What a thread!
I'm drinking a massive Matcha right now in my 1L Hofbrauhaus stein--I go ghetto and use a fork to whisk--which should last me a couple hours. Nothing fancy, just a Mighty Leaf.
- Lipton is terrible, I never take a Lipton even if I'm wanting tea. It's just about OK if you take tea with lemon, but there are many better options. It's huge in Europe, where they don't know tea, but not so in the UK, where they do know tea;
- Taylor's Yorkshire Tea is really tasty for a strong black tea. Milk, one sugar, lovely;
- Marks & Spencer Gold or Silver is great - it's their own brand tea, a more refined taste than standard builder's tea;
- For builder's tea, Tetley is the go-to. You can't go wrong with Tetley.
- Twinings has a nice solid Earl Grey.
- I never could get a taste for the Bigelow Earl Grey, but I think I put that down to the name.
As to those ostentatious teas in silk bags - way overpriced, wasteful, and weak, but I like the fancification and ceremony that comes with it. Tea in the US needs to be elevated on par with the fetishisation of coffee, so if silk bags and cotton strings is what's needed, I'm cool with that.
And as some neat information, there is an ISO for tea brewing. I have a copy, which I can't share sorry, but you can see some highlights in the wiki page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3103"The protocol has been criticized for omitting any mention of prewarming the pot.[5] Ireland was the only country to object, and objected on technical grounds.[6]"
Cute.
I would have objected as while it does focus on the brewing of tea in a pot, it makes no attempt to address tea bags which is the predominant method (I have no data) of taking tea. This is why you see these monsters who pour in the milk
while the teabag is still steeping. For the love of god, let the tea steep, take the bag out, then add the milk.
I'm not a fan of Chais - too sweet and thick.
And as to an accompaniment, I am a fan of minty biscuits with my black tea. Surprisingly Mint Oreos are delicious with a milky black tea.
This is my favourite thread - great job!