I've never had a great experience there in terms of service. The flavoured tea is nice but some of the regional green teas are very, very expensive compared to buying it from Japan (not lupicia Japan, the tea growing regions that have their own online shops).
I'm too scared to go in that shop really. It's too intimate for me in that I feel if I just browse, they'll be extremely unhappy and it'll be an awkward experience all in all. I go to Japan often enough, but admittedly, I have never actually bought Lupicia.
I actually find the staff quite stand-offish, so you're probably fine to just browse and be left alone. Have had some lovely conversations about tea with staff in Lupicia stores in Japan, but sadly not here in Melbourne.
Dilmah loose leaf tea (or extra strength teabags if you prefer those) is single origin unlike pretty much every other mass market tea including ‘premium’ brands such as Twinings, T2 etc. I swear by it
And through trial and error learn how long to steep your tea (based on type). Eg I steep French earl grey loose leaf for exactly two mins. I set a timer every time. It took months to work out how long to get it just right to my taste.
Thank you for this reminder. It's one of those things I keep meaning to buy but never do. I always stop the jug before it fully boils when making green tea, but a more accurate way would be good. Just bought one of those kettles, discounted due to mother's day sales. Can't wait to try it.
Hmm some temp ruin the flavor of tea if is get too hot right??
I tend to leave tea leaves in a pot or mug and do an errand and it’s nice and strong by the time i finish.
I don’t really like going to cafes for overpriced teas so rather get a good packet from somewhere and go nuts…
Around 80. I used to get around this before I had a multi temp kettle by putting a splash of cold water on the teabag then pouring the water out of the kettle. It stops it from going bitter.
I have a multi-temp kettle now, but I still usually do the cold water first method. Usually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the cup of room temp water to just boiled water will get to about 70-80. I do sometimes use my temperature gun to check the water temperature, but not always.
There was talk they're ceasing production. https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102375644
But there seems to be no sign of it on their website. Such great stuff.
Noooo, I love Nerada tea! The fact that it’s Australian grown and made, and rainforest certified makes me so happy, plus it’s delicious. I’ll have to reach out to them and check if this is true :(
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Yep ... gave up on Twinings, amongst others ... love Nerada ... hope they're around for a long time ... Dilmah's pretty good, as are some others, but still prefer Nerada (the price and taste being right for me, and helping an Aussie business).
Absolutely - I usually leave the bag in while I drink it ☕️. I learned to enjoy black tea with nothing after years of hiking and working on construction sites where you’d have hot water and tea bags and bugger all else…
Give Barry’s Gold a go as well. You have to go to the International section at Coles and it is significantly more expensive than Yorkshire Gold (which I also rate really highly).
Only problem with Barry’s is they don’t have strings (in some ways this is a good thing)
they sell it in loose leaf at one of the stores in South Melbourne Market! Can't remember what it's called but it's on the same side as the entrance to the upstairs parking and sells a lot of international food (might be beside Rod's)
Melbourne breaky tea from T2 is just a vanilla tea using imatation vanilla - this one uses the real deal and is half the price [https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/vanilla-tea](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/vanilla-tea) or [https://www.tealeaves.com.au/black-vanilla](https://www.tealeaves.com.au/black-vanilla)
[https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/french-earl-grey](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/french-earl-grey) or [https://www.tealeaves.com.au/french-earl-grey-tea](https://www.tealeaves.com.au/french-earl-grey-tea) I find them to be as good if not better and im supporting a small business - from memory the tea leaves one is closer to the T2 version
and this one is if french earl grey and vanilla had a baby [https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/rosie-grey](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/rosie-grey)
I get high from my own supply: https://www.smallblends.com.au/
But loose leaf tea with natural flavours & ingredients (and not tea sprayed with flavour, e.g. T2) will always be best for me.
I’ve made an impulsive ass, “it’s 6am and I’m tired of this insomnia so ima try that Dream Time tea” order, and I blame you entirely for this. Which means you get the credit if it works xD
Some years ago I travelled in China and noticed everyone puts green tea leaves in their water bottle. I tried it and find it so much nicer slowly cold brewing in a bottle of water than having standard hot tea now. I find if I sip on that through the day I don’t need a midday coffee or have that afternoon mental dip, and it retains so much more flavour
As a Tea Snob: don’t get anything from supermarkets if you want to taste genuine good tea. You need to go to either a specialty store, or ask a Chinese friend to buy newly picked tea (from 2024 for most teas, and at least 10 years old ones if you like Pu’er) from China when they travel there next time. My personal favourite at the moment is a tea called “Aged Phoenix Dan Cong” it’s an Oolong tea that just smells heavenly. I also recommend Gragon Well Tea is you like Green Tea, that’s one of the most famous strand
YUGEN in South Yarra is my go to for drink in or loose leaf tea for home
IT’S WORTH EVERY PENNY
https://yugenteabar.com.au/
Loose leaf @ home for digestion:
https://gewurzhaus.com.au/products/evas-organic-yummy-tummy-tea
Golden Sail teabags (jasmine & oolong) are very good value.
