Tea!

February 15, 2009 9:30 PM

black tea, green tea and white tea.

I've tried white tea for the first time today, the internet say that it's the most healty, I don't know, but surely it's the most tasteless.

posted by - (20 comments total)

I saw this in a snapple commercial...except I didn't have to click 4 links to get the info.
posted by hal_c_on at 9:38 PM on February 15

I prefer Tea Blue<tm>.
posted by uosuaq at 9:41 PM on February 15

black taters, green taters, white taters - green taters are poisonous.
posted by bigmusic at 9:41 PM on February 15

White tea should have a gentle, smooth taste. A particularly good white tea should have about 2-3 flavors that you get with each brewing. On the other hand, if you're used to black tea + sugar, you probably won't be able to taste it.

Maybe you should try puerh.
posted by yeloson at 9:42 PM on February 15

This post kinda just boils down to tea, amirite, amirite?
posted by defenestration at 9:43 PM on February 15

Yellow tea.
posted by tellurian at 9:44 PM on February 15

red tea
posted by dvdgee at 9:45 PM on February 15

black taters, green taters, white taters - green taters are poisonous.

Didn't you ever watch Arthur? You'd have to eat a lot of green taters before you even get a stomach-ache.
posted by mmmleaf at 9:46 PM on February 15

Hi, Alnedra!
posted by Wolof at 9:47 PM on February 15

Tea overall is the second most consumed beverage in the world, with water as the first.

I thought this was interesting; while it's not hard to believe, I wouldn't have guessed it.

I wonder how far down the list of "most consumed beverages" you need to go to get to something alcoholic, instead of a stimulant?
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:53 PM on February 15

Purple tea.
posted by tellurian at 9:54 PM on February 15

You know, there just isn't enough tea with ginger in it around. Actually, I find the perfect tea recipe is to use candied ginger and honey with, say, green or rooibos tea. It's magical.
posted by spiderskull at 9:54 PM on February 15

spiderskull, just slice fresh ginger and steep in hot water with a little honey. ZOMG.
posted by desuetude at 9:57 PM on February 15

Seconding the pu-erh (bo-lei). That is some seriously awesome stuff.

You can easily try it (along with a bunch of other types) for no additional charge by specifically requesting it at any dim-sum restaurant (if they're Cantonese, make sure you ask for bo-lei tea). You'll always get crappy cheap tea if you don't request anything specific.
posted by amuseDetachment at 9:59 PM on February 15

I kind of like the Tazo blueberry white tea when I'm in the mood for some kind of light, vaguely fruity thing that in no way counts as a proper cuppa.

(For proper cuppas it has to be an indian black tea, nothing fancy (I'm not a snob about loose leaf or using a teapot or anything), PG Tips will do, but it has to be made with boiling water, none of this fucking around with microwaving cups of water or using saucepans or other guff that Americans seem to be fond of.
posted by Artw at 10:04 PM on February 15

Silver tea.
posted by tellurian at 10:12 PM on February 15

There are different kinds of white tea. Mu-tan white tea is the more common type. Silver needle is the rarest and most expensive, and also the most interesting by taste.

Matcha (Japanese powdered tea) concentrates the antioxidants and the relaxing amino acid l-theanine much more than brewed teas. But tea is also high in flouride; so much so that consuming large quantities may be risky (white tea, coming from more immature plants, often has less flouride.)

From Japan, there's also tea made from roasted leaves (hojika), from twigs of the tea plant (kojika), and tea grown in the shade (grassy and expensive gyoruko). From China, there is also oolong, which my Chinese friend claimed was the healthiest.

I've been averaging about 10 cups of green or white tea a day for the last 8 years, ever since I read about how healthy the stuff is. As Woody Allen says, "Some people want to achieve immortality through their work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying."
posted by Schmucko at 10:13 PM on February 15

Hey, you forgot oolong! The only other "real" tea (opposed to all the herbals).
posted by sbutler at 10:13 PM on February 15

Did you hear about the Indian who drank a thousand cups of tea?

They found him dead in his tea-pee.
posted by furtive at 10:13 PM on February 15

A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell.
posted by furtive at 10:14 PM on February 15 [1 favorite]