Gun to my head, I’d have to say green. I grew up mostly drinking black tea with milk (now I use oat milk) and I don’t really like its flavour on its own, it’s too bitter. I can have it long with lemon, but yeah even then.
Fave green teas are houjicha (boucha), 兰贵人 languiren ginseng oolong, jasmine green and pu’er.
Houjicha (boucha) is so smooth and comforting, it’s unreal. There are a few they sell near me and the boucha variety is the best, it’s the roasted stem, not the leaf, and it has this smoky sweet flavour.
Languiren is a flavoured oolong packed tightly into little pebbles that look like rabbit shit, that then unfurl in the cup into whole leaves. It’s a biting, syrupy flavour.
Jasmine green is a staple, I have a French press in the fridge with some super cheap stuff in there, but it hits the spot damned near every time.
Pu’er is a world of its own and can get spendy, but the roundness of the mouth feel and the earthy tannins approach something like what you get from a good espresso, and is probably my wankiest tea I have at the moment.
Honourable mention to longjing and biluochun but they’re a bit to vegetal for me to be a go-to.
Try steeping black tea at 200 for a minute less than suggested if you haven’t. I find that makes Earl grey be much more pleasant to drink by severely reducing the number of tannins.
I actually do this for most teas I drink as I think suggested times are usually terrible.
That could definitely be it. I’m forgetful and usually steep for ages before finally returning to pour. Familiarity breeds contempt maybe, and I don’t treat black teas with the same attention I would a green. Thanks for the tip :)
Depending on the tea I get better results with a lower temperature. Steeping tea at 190 can help a lot. Instead of the usual recommendation of boiling for 4.5 minutes try 190 for 4 minutes.
Yes, you’re right. Unfortunately over here the distinction between black/green is basically shorthand for European/Asian tea, so I’ve unconsciously fallen for that delineation. Thanks for picking me up on it.
Gun to my head, I’d have to say green. I grew up mostly drinking black tea with milk (now I use oat milk) and I don’t really like its flavour on its own, it’s too bitter. I can have it long with lemon, but yeah even then.
Fave green teas are houjicha (boucha), 兰贵人 languiren ginseng oolong, jasmine green and pu’er.
Houjicha (boucha) is so smooth and comforting, it’s unreal. There are a few they sell near me and the boucha variety is the best, it’s the roasted stem, not the leaf, and it has this smoky sweet flavour.
Languiren is a flavoured oolong packed tightly into little pebbles that look like rabbit shit, that then unfurl in the cup into whole leaves. It’s a biting, syrupy flavour.
Jasmine green is a staple, I have a French press in the fridge with some super cheap stuff in there, but it hits the spot damned near every time.
Pu’er is a world of its own and can get spendy, but the roundness of the mouth feel and the earthy tannins approach something like what you get from a good espresso, and is probably my wankiest tea I have at the moment.
Honourable mention to longjing and biluochun but they’re a bit to vegetal for me to be a go-to.
Try steeping black tea at 200 for a minute less than suggested if you haven’t. I find that makes Earl grey be much more pleasant to drink by severely reducing the number of tannins.
I actually do this for most teas I drink as I think suggested times are usually terrible.
That could definitely be it. I’m forgetful and usually steep for ages before finally returning to pour. Familiarity breeds contempt maybe, and I don’t treat black teas with the same attention I would a green. Thanks for the tip :)
Depending on the tea I get better results with a lower temperature. Steeping tea at 190 can help a lot. Instead of the usual recommendation of boiling for 4.5 minutes try 190 for 4 minutes.
I guess Pu’er can be green, but I’ve only ever seen black pu’er
Yes, you’re right. Unfortunately over here the distinction between black/green is basically shorthand for European/Asian tea, so I’ve unconsciously fallen for that delineation. Thanks for picking me up on it.