I’m on a weekend vacation and forgot to bring my tea and the international grocery didn’t have it, so I settled for Darjeeling. I can barely notice the difference. It’s so subtle that it might as well just be a different tea brand.
This may be one of the most ‘first world problems’ worthy problems I’ve ever read…
edit: /S for the downvoting folks that take a shower thoughts post seriously
It’s a shower thought, dude. Also, there’s no such thing as Big Tea as far as I know.
Edit: I literally thought that in the shower and it amused me.
Yeah, see I’d hardly know the difference from the $5 a box bags I buy to make iced tea in the summer.
–Barbaric Murican 🙂
I mean, your tea game is dire. Far too dilute, and made with cold salt water! Who would want to drink that. If that’s the best Boston can do, it completely explains why Americans don’t drink tea!
I think you got ripped off. Darjeeling has a different taste than Irish Breakfast, but I’m terrible at describing tastes.
Try scottish breakfast! Its similar to irish, but much darker and “punchier” imo. It’s my go-to when I’m out of coffee and need the closest thing to caffeinate up in the morning
do you mind me asking about the amount of tea you have used as well as the time you let it sit for? most black tea like darjeeling and blends of breakfast teas taste very similar if brewed too strong (i.e. too much tea or too much time). i like to use about a tee spoon full of tea for a mug size and let it sit for about 3-4min max.
I am confused as to why you spelled “tea” correctly six time in your comment, and then spelled “teaspoon” (a spoon used for stirring & measuring tea) wrong.
Not criticizing, just confused.
lol i wondered why i looked so wrong but couldn’t put my finger on it. truthfully though: “tee” would be the proper spelling in my native language and i haven’t had a cup of tea yet so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
you dropped this \
(because \ is an escape character, you must use ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ to correctly display ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
IBT is on the stronger/darker side, Darjeeling is on the lighter side.
IBT should be rich, dark, high in caffeine, with a strong flavor that doesnt get overpowered by milk, or ruined by a little oversteeping. It can still be burned if you use water that’s too hot.
Darjeeling should be amber-colored, light tasting, moderate in caffeine, and should have some floral notes. The flavors can be drowned out by milk or oversteeping in my opinion. Best black and lightly steeped in sub-boiling water.
I love Irish breakfast tea, but I don’t think I’ve ever had Darjeeling. Will have to pick some up soon to compare.
FYI, the taste differences become far more obvious with better quality teas. Darjeeling, being a more subtle (and posh) tea show this strongly. It’s also a lot less tolerant of poor brewing.
For best results, don’t cheap out, and look up optimal brewing instructions.
Sounds like good advice, thanks.
Although I probably DO need tea that’s tolerant of poor brewing. I have small children (and ADHD) and am very bad about forgetting that I have tea brewing…
Before kids, microwaved tea is an absolute travesty. After kids, it’s an unfortunate necessity.
I personally have cheap(ish) teas that priduce a drinkable cup. I also have the good teas that deserve more care and attention.
If you’re interested, these guys provide the best tea I’ve found so far. (They also supply a number of the best tea shops in Bath). It’s definitely not cheap tea, but I currently have several kg of it in the house 😅
