ow.. forgot..

A nice cup of Earl Grey. Supplied by the Dutch coffee and Tea broker 'Simon Lévelt'. One of my favorites, completely certified as 'Organic' - which is more about the bergamot oil used. Subtle and quite intense.

Cheers!

Michel
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Got a question for you tea guys. I've been drinking Stash Green Tea for a couple months. It's a grocery store brand and I really like it. My question is are the loose teas from tea merchants a better quality than tea bags from the store? Are they fresher, have more antioxidents, better flavor etc.
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Difficult question... really...

I'd rather go for a merchants product. 'Bagged' tea from larger companies seem to be more or less processed to ensure long term freshness and as less as possible batch variation.

Yet... if buying mrechant tea (or any other product) from a smaller shop with a low outturn freshness of the product can be an issue. So it's best to try a few shops and stick to the one you like best based on quality/service/pricing etc.

Cheers!

Michel
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Drink what you like, like what you drink. :-) Better quality? Objectively yes, but it's all a matter of taste. You will find that loose teas are generally whole leaf or at least broken leaf whereas bags are generally fannings. That being said, whole leaf is a different ballgame. Tastes will be much more subtle which you may like or you may not. Fresher? Unless you're paying top dollar for current harvests from abroad (which I do and pay the price :-)) no one can really say for sure. More antioxidants? Nope.

I guess it all comes down to; if you like it drink it. Maybe try a little whole leaf at some point, but don't go overboard until you're sure.
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Thanks Michel and Tony. I was going to try something different just to experience the difference, if any. Thanks for the input. :-)
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Enjoy! I know you will...

now sipping a cup of not really tea but still 'leaves with boiled water': a fresh mint infusion.
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jasmine white tea. Pretty good.
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Just picked up a few different teas from A Southern Season in Chapel Hill -

Earlier today I had a cup of Jasmine Black that was pretty tasty.
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I just had a delicious cup of Adagio's Ceylon Sonata, but last night I had a SUBLIME glass of the Teavanna Eastern Beauty Oolong (way too pricey, but amazing... $18.50/2oz, which is $148/lb, for which I could buy High-grade Japanese Wagyu Beef for less).
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Oh my... that sounds like a truly exotic Oolong!!!
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Darjeeling, 1st flushing. More oolong than black. Mild and smooth. It has presence though. Broken Orange Pekoe by the looks of it. 1/2 way through the cup, getting a bit astringent. Good stuff. $5.50/oz @ Java's in Rochester.
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Tea i love is just the Chinese green tea my dad gets in Hong Kong and Tieguanyin. If you like oolong tea i really recommend you try Tieguanyin. :-)
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Havin' a nice cup of Earl Grey Impeiral black tea at work :-)
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American Classic Green Tea made in USA. For black Tea tried some Irish Breakfast at a local cafe called Barry's Tea and loved it so much I bought a box.
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I would first like to say I am finally home, a board with tea and cigars
:-)

and next I'd like to reciprocate the whole teavana thing. I'm never without my Assam gold rain tea, or my Kamiya Papaya Oolong. (P.S. first post hello to all!)
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Pretty much addicted to Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast or the Twinings version and some of the Bigelow teas.
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Welcome buddy! Sounds like I like your tastes in tea! Strong oolongs and yummy blacks are all I drink mostly.
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Thank you, I am a huge Black tea fan and have been since I first got into tea some years ago with chai tea. Which if anyone hasn't tried yet you are missing out.
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Black tea is good, my favorite tea is earl grey.
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I'm right with ya. Oolong and Pu-erh are equally amazing in very different ways. :-)
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