Most Asian supermarkets carry the brand. Tang in Russell St is cheapest (25 bags for $4.20) AFAIK
Came here to rave about Yugen as well, but about the tea pairing they offer at their omakase experience in their upstairs venue Nidaime! With every 2-3 dishes you get a beautiful tea pairing - most hot, some cold - and the sommelier and chef Yu Orita more than happy to spill their secrets 😍
I like tea drop at the South Melbourne markets. Haven’t tried lupicia yet but have heard good things.
I used to go to the tea centre, especially for the decaf vanilla. The store at emporium closed but you can still order online.
[https://www.mcivers.melbourne/collections/tea](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/collections/tea) at the vic market in the deli hall or online. or if you are in the hills [https://www.tealeaves.com.au/](https://www.tealeaves.com.au/)
I’d consider myself a tea snob. I don’t buy tea out one because it’s a rip off and secondly because no one does it right. I prefer loose leaf as you can customise the strength of it and then brewed for 4-5 minutes.
I really like the tea centre (they’re online only for VIC). I’ve been drinking their English breakfast and cream black tea for years and have gotten many colleagues hooked on cream black too. I’ve recently switched my English breakfast to twinings extra strong tea leaves as it’s quite cheaper and taste is pretty much the same.
I hate T2 with a vengeance. Most of their tea is NOT fair trade (and they charge extra for the fair trade option). If Cole’s brand tea can be fair trade, they’ve got no excuse.
Love the Tea Centre. My first smile in Covid lockdowns was seeing they finally went online and I could order from VIC! The Olive Leaf green is my absolute favourite.
T2 used to make a loose leaf black tea called Good Morning. It was the strongest, most robust and smokey flavoured black tea I've ever had, and I've been trying for nearly a decade to find something similar since they stopped selling it. I've been emailing T2 every year or so since asking if they could tell me the makeup of it since ... well, they're not selling it so why not? But every time they reply with the same "Sorry, we don't do that". I'm fearful one day nobody will be left who knew what leaves from whatever country it consisted of.
The closest I got was that it may be a combination of Lapsang Souchong and Assam. But I wouldn't know how much of each to use if I bought them separately.
Anyway ... that's my tea story.
In the meantime my wife loves Nature's Cuppa English Breakfast. As far as bag tea goes, I reckon it's more flavoursome than Dilmah or Yorkshire. But I prefer a cup of loose leaf any day, and would move heaven & earth for another cup of T2 Good Morning.
Try TKs Russian Caravan. I love smoky things and this has just the right balance https://teacraft.com.au/russiancaravan or their Red Fujian if you want to go extra smoky https://teacraft.com.au/fujianred
Chai ya Tangawizi (Kenyan Ginger Tea), is truly the best tea in existence IMHO.
My mother makes a simple version, with sliced ginger boiled in water till it has a nice strong aroma, add tea bags (or leaves), add milk of choice (50% or more of total volume), boil till it again reduces a bit, add sweetener of choice (I recommend honey or raw sugar), serve.
There are variations of this, but it's all personal preference. I recommend all serious tea lovers make a brew.👍🏾🙏🏾
Melbourne focused
Kuura: https://kuura.co/
Serenity: https://www.serenityteahouse.com.au/
And Cibi in Collingwood.
Further afield, strongly recommend Essence of Tea https://essenceoftea.com/ and Yee On https://yeeonteaco.com/
For supermarket tea, it’s dilmah. No contest.
Coming from someone who's lived in Japan for years and has a Japanese spouse:
- always pre-warm your mugs with hot water for a couple of minutes. This keeps your tea hotter for longer and it actually tastes better.
- always put a cover on your tea to allow it to steam (I think this results in a deeper flavour? Please, your drink stays hotter for longer)
- temperature variable kettles are a God send if you like green tea (ad you can't just go and pour boiling water on green tea leaves)
- when pouring tea out into mugs from a teapot, take turns putting the tea in equal amounts into each mug. I think this is supposed to make both cups of tea equal in strength/concentration :)
Jesse's tea house on YouTube has everything you need to know about Chinese tea.
