that sounds really good!!!

I adore making my own teas... If you can get the dried herbs its definitely worth it!

_______ Tea~

I haven't any teas that i would called my favourites. But i like "Winter Magic" from a german Company called TeaGschwender which has also stores in the USA. (And you can find this tea in the Online-Shop for the USA) Another tea i like are various varieties of a tea called "Gingerbread house". But that's not the correct english translation. >.<" He smells like Popcorn and some varieties are tasting like Popcorn. laugh

You wrote from a tea named "Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea". Though this be this one: http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/herbal/bengal-spice-herbal-tea

Oh wow, I's so impressed by you guys! I love tea but I've never ventured past using a tea bag. I should try loose tea, I've been told it tastes better. I like blueberry tea, and there's this black tea with a hint of orange in it, I LOVE that! I wonder what this Almond Sunset tastes like? Sounds interesting. So, how do you brew loose tea? Put it in a strainer of some kind I'm guessing. -_-! I've become so accustomed to using the bags, it's kinda sad.

http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/herbal/almond-sunset-herbal-tea

Numi's White Rose, Gunpowder Green, and toasted rice green teas are pretty much essential to my continued well-being. x) There was also this awesome blackberry tea by Choice Organic that I practically lived on for awhile.

When i make loose tea (and i do it daily grin) i boiled hot water and let it cool down to the temperature i need for my selected loose tea. So black tea or rooibos can brewed up by higher temperatures between 80-100°C. Green tea by around 50-70°C. Expensive green tea can brewed up to 90°C, sometimes to 100°C too. But that's just standard values. Like the steeping time. ^-^

I use a tea pot made out from glass for my fruit tea and an metal-pot for my black tea. I'll put the loose tea in the (sometimes preheated for a much better taste) pot and add the water to. Then using my tea-timer and waiting until it's brewed. Then i reshuffle the tea into a measuring cup and clean the pot from the loose tea leaves. After this step, i reshuffle the tea back into the pot and drink it - from a mug, glass or small tea cup. ^__^

I drink tea in teabags too, but not often. Some sorts are very tasty and tastes like loose tea, but i prefer loose tea. I often have the teabag problem, that the tea smells very, very good, but when i make it at home, it's just like hot water without any flavour. <____< And then i "lost" around 2€ for a 30-40 teabag boxing. That's why i don't buy tea from some specific german Tea Companies who sold tea in teabags. Hot water without any flavour get i for "free" at home.

I think you are more of a tea person than i am. Im currently trying to finish up my teas. Starting with the strawberry white that i have though i am excited for summer to use my tomato basil one for ice tea. it tastes like a bloody mary.

I'm also hooked on Kombucha. Currently drinking a Tumeric Rose Kombucha from a local brewery.

Haha, our tea cabinet is OUT Of control. And I'm currently in the process of building a pretty tea box for it. My favorite tea is a special one that I got in France, Coffea brand Cocktail des Isles (Island cocktail). It's a beautiful tea, with hints of licorice, but also sort of a fruity floweriness... It's really difficult to identify any individual flavors, but it's an amazing combo!

I also have an amazing gypsy rose earl grey, and I'm quite fond of Lady Grey... It's more refreshing than Earl Grey.

For those of you who like something more natural... My mother-in-law makes mint tea all the time with fresh leaves. Not even dried or anything, she just runs out to the garden, chops some, and uses that. It's really nice stuff...

Loose teas are SOOOOO much better than the traditional bags. But in Europe, lately, I've been seeing loads of tea bags that are a more silky material, where you can see the leaves really well, plus they're pyramid shaped, so the tea has plenty of space to expand as it sits in the water, so you get much better tea. Plus, because you can see what is inside better, they're more careful about what they put in... They want it to look pretty, so they use lots of really nice full leaves.

I know, it sucks so much when a tea winds up brewing into something super weak. I've had a few that say to steep them for 4-6 minutes, but you have to brew double or triple the tea bags, or let it sit for way longer, and then sometimes it gets super bitter and nasty. :(

You talked about the "Strawberry white". Is it a White Tea with Strawberries? I'm not a fan of Berries in general, but if the amount low, sometimes i think about to buy flavoured tea too.

Exactly this! You have to steep the double amount of time by teabags. And then it gets very super bitter. X___X Taste like hell - no. And when you use two or three teabags and steep them for the same time, they taste sometimes bitter so, but you get - finally - a flavour! Wuhu~

I was using tea in pyramidal bags too and this teas taste much better as the ordinary teabag version. As you noticed, in Europe (and in Germany too) the pyramidal bags are made of Polylactic acid. That's why them feel like silky. When you rub it between your fingers, it makes a funny noise like "Rsschh".

Yeah, exactly. Those teas are really nice. :) We have loads and loads of them. And the fact of the matter is, at the end of the day, any bag is easier clean up than using a strainer or a teaball, so I'm glad to have those. :O Not that I DON'T use loose leaf, because I do, but only when I have more time... :O

Hello! I'm a tea enthusiast with less experience than I'd like to have lol, but we're getting there. I have a soft spot for loose teas, and my uninformed favourite is simple - black. I just got a new teapot and I'm in love with it, it's a little Hario Cha Cha Kyusu "Maru", I love it to bits ❤

I'm gonna be following this thread for any and all recommendations, I have no clue where to look outside of the small town grocery stores of Alaska (⌒_⌒;) Thank you for making this!

Hello all! Twinings is my favorite brand. I very much enjoy a good cup of sweet black or green, but mint tea will always have my heart.