Any other tea drinkers here?

[TBD]

I have drank coffee since I was a tyke. Never liked tea. UNTIL I started snus and cut back on smoking drastically. Now I have a mug or two a day. Yeah, I still drink coffee, but generally only in the mornings. I have no idea why staring to like tea coincided with starting snus, but it seems to be connected in my mind.
My wife and kids laugh at me (in a good way) for now having @20 varieties of tea in the house. More so because a year ago I wouldn't drink tea at all.

Any of the rest of you manly men drink tea?

[Maximus]

Definitely. I started to pick back up on tea drinking recently again and actually drink my tea with a little cream in it as well. I haven't quite gone to getting more varieties but now that you have mentioned it, I probably will start picking up some at the store. I could easily see how it would be nice to pick the right snus for the moment and then the right tea to go with it.

[ShaulWolf]

My dad's Vietnamese so I grew up on Jasmine and green tea. Along with that my grandma used to make a lot of tea with clove, cinnamon, and a couple peppercorns. Good stuff, man. Now my sister works at a tea shop called Teavana and brings back a ton of stuff to try out. I love their chai, and their oolong tea is top notch.

With snus, though, black tea is the best. Anything citrusy goes pretty well with most snus, especially something with similar flavors of General or Skruf. The citrus or floweriness of the snus blends well with the tea and they tend to compliment each other.

For something that's more strait tobacco like Ettan, however, I find teas don't go very well at all. The flavors of the tea clash badly, and it tends to water down the tobacco flavors and make it bitter. For Ettan or Grov I find coffee a much better pairing.

[lxskllr]

I get in kicks with tea, both real, and herbal. I have a cabinet full, and since I've been unemployed, I've been drinking more. I don't have a lot of extra money to buy coffee, so I make 1 pot of coffee per day, and make tea for the rest. I've been digging becoming reacquainted with tea. My universal favorite is Earl Gray, and I've enjoyed my Celestial Seasonings Honey Darjeeling.

[RobsanX]

I gave up drinking soda, and replaced it with iced tea. I buy different varieties in bulk, blend my own mix, and make it in an iced tea maker...

[TBD]

The Stash Tea company has a double bergamont Earl Grey. It goes very well with Phantom Blue, and Oden's Extra Stark Original.
I find I do prefer the black teas. Green tea is good, but I don't like how much it looks like watered down American beer.

[Raddleman]

*An Englishman walks into the tea thread*

Well, being brought up on the stuff, I would say that yes, black teas go well with most snuses, especially the smoky speciality tea 'Lapsang Souchong' - give it a go, it's an experience. Smoke-fired over pinewood in China. Goes well with the tobacco-flavoured snuses I would say.

Earl grey is pretty good with a standard strength portion, or a mini (the Whittard's or Twinings Earl Grey, and indeed most, are quite mild, and are associated, funnily enough, with 'Afternoon Tea', a fabled time of day (roughly 4pm) when you 'take tea', kick back, etc. Hence the phrase 'tea time'. The bergamot goes with more subtle flavoured snuses.

A great tea I have noticed to go with an extra stark is Assam, an excellent remnant of the Raj, and a punchy tea. You can even replace morning coffee with it. It's even better with some single cream.

Definitely try Chai, this indian-based tea is boasting with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, clove, etc. It's a watered down version of Cha in India, which is served with milk, not water. If you're keen on Chai, I would recommend you get Masala Chai, it's the best.
____________________________________________

Other Teas, the Raddle approach
Well if you're getting into the health side of Camellia Sinensis, you should try Green Tea, or even better, White Tea. These teas (which for the health conscious, or non-sacrilegious should be taken without milk or sugar) are proven through myriad studies (just google green tea health) to contain very high levels of catechins, which are polyphenols - potent antioxidants. These levels just aren't present in black teas, owing to the oxidation process. Green/white tea can be a kind of love it/hate it thing, I suggest you first try one with a twist, say citrus or ginger, then graduate to taking it straight. Green/white tea even deodorizes feces :P

I need to mention rooibos, as this 'tisane' (not strictly a tea, or of the 'Camellia Sinensis' family) is also, although sparsly researched, a very good and tasty hot drink, whcih I can at least say is growing in popularity in the UK. It is grown in South Africa, and boasts levels of antioxidant similar to green tea. It's taste is nutty, is caffeine-free (watches as 90% of readers leave thread) and is as hydrating as water, but much more fun. If you're gonna go mad, then I recommend green rooibos, which has not been oxidized like its red counterpart (I mentioned this earlier).