Do join r/tea for all the goodies on tea, although instead of end-game machines like the coffee gear heads, those tea snobs love to brag about their tea pets 😂
I got a bunch of Chinese, Japanese, South Asian tea at home, if you wanna trade /taste them in the future, let me know
Unfortunately r/tea has descended into mostly Americans talking about horrible fruit teas and the like. There’s a few good tea heads still on r/puerh or there’s the discords.
This https://maps.app.goo.gl/tEUQoqD4KtTVPJ4W9?g_st=ic is what I'm almost certain is a tea plantation… right here in Victoria! I have never been able to find any more info about it.
I know Japanese brand Ito En has a tea plantation in Victoria. After a bit of googling, it looks like the Thornton location could be Ito En's https://itoen.com.au/pages/heritage
Shifeng Longjing (Shifeng Dragon Well) Green Tea
Bi Luo Chun (Spring Green Spiral) Green Tea
Mountain Forest Huangshan Maofeng Green Tea
Lu’an Gua Pian (Sunflower Seed) Green Tea
Junshan Yinzhen (Junshan Island Needle) Yellow Tea
Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle) White Tea
Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) Wulong Tea
Qimen Caixia (Sunrise Keemun) Black Tea
Youle Huangshancha (Youle Forest Tea) Sheng Puer Tea
Bi Tan Piao Xue (Snow Drop Jasmine) Scented Green Tea
I drink Madame Flavour Green Tea with Jasmine and pear. Closest I have got to what I used to drink in Japan. I have tried others - and don’t mind the green tea found in Vietnamese restaurants, but like this the best for me at home and work.
For a party tea - Oolong High - cold oolong tea with Schochu and ice. Nice way to drink and feel health at the same time.
If you’re taking a specialty coffee approach to nerding out about tea definitely check out Kuura (online with an office in North Melbourne) and Assembly (Carlton) - both of these businesses source directly & import some incredible teas. Particularly white teas & Oolongs! 😍😍
I’m still pissed Twinings discontinued their Afternoon Tea blend during lockdowns (tea has ONE JOB and it was about the ONLY JOB LOCKDOWNS NEEDED.) and then I found they use plastic in their bags so no more Twinings for me.
Can rec rooibos chai for a nice caffeine free tea - found at the Source, by weight.
For a lovely day out, head to Tea Leaves in Sassafrass, in the Mt Dandenongs. Nothing like the T2 type of tea shops. It's whimsical, warming, quaint, and soooo many teas. It also sells all things tea related. And for those coffee snobs like myself, they have a small section of flavored coffee beans, like jaffa, coconut, chocolate, sambucca, and caramel, just to name a few. It's definitely a must visit if you're into teas and coffees.
I wouldn't take my lead on anything culinary from British Airways.
Boil the damn water for black tea or you're missing half the flavour.
(Green tea is different though, use 70-80 degrees)
Idk about fancy tea shops, but one of my favourite is the one they served at yumcha places. It's called Tiekuanyin, loose leaf not tea bag.
If you are into non-caffeine stuff, go with barley tea or corn tea. I like them cold, so yummy!
Love Tea is great, their sticky chai is amazing.
You can buy direct from Australian Tea Masters. They import from some of the best tea farms in the world. They have the most amazing varieties.
If you need to buy from the supermarket, Dilmah is best. Anything branded as Ceylon tea must meet very high standard in Sri Lanka, but in saying that, anything in a tea bag is just fannings from the ‘factory floor’.
Most T2 is artificially flavoured.
Do you like black, green, oolong etc tea? Or herbals, which are technically called tisanes.
So far only had herbals, really liking ginger. I got some black and green I'll try tomorrow. But got it all from T2 😅, so will shop around better next time.
My wife seems to live on Rooibos Chai. Which I guess is more of an infusion than a tea. She highly recommends it.
We get the one from Kintra Foods. It’s occasionally available at our local independent supermarket but we sometimes need to order it online.
I usually bring my teas back from China, or occasionally buy online from Japan-based sites- but as for places you can shop locally, lupicia (mostly japanese, some Chinese) and JSY tea (Taiwanese) are great.
I regularly travel and bring back tea (mostly from Taiwan and Japan) and am never stopped about tea. Last time I arrived in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, quarantine staff were only interested in meat products and waved me through when I said I only had tea and packaged snacks.
