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Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

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Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#261

Post by HonkHill »

roboys wrote: post #53
simias wrote: post #7

Loose tea is often cheaper and of better quality in my experience. If you brew tea a lot using a reusable strainer seems like a much better choice. I'm also entirely convinced that these plastic pyramid-shaped bags are pure marketing. Then again, I find Lipton tea absolutely terrible regardless of the shape of the bag.

My buddy used to work for Lipton. He explained that they use the cheapest grade of tea (dust) available. Also many tea companies mix non-tea additives (fillers) to their tea bags. After hearing this I decided, if it's not full loose leaf, I don't drink it. We found that companies like Elephant Chateau ( http://elephantchateau.com ) deliver the 3 highest grades of tea direct from Ceylon mountain estates with the optio…

Sugar is good. Sugar is a source of easily digestible carbohydrates.

I find it funny how vilified sugar has become.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#262

Post by onorton »

limograf wrote: post #232
sharadov wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try PG Tips, it's the best tea you can get in a bag. Lipton is shit, I agree!

Hm I'd say Yorkshire Gold is the best tea bag. Second tier are Williamson Afternoon and Ringtons Breakfast, Yorkshire Red. Third tier, Twinings etc, acceptable but not lovely. PG Tips is on the third or fourth tier, at least.

I'm assuming you can't get Irish tea where you live? Because Punjana would be above all of them.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#263

Post by valarauko »

Bartweiss wrote: post #256
Spivak wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess my question as a non-serious tea drinker is whether the dust actually makes for worse tea or is just ugly.

There's a taste difference on two levels. First, the higher surface area brews differently - faster, which is convenient, but changes the ratios of what's infused. That's not inherently bad, matcha is green tea specifically prepared to be served that way, but it's usually detrimental to a tea intended for larger leaf brewing. Second, sitting around powdered in paper sachets means far more air exposure. This is basica…

Indian chais are commonly made in most Indian homes with dust tea. It's cheap, produces a very strong cup, which can stand up to the milk, sugar, and spices. Chai made with long leaf teas is just awful.

I wouldn't use a dust or CTC tea if I want to drink the tea straight, though. Different types of tea for different uses.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#264

Post by aruggirello »

roboys wrote: post #53
simias wrote: post #7

Loose tea is often cheaper and of better quality in my experience. If you brew tea a lot using a reusable strainer seems like a much better choice. I'm also entirely convinced that these plastic pyramid-shaped bags are pure marketing. Then again, I find Lipton tea absolutely terrible regardless of the shape of the bag.

My buddy used to work for Lipton. He explained that they use the cheapest grade of tea (dust) available. Also many tea companies mix non-tea additives (fillers) to their tea bags. After hearing this I decided, if it's not full loose leaf, I don't drink it. We found that companies like Elephant Chateau ( http://elephantchateau.com ) deliver the 3 highest grades of tea direct from Ceylon mountain estates with the optio…

I buy my tea from tealyra [0] - matcha but also other teas as well.

[0] https://www.tealyra.com

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#265

Post by Bartweiss »

valarauko wrote: post #263
Bartweiss wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a taste difference on two levels. First, the higher surface area brews differently - faster, which is convenient, but changes the ratios of what's infused. That's not inherently bad, matcha is green tea specifically prepared to be served that way, but it's usually detrimental to a tea intended for larger leaf brewing. Second, sitting around powdered in paper sachets means far more air exposure. This is basica…

Indian chais are commonly made in most Indian homes with dust tea. It's cheap, produces a very strong cup, which can stand up to the milk, sugar, and spices. Chai made with long leaf teas is just awful. I wouldn't use a dust or CTC tea if I want to drink the tea straight, though. Different types of tea for different uses.

Yep, that makes a lot of sense. I suppose if cost were no object at all, you could approach it like matcha: de-vein and powder long leaves to get a strong, high-grade brew that doesn't have time to oxidize. But I'm not even sure it would be better, since Indian chai isn't spiced with that process in mind.

I was going to say I've had chais made with long leaf tea, but I realize those were middle eastern versions that are only spiced with a bit of cardamom. I'm sure it's not an accident that the recipe has a lot less spice where long leaves are in use, but I'd love to know how that difference came to be.