This post is far from exhastive, I could write more, but I have things to do *puts kettle on*. In conclusion, try vareties of black tea, they are the staple drink of literally billions, and are still very good for you. Also try green tea, and if you can afford it, white. Rooibos is for us health freaks who don't mind putting a caffeine-free 'tea' down our throats.

Cheers

[ShaulWolf]

Ooo... Masala Chai is delicious. If you get the loose chai (not the blend or bagged) try making it how it's supposed to be made. Heat the Chai with milk in a pot and sweeten to taste. Absolutely delicious.

My sister brought back some Lapsang Souchong once. It's quite an interesting blend, and it had a deep smokey character to it. At first it put me off, but it started to grow on me. Haven't tried it with snus, though, but I'd imagine it'd go well with strait tobacco flavored snus quite well, provided you don't make your teas too mild.

I'm still partial to jasmine and Oolong tea just because it's what I grew up on. Oolong is quickly becoming one of my favorites; it's between green and black tea in flavor. It also boasts a good amount of antioxidants and is supposed help increase metabolism and help digestion.

[Raddleman]

If you get the loose chai (not the blend or bagged) try making it how it's supposed to be made. Heat the Chai with milk in a pot and sweeten to taste. Absolutely delicious.

Yup, best way Shaul
+1

[Starcadia]

I tend to drink tea more than coffee in wintertime for some reason. Green tea is about the only kind I can stand, though, and I drink a lot of it. I still need that morning cup of joe.

[KarlvB]

I need to mention rooibos, as this 'tisane' (not strictly a tea, or of the 'Camellia Sinensis' family) is also, although sparsly researched, a very good and tasty hot drink, whcih I can at least say is growing in popularity in the UK. It is grown in South Africa, and boasts levels of antioxidant similar to green tea. It's taste is nutty, is caffeine-free (watches as 90% of readers leave thread) and is as hydrating as water, but much more fun. If you're gonna go mad, then I recommend green rooibos, which has not been oxidized like its red counterpart (I mentioned this earlier).

Rooibos is for us health freaks who don't mind putting a caffeine-free 'tea' down our throats.

Being half South African I grew up with Rooibos and still drink at least six to eight cups of it per day. I don't mind that it is caffeine free as I get enough caffeine from the coffee I make in the morning in my stove top Bialetti and we have an espresso machine in the office which makes a passable espresso for the afternoon.

Personally, I cannot sing the praises of Rooibos enough. The flavour is amazing and it goes very well with any kind of snus. Add to that the health benefits and versatility and you have an all round winner.

My personal favourites when it comes to brands are

Freshpak Rooibos

and the green rooibos manufactured by this company

http://www.joekels.co.za/f_rooibos.html

I'd also suggest trying any Rooibos and Honeybush blend.

One of the more interesting developments has been the release of a Rooibos espresso - http://www.redespresso.com/

Some interesting reading

http://sarooibos.co.za/content/view/62/58/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...health.science

http://health.iafrica.com/dietonline...al/1494541.htm

[slartie]

After reading everything Raddleman took the time to type up, I believe I was supposed to be English.

I absolutely love tea. We have a good number of specialty tea shops where I live, and I frequently give them a visit to try new blends. I generally steer clear of the heavily flavored ones that are all the craze here - and go for the more traditional ones. I have been lucky enough to be able to sample Darjeelings from a variety of the bengal tea gardens. Marvelous.

God save the queen.

[jamesstew]

Me grew up in the UK in apparently the only household that didn't drink tea, always had it at granny's though. I went a year or so not long ago only drinking tea and coffee minimally, methinks I'll brew up a pot when I get home tonight.

[luckysealy]

i've been drinking tea most of my life. i grew up in the south all we had to drink in the house was sweet tea or milk. sometimes we had kool aid or cokes, but those where treats. the last few months i have been starting my morning with a breakfast tea, english or irish. i take a thermos to work with me filled with earl grey. those where the only two that the grocery store i shop at carry that i like. i did find a teavana here the other day. i have there irish breakfast, and earl grey, after trying those two i will go back to stock up with some others soon. earl grey is by far my favorite, and it goes great with general lös.

[bearcat87]

I used to drink all types of tea. Now tea seems to always make me ravenous no matter when I drink it. Though sweet tea doesn't make me hungry I don't like the idea of all the sugar. I like tea but just don't drink it anymore. Two cups of coffee in the morning is enough to get me through my day.