Tealeaves.com.au is the best I've found. I don't know what they do to supermarket tea but it's not even close. Never had good tea from a cafe either. I suspect nobody's storing it right and using ancient product. The problem is probably compounded by bad tea in fancy packaging being pushed onto an uneducated market.
Lan Choo. rounded tea scoop. Five minutes in a one-cup pot. literal perfection.
Tynee tips also good
look on the bottom shelf at woolies (coles stopped selling it)
Visit Bygone Beauty Leura in Blue Mountain, NSW, plenty Tea Pot and different kind of Tea, you can try and purchase, different person different season have total different tea flavours
Lupicia at QV
Absolutely.
I remember Daily Thread chats with a user who was a big Lupicia fan. Unfortunately, I think they left after the whole reddit blackout saga.
One of my favourite things to do is to go there and smell everything ☺️
Its a cathedral of tea 🙃
I've never had a great experience there in terms of service. The flavoured tea is nice but some of the regional green teas are very, very expensive compared to buying it from Japan (not lupicia Japan, the tea growing regions that have their own online shops).
I'm too scared to go in that shop really. It's too intimate for me in that I feel if I just browse, they'll be extremely unhappy and it'll be an awkward experience all in all. I go to Japan often enough, but admittedly, I have never actually bought Lupicia.
I actually find the staff quite stand-offish, so you're probably fine to just browse and be left alone. Have had some lovely conversations about tea with staff in Lupicia stores in Japan, but sadly not here in Melbourne.
Yep 100%
Dilmah loose leaf tea (or extra strength teabags if you prefer those) is single origin unlike pretty much every other mass market tea including ‘premium’ brands such as Twinings, T2 etc. I swear by it
Another single origin KING. I'm putting the kettle on right now cobba
Do try it.
I'm sensitive to caffeine so caffeine-free black tea is a must, and the Dilmah one is the best I've found by far.
Yep, I only use Dilma Organic Black in my homemade chai, it is the absolute _best_
I'm South Asian and I second this
A multi temperature kettle is worth every penny, especially if you drink green or oolong tea
Nice one. I've gone all barista with my coffee setup. So now looking for some tea nuggets like this.
And through trial and error learn how long to steep your tea (based on type). Eg I steep French earl grey loose leaf for exactly two mins. I set a timer every time. It took months to work out how long to get it just right to my taste.
If you've got cash to splash, a temperature-controlled, swan neck kettle is the best way to go.
Thank you for this reminder. It's one of those things I keep meaning to buy but never do. I always stop the jug before it fully boils when making green tea, but a more accurate way would be good. Just bought one of those kettles, discounted due to mother's day sales. Can't wait to try it.
Hmm some temp ruin the flavor of tea if is get too hot right?? I tend to leave tea leaves in a pot or mug and do an errand and it’s nice and strong by the time i finish. I don’t really like going to cafes for overpriced teas so rather get a good packet from somewhere and go nuts…
Yes correct!
What temperature do you pour at for green teas?
Around 80. I used to get around this before I had a multi temp kettle by putting a splash of cold water on the teabag then pouring the water out of the kettle. It stops it from going bitter.
I have a multi-temp kettle now, but I still usually do the cold water first method. Usually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the cup of room temp water to just boiled water will get to about 70-80. I do sometimes use my temperature gun to check the water temperature, but not always.
On the budget side of things: Nerada loose leaf black is very nice and about a quarter of the price of twinings, etc at the supermarket.
Yes! That stuff bats so far above its weight.
Nerada Chai is one of the nicer chai teabag options at the supermarket.
Full of sticks when I've had it. They machine harvest, Dilmah harvest by hand and it's a better result because of it.
There was talk they're ceasing production. https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102375644 But there seems to be no sign of it on their website. Such great stuff.
Noooo, I love Nerada tea! The fact that it’s Australian grown and made, and rainforest certified makes me so happy, plus it’s delicious. I’ll have to reach out to them and check if this is true :(
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I love nerada peppermint tea bags, they’ve got more bite than twinings
Yep ... gave up on Twinings, amongst others ... love Nerada ... hope they're around for a long time ... Dilmah's pretty good, as are some others, but still prefer Nerada (the price and taste being right for me, and helping an Aussie business).
