Tea drinkers, halp!

My boyfriend got me the cutest tea set!
He said it reminded him of me, which is fair enough.. it's an adorable set. It's all dainty and flowery and very pretty and I LOVE IT! (looks like something I would've killed for when I was about 8 lol)

Trouble is.. I don't drink tea and don't even know where to start.

This isn't the exact set but it came with everything in this image and looks a lot like this (plus a little milk thingy and a little sugar thingy)


Just a few problems
- I don't even know how to use the pot
- I don't even know where to start tea wise! Where does one buy tea? Which do I buy? How I make it?

LOL HELP CLUELESS FRAN!
It came with like 8 cups and a bunch of adorable little plates and fun things I wanna throw a tea party but I don't know how! It even all came with a little stand to put adorable little tea party food!

(Taste wise I like things that are sweet. Not sure if that helps but otherwise I'm pretty open to try anything!)

I would suggest starting at a local tea shop, once you figure out what you like you can decide if you want to buy elsewhere or not. They'll tell you all about the teas, let you smell them and usually always let you sample some of it brewed. I'd avoid Teavana at all costs also.

I did a quick google search for Boston. People seem to like this place http://www.tealuxe.com/

Also timelessteas.com but I couldn't get the browser to open so I don't know if it's still there or not.

Based on "sweet" you'd prob like white teas and some of the herbal ones... But seriously go to a tea store... See, smell, and taste... It's the only way you'll know what teas are for you.

Chai varieties are very popular, plus they work hot and iced- I like a green chai.

Green tea can be sweet and light depending on how you brew and sweeten.

But my all time favorite tea is peppermint. I used to drink a lot of varieties, but I now almost exclusively drink peppermint tea. I don't feel the need to sweeten it like other teas, and it wakes me up and smells delicious.

I stay away from English teas, but that's me.

If you aren't used to drinking teas at all you can buy some variety packs from brands like bigelow so that you can try more and see what you like before ordering fancier/higher quality teas. Some staples to try are mint teas (peppermint is just one of many mint teas available), white, English teas, green, fruit varieties (I like orange and spice varieties but not much else), and chamomile.

Different teas can also have a different affect, so if you are trying to wake up try a spiced or mint tea, if you are trying to relax or go to sleep go with chamomile.

Ooh tea can be so much fun! I got a tea ball and a bunch of loose leaf teas last year for Christmas from David's Tea.

Davids Teas has some nice teas, but any loose leaf tea shop will have some great varieties, I like the was Davids has theirs set up, they tell you if it has caffeine, or is a stimulant, or has nothing. I drink iced tea, unsweetened, but i will drink most of them anyhow, lol. Some of my faves are "queen of tarts", "mint julep", "chai guarana" and "jungle juju".

My husband is a fancy tea snob. I'll ask him for recommendations when he gets home. He mostly orders from Upton.

... You are getting into some dangerous turf Fran. Dangerous.

My favorite tea is Good Earth (commoner tea). LOL! Cinnamon and spicy! Doesn't even need sugar!

I would brew the tea in another container and then pour it into the teapot. Preheat your teapot with hot water and let it sit for a while, then discard that water just before you pour the tea into it. Also, use the best water (bottled or distilled) for the tea itself and don't overheat the water. Just to boiling.

We have a "tea cabinet" in the kitchen! It smells HEAVENLY every time I open the door!

Buy tea bags.

Put in pot.

Add hot water.

Et voila, you have just brewed some tea

And I don't even drink the stuff, and not only am I English, I am from YORKSHIRE. That will mean nothing to you, but it basically means I should almost bleed tea by all accounts.

I am boring. I drink Earl Grey by the bucketful. I like the cheap Twinings stuff from the grocery store the best, even compared to fancy schmancy expensive versions.

My
There is nothing better than hot tea on a cold morning.

My brother-in-law's girlfriend gave me the cutest tea infuser in the world for Christmas. It's a SUBMARINE!



Using it is a pain though. So much easier to toss a bag in a mug of hot water and call it a day

Tea, I love tea. I say go to a tea shop and smell a whole bunch of teas. And the teas that you like the smell of take home. Teas should taste like how they smell.

If that's how you make tea, it's no wonder you don't like it!


Adagio.com is my go-to tea place. AND I TOTALLY FORGOT. If anyone want's a $5 coupon/certificate, PM me your email address and I'll send you one. (Sorry Meagan! If you haven't ordered yet let me know and I'll hook you up ).

There is surely SOME tea that you like. You just might not know it yer. Adagio has black, green, and white teas (plain and flavored) in addition to herbal tea (tisane, technically). Do you like fruity stuff? If so, their Orchard Sampler is a good starting point. https://www.adagio.com/herbal/index.html Black, green, and white teas all come in fruit flavors too. If you don't like it hot, try it cold. I'm not a fan of chai, but on occasion it's good. But most of the Chai stuff you get anywhere other than home-brewed is SUPER sweet and disgusting.

Adagio also has TARDIS tea that I LOVE, especially iced. It's Eary Grey based, but IT HAS A FREAKING TARDIS ON THE BAG. WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE? Also, it comes in a 4 ounce bag instead of a 3 ounce bag. Because it's bigger on the inside. Obviously.
https://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=19749

As far as what you need? You already have a tea pot. You need a kettle. Any old kettle will do, but I love my electric kettle because it's faster. And it was free since I got it for Christmas, but it runs around $12. And I'm going to take it to work to make fresh tea at work (this just dawned on me the other day. I had been trying to make tea the night before and put it in a thermos, but it tasted like stale ass the next day). If you get loose tea, you need a strainer or tea bags to put it in. Tea bags can be found here: https://www.adagio.com/teaware/paper_filters.html

You also need a teaspoon for loose tea (that's sort of where the teaspoon got its name...) and a timer. Or the presence of mind to check the clock so you don't let it sit too long. Overbrewed tea is gross and bitter.

If you don't want to go for loose tea, Adagio also has most of their blends in pyramid bags. I also like the Lipton (gasp!) pyramid bags, especially the blackberry vanilla herbal.

Oh and if you find out you like black tea or just want to try one, I HIGHLY recommend Adagio's Irish Breakfast tea. Add a splash of milk. It's amazing. The best tea I've ever had. If you want to try out a more readily available (probably locally available) black tea, Typhoo, PG Tips, and Tetley British Blend are all fairly decent bagged teas. Though they still don't even come close to the Irish Breakfast from Adagio.

I always leave my tea bags in until I'm done drinking it, but I love strong tea, and probably why I don't like earl grey, but now I want the doctor who tea (thanks for that)...but earl grey tea should be Star Trek next gen!