures of my actual tea in the bags so you can see the quality and what it looks like, before you decide to purchase it, let me know.

[Slaughtahouse]

1 hour ago, neurotix said:

Hey @Slaughtahouseand anyone else. If you want me to take pictures of my actual tea in the bags so you can see the quality and what it looks like, before you decide to purchase it, let me know.

 

If you have the passion for tea, just go for it  My inventory is now stocked for the next 3-6 months so I know I won’t place a (larger) order anytime soon. I am also unsure if I can order those specific teas here in Canada. Still doesn’t prevent us from chatting about it or to inform others  

 

Personally I can’t tell quality by looking at the leaves… but they sure look pretty XD

[Slaughtahouse]

Went to Stereo Coffee Roasters in Toronto with my wife to try a few samples. Came back with a couple small bags.

 

Super excited to make some drinks with these

 

 

In other coffee related updates, I retuned our approach to brewing.

 

I now set our grinder closer to 3 instead of 4, and once in a while weigh the grinds to ensure Im around 12g for a single spout / espresso or 19g for a double spout / espresso. I still need to be on my toes per bean as every little adjustment makes a big difference, including tamping pressure.

 

Getting more flavour out of each pull with this finer grind and less guesswork with weight.

[neurotix]

4 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Went to Stereo Coffee Roasters in Toronto with my wife to try a few samples. Came back with a couple small bags.

 

Super excited to make some drinks with these

 

 

In other coffee related updates, I retuned our approach to brewing.

 

I now set our grinder closer to 3 instead of 4, and once in a while weigh the grinds to ensure Im around 12g for a single spout / espresso or 19g for a double spout / espresso. I still need to be on my toes per bean as every little adjustment makes a big difference, including tamping pressure.

 

Getting more flavour out of each pull with this finer grind and less guesswork with weight.

 

 

All way beyond me man, and my single serve Cuisinart I have every morning, french vanilla. And then a single cup of Columbian from the drip brew pot.

 

I can say that I am pretty much addicted to Cameron's black masala chai with brown sugar. If you or anyone else isn't aware, putting milk in tea causes the milk to bond to the catechins and make them inert. So you don't get the health benefits that come from drinking tea if you add milk or creamer. No effect from chemicals like ECGC. Nevertheless, we have Half & Half to make chai lattes with.

 

Edited March 10 by neurotix