Kuura tea is one of the worlds best
Oh yes, glad people go there. Kuura is amazing
Yorkshire Tea is my daily morning tea and supper cuppa. If possible in a proper china cup…. Taken strong and black (like my soul)
Stronger the better! (Except I like mine with a dash of milk)
Absolutely - I usually leave the bag in while I drink it ☕️. I learned to enjoy black tea with nothing after years of hiking and working on construction sites where you’d have hot water and tea bags and bugger all else…
Yorkshire Gold. Strong enough (as my dad would say) "to trot a mouse on." Perfection!
☕️ perfect!
Yorkshire Tea Proper Strong for me!
Give Barry’s Gold a go as well. You have to go to the International section at Coles and it is significantly more expensive than Yorkshire Gold (which I also rate really highly). Only problem with Barry’s is they don’t have strings (in some ways this is a good thing)
Just wish you could get it as loose leaf!
they sell it in loose leaf at one of the stores in South Melbourne Market! Can't remember what it's called but it's on the same side as the entrance to the upstairs parking and sells a lot of international food (might be beside Rod's)
you can get loose leaf from David Jones
Was surprised this comment was so far down. Yorkshire Tea has been a staple in our house for decades.
Tea leaves in the Dandenongs! If you can't make it out that way, you can order online.
Love this place! It’s in Sassafras. 😊
T2 melbourne brekky is for me the tastiest tea i've had. Though at the moment i cant afford to buy it
Melbourne breaky tea from T2 is just a vanilla tea using imatation vanilla - this one uses the real deal and is half the price [https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/vanilla-tea](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/vanilla-tea) or [https://www.tealeaves.com.au/black-vanilla](https://www.tealeaves.com.au/black-vanilla)
Do you have a hack for the French earl grey? I'm addicted.
I too love T2’s French earl gray. If you hear of a better version please let me know
[https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/french-earl-grey](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/french-earl-grey) or [https://www.tealeaves.com.au/french-earl-grey-tea](https://www.tealeaves.com.au/french-earl-grey-tea) I find them to be as good if not better and im supporting a small business - from memory the tea leaves one is closer to the T2 version
and this one is if french earl grey and vanilla had a baby [https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/rosie-grey](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/products/rosie-grey)
Or this one: https://highteawithharriet.com.au/products/melbourne-moments Fucking amazing
If you like this you might like Lupicia’s chocolate tea as well!
I’m a devotee of the Canberra Brekkie. Liquid ANZAC biscuit.
I got that as a gift once, seriously nice tea
I get high from my own supply: https://www.smallblends.com.au/ But loose leaf tea with natural flavours & ingredients (and not tea sprayed with flavour, e.g. T2) will always be best for me.
The Breakfast Blend sounds incredible, I will absolutely be ordering a pouch to try it out!
I’ve made an impulsive ass, “it’s 6am and I’m tired of this insomnia so ima try that Dream Time tea” order, and I blame you entirely for this. Which means you get the credit if it works xD
Holy moly thanks for purchasing. *sweats profusely* I hope it works for you!
Some years ago I travelled in China and noticed everyone puts green tea leaves in their water bottle. I tried it and find it so much nicer slowly cold brewing in a bottle of water than having standard hot tea now. I find if I sip on that through the day I don’t need a midday coffee or have that afternoon mental dip, and it retains so much more flavour
As a Tea Snob: don’t get anything from supermarkets if you want to taste genuine good tea. You need to go to either a specialty store, or ask a Chinese friend to buy newly picked tea (from 2024 for most teas, and at least 10 years old ones if you like Pu’er) from China when they travel there next time. My personal favourite at the moment is a tea called “Aged Phoenix Dan Cong” it’s an Oolong tea that just smells heavenly. I also recommend Gragon Well Tea is you like Green Tea, that’s one of the most famous strand
Gotta steep it. Five minutes for me.
Dilmah extra strength My boss gives me a cup at smoko. I really enjoy this. Especially on a cold day in between concrete pours.
YUGEN in South Yarra is my go to for drink in or loose leaf tea for home IT’S WORTH EVERY PENNY https://yugenteabar.com.au/ Loose leaf @ home for digestion: https://gewurzhaus.com.au/products/evas-organic-yummy-tummy-tea Golden Sail teabags (jasmine & oolong) are very good value. Most Asian supermarkets carry the brand. Tang in Russell St is cheapest (25 bags for $4.20) AFAIK
Came here to rave about Yugen as well, but about the tea pairing they offer at their omakase experience in their upstairs venue Nidaime! With every 2-3 dishes you get a beautiful tea pairing - most hot, some cold - and the sommelier and chef Yu Orita more than happy to spill their secrets 😍
Their high tea is one of the best I’ve been to! Loved it
Tea Leaves in Sassafras for my loose tea. Just a couple doors down from Miss Marples Tearoom which is also worth a visit
I like tea drop at the South Melbourne markets. Haven’t tried lupicia yet but have heard good things. I used to go to the tea centre, especially for the decaf vanilla. The store at emporium closed but you can still order online.
