A tea substitute for coffee?

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 2:45 pm

Eric, that's good information, and I'll make sure to give the Lapsang stuff a try! Much obliged for the heads-up.

Rufus · Post by **Rufus** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:14 pm

brothers wrote:Eric, that's good information, and I'll make sure to give the Lapsang stuff a try! Much obliged for the heads-up.

I like Lapsang on its own, but it does have a very distinctive taste. I've found that blending it 50/50 with Earl Grey results in a very pleasant brew; robust and aromatic.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:29 pm

Rufus wrote:I like Lapsang on its own, but it does have a very distinctive taste. I've found that blending it 50/50 with Earl Grey results in a very pleasant brew; robust and aromatic.

Ohhh, that sounds real good. I love Earl Grey. Now, I just need to find some Lapsang.

mikeny278 · Post by **mikeny278** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:25 am

For me, a strong cup of mate seems to give me enough caffeine to replace coffee. I probably will not replace coffee on work days, but when I have the time available to make mate I will be doing so. The taste is a little "grassy", but not bad by any means. I don't need to put in any cream or sugar either.

merkri · Post by **merkri** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:43 pm

Rufus wrote:I like Lapsang on its own, but it does have a very distinctive taste. I've found that blending it 50/50 with Earl Grey results in a very pleasant brew; robust and aromatic.

I love lapsang souchong, but can only handle limited quantities at a time.

One of the best lapsang souchong blends I had was a jasmine/lapsang souchong blend. Probably 2/3 jasmine oolong and 1/3 lapsang souchong. Wonderful silky floral scent/flavor with smooth smoky undertones.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:27 pm

Lapsang souchong is favored by those who like Island style single malts.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:00 am

We visited Teavana a couple of days ago. I ended up with My Morning Mate, and Earl Grey White. They do not carry the Lapsong Souchong. I've got another tea shop down the road I'm going to hit one of these days, maybe they stock it. If not, its on the internet.

The Mate seems to be just about right for what I was looking for. I know its not tea, but it looks, smells, and tastes, and brews like tea. Today is the first time I've had it in the morning instead of coffee. We'll see how it goes. It tastes very good too, and that's what it's all about.

mikeny278 · Post by **mikeny278** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 1:53 am

I was reading about the positive and negative health benefits of mate, and started finding a lot of red flags about it causing cancer:

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/ ... /questions

This is making me think I should seek other alternatives...

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 6:45 am

Mike, thank you for researching that. I'm with you, there might be other options, such as regular tea, for example, that might be better. Much obliged!

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 12:44 pm

Following up. I made it into the other tea shop yesterday with the wife and daughter. I ended up with two new teas, both of which are just fine. I got Keemun and Meyer Lemon Black. The LOTH, formerly SWMBO

picked out 3 of the flavored ones she prefers. They normally carry the Lapsong Souchong, but were quite low on stock, but I was able to take a smell, and it is certainly a dark smoky fragrance. They'll be getting a new stock in a few days, so I'll drop back by later on. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying all of my new found teas, in addition to the Community Coffee I continue to drink, just a little less frequently. Also, I've decided to continue to drink my new Mate until it's gone. I'm just not going to overdo it.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 2:17 pm

Keemun, the English spelling of Qimen County (or more properly the hoa ya cultivar) from the Anhui Province of China is my first choice of black teas. The select crops from this area were once reserved exclusively for Chinese royalty.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 3:17 pm

That's interesting information Squire. Thanks. I've just enjoyed 2 cups of it.

Obie · Post by **Obie** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:57 am

Gentlemen,

I used to write on the world of coffees and teas. From I remember in my research, because of the way we brew tea — about four to five minutes steeping time — not all the caffeine is released from the tea leaves.

As an aside, being a full-blooded Assyrian, I grew up on tea. In the Assyrian home in the old country, the samovar was on all day. Well, the samovar was the way of life.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 11:54 am

Obie what were the types/varieties of tea your family brewed when you were growing up and do you still use them today?

Obie · Post by **Obie** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 7:25 pm

Hello Squire,

The teas we drank were Iranian-style and Russian-style blended black teas. They came in a variety. I am not sure what the blends were, but I assume a variety of Ceylon teas were used with a sprinkling of Chinese. I wish I could remember. Anyway, the samovar was on all day. To this day, no drink soothes my soul — not even the best hooch in the world — as much as a pleasant cup or glass of tea. I work from my home office, where I write seven days a week, and the tea is on all day.

Stay well.

Post by **Sam** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:20 pm

Ok, got an irish breakfast, a keenum, a assam and a lapchoung to sample.

I am drinking a Walmart chammomille tea at home in tea bags straight up.

So, who goes straight up, who only with sugar or honey and who adds milk?

And I am not going to go buy any more diet cokes for the office. Gonna start brewing it here at work using some sort of small electric kettle.

I guess I can use the loose leaf tea two or three times? Do I really need to go get a "tea" spoon or use any old teaspoon from home?

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:09 pm

Sam any old teaspoon will do, probably why they are called teaspoons in the first place, and I don't add anything.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 9:16 am

So, following up on my hunt for some good teas to supplement or occasionally replace a cup or two of coffee, at the end of the day here's what I've come up with:

Meyer lemon black
Lapsong Souchong black
Keemun black
Earl Gray white
"My Morning" mate

I don't use sugar or cream and I decided not to try to double brew, it's just too much hassle, for no apparent benefit.

My wife has these:

Lemon ginger snap
Cranberry mango
Chili chocolate

Trout Whisperer · Post by **Trout Whisperer** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 3:26 pm

My favorite tea when I need caffeine and can't risk the jitters is Fast Lane by Celestial Seasonings.

Lapsang Souchong is my favorite, though, and I always drink tea straight up.

Post by **Sam** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 5:55 pm

Today, I wanted a flavored tea and stopped by Teavana to test. They have something that tasted great that they gave samples, and while expensive, I bought 5 ozs of it (a mate blend with arevydic something) for $22 and a roobios that is full of fruit. Gonna drink those at night i think. Had to go get a thermometer because you brew those for like 2 mins at 175 degrees and well, black tea was simple enough because just add boiling water. Off to make a cup right now