Now I want a history of chai!

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#266

Post by yetanotherjosh »

Not a single mention in this thread of a gaiwan.

It's stunning how there's an ancient, effective, wasteless, flavorless, attractive and elegant alternative to tea bags that western culture simply has no clue about. The Chinese and other asian cultures have been using it for thousands of years. (Or at least since the Ming dynasty, and far earlier if you include the "tea bowl" precursors.)

There is zero need for a tea bag when you have such a simple, elegant, and effective ceramic dish in which to steep tea.

That and the fact that tea bag tea is virtually synonymous with ignorance of the full range of quality that exists in the world of tea, as far I can tell. The good teas from around the world just do not come in tea bags, and routinely when I share them with friends who think tea comes in tea bags, they are blown away.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#267

Post by chadcmulligan »

sgt wrote: post #238
chadcmulligan wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

really? Loose tea is available in supermarkets in Australia, its actually a lot cheaper than tea bags, if you count by the cup. Its usually with the tea bags but up higher or lower on the shelves. 250g costs about $3.50AUD. Though I have noticed the amount of loose leaf tea is getting less over the years on the shelves. There's also less variety than they're used to be, I have to hunt around if I want an unusual one.…

Interesting - what types of teas are these? I assume not just the regular black tea?

Oh nothing fancy just the base level tea - bushels, twinings, nerada and so on, you can see here if you can access the site outside Aus. https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/search/products?searchTer...

Most of the green and herbal teas are in tea bags, but I've seen loose leaf of these available sometimes, not something I look for I must admit.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#268

Post by limograf »

onorton wrote: post #262
limograf wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hm I'd say Yorkshire Gold is the best tea bag. Second tier are Williamson Afternoon and Ringtons Breakfast, Yorkshire Red. Third tier, Twinings etc, acceptable but not lovely. PG Tips is on the third or fourth tier, at least.

I'm assuming you can't get Irish tea where you live? Because Punjana would be above all of them.

I would def put Punjana in as super sub for Yorkshire Gold if I couldn't get YG.

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#269

Post by [deleted] »

roboys wrote: post #215
bsder wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Elephant Chateau ( http://elephantchateau.com ) deliver the 3 highest grades of tea direct from Ceylon mountain estates with the option for plant-based pyramid bags (soilon) or a free stainless steel infuser. And the "Shop" button takes me to Amazon ? My skepticism radar is going off.

I bought it on Amazon on a whim and it ended up being a great purchase. Hard to go back to normal tea and we haven't found this kind of leaf anywhere else.

[deleted]

Re: Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

#270

Post by valarauko »

Bartweiss wrote: post #265
valarauko wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indian chais are commonly made in most Indian homes with dust tea. It's cheap, produces a very strong cup, which can stand up to the milk, sugar, and spices. Chai made with long leaf teas is just awful. I wouldn't use a dust or CTC tea if I want to drink the tea straight, though. Different types of tea for different uses.

Yep, that makes a lot of sense. I suppose if cost were no object at all, you could approach it like matcha: de-vein and powder long leaves to get a strong, high-grade brew that doesn't have time to oxidize. But I'm not even sure it would be better, since Indian chai isn't spiced with that process in mind. I was going to say I've had chais made with long leaf tea, but I realize those were middle eastern versions that…

There is a long history of spiced drinks in India, drunk for their medicinal value. Most Indian kids have grown up drinking turmeric milk for sore throats, and strong decoctions of pepper, holy basil, and dried ginger for congestions.

From what I can ascertain, Indian Chais appeared in the early 1900s, when British owned tea estates tried to drum up local business among Indians. The best quality teas were exported, though the teas available to Indians were still expensive. Local tea vendors boosted the flavour with spices, and eventually milk.

In the most common variety of masala chai you'll find in India, lots of freshly grated ginger is boiled in water, before adding tea leaves and finally milk. The milk must come last, since raw ginger will split milk. We have different spice blends for different times of the year. We generally avoid masala chais in the hot summers. Ginger chai is great for the rainy season, along with some piping hot fritters. Cardamom and pepper are for the cold winter months.

In Kashmir, where the cuisine is much milder, you'll find kahwah, made from powdered green tea, along with cardamom and saffron.

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