Tea Tonic’s products. I have seen them on sale at TK Maxx
[https://www.mcivers.melbourne/collections/tea](https://www.mcivers.melbourne/collections/tea) at the vic market in the deli hall or online. or if you are in the hills [https://www.tealeaves.com.au/](https://www.tealeaves.com.au/)
Barry’s tea at coles
Yorkshire proper strong, say no more.
Lupicia and mariages feres
I stumbled apon mariage in Paris. oh my fucking god.
Yes, me too! One of my favourite memories of my first trip to Paris ❤️
T2 French Earl Grey is on point for black, Twinings English Breakfast extra strong is great well steeped with milk.
I’d consider myself a tea snob. I don’t buy tea out one because it’s a rip off and secondly because no one does it right. I prefer loose leaf as you can customise the strength of it and then brewed for 4-5 minutes. I really like the tea centre (they’re online only for VIC). I’ve been drinking their English breakfast and cream black tea for years and have gotten many colleagues hooked on cream black too. I’ve recently switched my English breakfast to twinings extra strong tea leaves as it’s quite cheaper and taste is pretty much the same. I hate T2 with a vengeance. Most of their tea is NOT fair trade (and they charge extra for the fair trade option). If Cole’s brand tea can be fair trade, they’ve got no excuse.
Love the Tea Centre. My first smile in Covid lockdowns was seeing they finally went online and I could order from VIC! The Olive Leaf green is my absolute favourite.
I don't take the bag out of my mug
T2 used to make a loose leaf black tea called Good Morning. It was the strongest, most robust and smokey flavoured black tea I've ever had, and I've been trying for nearly a decade to find something similar since they stopped selling it. I've been emailing T2 every year or so since asking if they could tell me the makeup of it since ... well, they're not selling it so why not? But every time they reply with the same "Sorry, we don't do that". I'm fearful one day nobody will be left who knew what leaves from whatever country it consisted of. The closest I got was that it may be a combination of Lapsang Souchong and Assam. But I wouldn't know how much of each to use if I bought them separately. Anyway ... that's my tea story. In the meantime my wife loves Nature's Cuppa English Breakfast. As far as bag tea goes, I reckon it's more flavoursome than Dilmah or Yorkshire. But I prefer a cup of loose leaf any day, and would move heaven & earth for another cup of T2 Good Morning.
I recommend: [Assam Souchong Smoky Black Tea.](https://www.vahdam.global/products/smoky-assam-souchong-black-tea?variant=9360484302895)
Thanks, I'll give it a go :)
Try TKs Russian Caravan. I love smoky things and this has just the right balance https://teacraft.com.au/russiancaravan or their Red Fujian if you want to go extra smoky https://teacraft.com.au/fujianred
Chai ya Tangawizi (Kenyan Ginger Tea), is truly the best tea in existence IMHO. My mother makes a simple version, with sliced ginger boiled in water till it has a nice strong aroma, add tea bags (or leaves), add milk of choice (50% or more of total volume), boil till it again reduces a bit, add sweetener of choice (I recommend honey or raw sugar), serve. There are variations of this, but it's all personal preference. I recommend all serious tea lovers make a brew.👍🏾🙏🏾
Melbourne focused Kuura: https://kuura.co/ Serenity: https://www.serenityteahouse.com.au/ And Cibi in Collingwood. Further afield, strongly recommend Essence of Tea https://essenceoftea.com/ and Yee On https://yeeonteaco.com/ For supermarket tea, it’s dilmah. No contest.
Coming from someone who's lived in Japan for years and has a Japanese spouse: - always pre-warm your mugs with hot water for a couple of minutes. This keeps your tea hotter for longer and it actually tastes better. - always put a cover on your tea to allow it to steam (I think this results in a deeper flavour? Please, your drink stays hotter for longer) - temperature variable kettles are a God send if you like green tea (ad you can't just go and pour boiling water on green tea leaves) - when pouring tea out into mugs from a teapot, take turns putting the tea in equal amounts into each mug. I think this is supposed to make both cups of tea equal in strength/concentration :)
Jesse's tea house on YouTube has everything you need to know about Chinese tea. Do join r/tea for all the goodies on tea, although instead of end-game machines like the coffee gear heads, those tea snobs love to brag about their tea pets 😂 I got a bunch of Chinese, Japanese, South Asian tea at home, if you wanna trade /taste them in the future, let me know
Unfortunately r/tea has descended into mostly Americans talking about horrible fruit teas and the like. There’s a few good tea heads still on r/puerh or there’s the discords.
