Ah yes, the great tea debate, so subjective!
Lipton seems to be the most common everyday tea here in the States. As a kid growing up, I always heard of it as an “orange pekoe” tea and always wondered “Whatever that means.” Enter modern times and the Internet...
So now I read “Orange Pekoe black tea might sound like a specific kind of tea, but it’s actually a system of grading Indian black teas according to the size and quality of their leaves. Whether they’ve enjoyed a cup at a restaurant or have simply heard the name before, many people new to the tea world mistake Orange Pekoe for a flavored black tea. In reality, a grade of Orange Pekoe or OP can refer to almost any loose leaf black tea.
Okay, that's enlightening, but still don’t like the stuff without a generous amount of cream and sugar. Like cheap coffee, IMHO, our “famous”Lipton tea with enough cream and sugar can be made tolerable to drink. But who wants to drink something just “tolerable?” This stuff is everywhere here...
I might have to try BarleyCup as another caffeine-free alternative cuppa as Mo1959 suggested. But I see it contains hickory, which I have always found a bit bitter. Still, why not...
Like CanucksTraveller, I don’t like our Bigelow brand tea either, but then it’s a black tea blend anyway, which doesn’t do it for me. Their famous one is called Constant Comment. Yuk.
My 3-point problem with caffeine is that 1) it doesn’t give me a boost when I’d like it to, yet 2) it WILL keep me up at night, so it’s not my friend, add to that 3) it messes with my BP, so it’s not my friend. Hence my dilemma with both tea and coffee. But I still enjoy them both, I just go the non-caffeine route.
Interesting comments all around. I understand why lots of people don’t care for herbal teas, or find them too flowery, or that they just taste like water. It’s just a different animal. We all have our likes and dislikes. I am certain we could all have the same discussion over BEERS, but then again, I don’t drink alcohol anymore. Disappointed with all of the non-alcoholic beers too. Besides, what is a beer without alcohol? Can you even call that a beer? No, not in my opinion. Those days are just over for me.
Herbal peppermint tea (with NO tea leaves in it) by Harney and Sons Tea is my fave tea for an iced tea. The version you describe though sounds hard to beat. I just read about Habek Mint grown in the Mideast. I wonder if that is what you enjoyed there. If so, do their fresh mint leaves taste like fresh mint at home?