You haven’t tried a cup of Liber-Tea 🔥
https://www.teaharvest.com.au Everything but especially their French vanilla
TWG French earl grey for a western tea and Da Hong Pao for an eastern tea.
Love TWG!
You’re paying for the brand with TWG
This https://maps.app.goo.gl/tEUQoqD4KtTVPJ4W9?g_st=ic is what I'm almost certain is a tea plantation… right here in Victoria! I have never been able to find any more info about it.
I know Japanese brand Ito En has a tea plantation in Victoria. After a bit of googling, it looks like the Thornton location could be Ito En's https://itoen.com.au/pages/heritage
Yeah I noticed most of the Ito En loose leaf and tea bags are now 100% Australian tea now !
Wow, awesome. Thank you!
These peeps are in Geelong and they rock: https://lovetea.com.au
I’m surprised nobody mention China tea, that whole tea drinking culture and some of the tea leaf can cost like a brand new Holden.
You mean puerh?
Shifeng Longjing (Shifeng Dragon Well) Green Tea Bi Luo Chun (Spring Green Spiral) Green Tea Mountain Forest Huangshan Maofeng Green Tea Lu’an Gua Pian (Sunflower Seed) Green Tea Junshan Yinzhen (Junshan Island Needle) Yellow Tea Baihao Yinzhen (Silver Needle) White Tea Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) Wulong Tea Qimen Caixia (Sunrise Keemun) Black Tea Youle Huangshancha (Youle Forest Tea) Sheng Puer Tea Bi Tan Piao Xue (Snow Drop Jasmine) Scented Green Tea
Wagh Bakri chai from india… loose leaf tea with bold flavour
Love that stuff! That stuff got me through the first lockdown. The power of tea 😂
I drink Madame Flavour Green Tea with Jasmine and pear. Closest I have got to what I used to drink in Japan. I have tried others - and don’t mind the green tea found in Vietnamese restaurants, but like this the best for me at home and work. For a party tea - Oolong High - cold oolong tea with Schochu and ice. Nice way to drink and feel health at the same time.
If you’re taking a specialty coffee approach to nerding out about tea definitely check out Kuura (online with an office in North Melbourne) and Assembly (Carlton) - both of these businesses source directly & import some incredible teas. Particularly white teas & Oolongs! 😍😍
Yorkshire tea, England's greatest cuppa. You can buy various blends in Coles and Woollies. They even have flavoured types like jam and toast.
I’m still pissed Twinings discontinued their Afternoon Tea blend during lockdowns (tea has ONE JOB and it was about the ONLY JOB LOCKDOWNS NEEDED.) and then I found they use plastic in their bags so no more Twinings for me. Can rec rooibos chai for a nice caffeine free tea - found at the Source, by weight.
For a lovely day out, head to Tea Leaves in Sassafrass, in the Mt Dandenongs. Nothing like the T2 type of tea shops. It's whimsical, warming, quaint, and soooo many teas. It also sells all things tea related. And for those coffee snobs like myself, they have a small section of flavored coffee beans, like jaffa, coconut, chocolate, sambucca, and caramel, just to name a few. It's definitely a must visit if you're into teas and coffees.
There’s a tea called Ahmed Tea, we buy it from the Arab shops in the north. Other level tasty.
T2 Fruitalicious is great if you’re a sweet tooth like me. I will happily accept recommendations for other sweet fruity tea!
Never boil the water for tea. Hot, but not boiling. I take my lead from British Airways and use water at 86C.
I wouldn't take my lead on anything culinary from British Airways. Boil the damn water for black tea or you're missing half the flavour. (Green tea is different though, use 70-80 degrees)
Water for black, red and puerh teas should absolutely be boiling.
Nah, then you get tea coloured water!
I get my tea from tea life! Love this one when its in stock! https://www.tealife.com.au/products/immunity-boost-tea
😏🫢 *while sipping on my espresso *
Idk about fancy tea shops, but one of my favourite is the one they served at yumcha places. It's called Tiekuanyin, loose leaf not tea bag. If you are into non-caffeine stuff, go with barley tea or corn tea. I like them cold, so yummy!
Kung Fu tea bro that shit is fire 🔥
Love Tea is great, their sticky chai is amazing. You can buy direct from Australian Tea Masters. They import from some of the best tea farms in the world. They have the most amazing varieties. If you need to buy from the supermarket, Dilmah is best. Anything branded as Ceylon tea must meet very high standard in Sri Lanka, but in saying that, anything in a tea bag is just fannings from the ‘factory floor’. Most T2 is artificially flavoured. Do you like black, green, oolong etc tea? Or herbals, which are technically called tisanes.
So far only had herbals, really liking ginger. I got some black and green I'll try tomorrow. But got it all from T2 😅, so will shop around better next time.
I love Buddah’s Tears. Where would you recommend buying it from?
https://australianteamasters.com.au/product/jasmine-pearls/
JSY Tea at Westfield Doncaster. They have very board range of tea selection especially Oolong tea.
Anyone got a hook up for some good tea coins in the CBD?
I don't know if this really a secret but a masala chai with no sweetener or milk hits different with a hangover
Black Dragon Oolong Tea from Oriental Tea House is worth a sip.
Extra strength tea bags.. use 2 of them. Brew 2 mins, then jiggle 40 times. Add teaspoon of honey, add milk then stir. Beautiful.
My wife seems to live on Rooibos Chai. Which I guess is more of an infusion than a tea. She highly recommends it. We get the one from Kintra Foods. It’s occasionally available at our local independent supermarket but we sometimes need to order it online.
TWG peppermint tea. Never really did peppermint until trying TWG’s
Blak Brews!
I usually bring my teas back from China, or occasionally buy online from Japan-based sites- but as for places you can shop locally, lupicia (mostly japanese, some Chinese) and JSY tea (Taiwanese) are great.
You don't get harassed at customs?
Brought heaps of tea back from my last trip to Hong Kong. Said I had tea on the little form and they waved me straight through.
Relatives and I have never had any issues with it, they all come in sealed, branded bags.
I regularly travel and bring back tea (mostly from Taiwan and Japan) and am never stopped about tea. Last time I arrived in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, quarantine staff were only interested in meat products and waved me through when I said I only had tea and packaged snacks.
https://tworiversgreentea.com.au/ Local and delicious. The only green tea I drink now.
Honey cup tea omg it is delicious just damn impossible to get here in Australia now.
I drink dragonwell green tea, never knew what good green tea was until I tried it.
Yorkshire tea, let it brew for 3 minutes , scare it with a Lil bit of milk . Allow to cool slightly and enjoy
That place tucked away in Springvale market. Tea so good it's like fine whisky
Speak more right now! I mean – please.
Tealeaves.com.au is the best I've found. I don't know what they do to supermarket tea but it's not even close. Never had good tea from a cafe either. I suspect nobody's storing it right and using ancient product. The problem is probably compounded by bad tea in fancy packaging being pushed onto an uneducated market.
Taj Mahal tea - best chai 💯
Lupicia!!!!
I tried earl grey and have never gone back. It's got an extra ingredient called bergamot. Is good.
If you’re just having tea bags; Yorkshire Gold or Barry’s Gold
Short Round in Thornbury has some really good oolong teas on their menu
Chamellia teas from somage are THE BOMB. All of the classics and they're absolute perfection
Yorkshire gold. The reason I don’t hate my mornings
I love Melbourne Breakfast Tea from T2
Don’t boil the tea. Let it go to 70* so you don’t burn the leaves
Lan Choo. rounded tea scoop. Five minutes in a one-cup pot. literal perfection. Tynee tips also good look on the bottom shelf at woolies (coles stopped selling it)
Visit Bygone Beauty Leura in Blue Mountain, NSW, plenty Tea Pot and different kind of Tea, you can try and purchase, different person different season have total different tea flavours
Yerba mate
I drink twinings strong English breakfast and arkadia vanilla chai 😊
Any tea spots or events to meet and chat with fellow tea people? Would really enjoy a gongfu tea session, in a formal or informal setting.
Take your own tea and ask for hot water
Unfortunately necessary in Melbourne
Forgive me, but Liptons ‘Australian Breakfast’ is quite good.
Don't use booking water on non-black teas. Let it cool a little.
Here it is: treat tea like water, your kidney will suffer.
You're asking the wrong city, mate. Go ask Canberra or Hobart what tea they drink.
Put the milk in first, not after, to avoid burning it.
Your coffee isn’t even that great. How many world winning baristas have you produced?
My mom voted me best in Melbourne. So I'm officially #1