A few weeks ago, one of my favourite Dutch lifestyle blogs 2WMN uploaded their new “tea tag”. I absolutely loved hearing their answers to the questions and having a little chat with them about tea (are you surprised? No? Me neither), and after they encouraged people to fill in the tag as well, I decided to translate the questions into English and have a little chat about tea with you guys. These are my answers to the tea tag! I challenge you to make it through this tag without craving a cup of your favourite tea ;)
Just kidding, that would be cruel. Go make yourself some.
Loose leaf or bags?
Honestly, I like both. I feel like loose leaf is nearly always better quality, and my favourite teas are loose leaf, but I really like the convenience and accessibility of tea bags. It’s so easy to just dip a tea bag in hot water and chuck it out, when with loose leaf, you have to go through so many more steps.
Strong or watery tea?
I always thought I had my tea pretty strong, until I had some tea in the UK. Oh, man! Apparently the Dutch like their tea very, very watery, haha! I don’t like when tea is so strong that it turns bitter or (in the case of fruit teas) sour, but I do like to have a pronounced flavour. So I guess, not too strong and not too watery?
What do you eat with your tea?
I know some people that always have biscuits with their tea, but I don’t really have anything with mine. Perhaps it’s because I drink tea all throughout the day, and you can’t have cookies all throughout the day. I wish I could, but no. I drink tea like I would water, with no sides.
What are your favourite brands of tea?
For bagged teas, I prefer Teekanne. Without a doubt. They have a huge variety of exciting teas and there have only been one or two that I didn’t like. For loose leaf I don’t really have a favourite brand, I love browsing little tea shops and taking my favourite flavour home.
Do you drink specific types of tea at certain times of the day?
I love to drink green tea in the morning, black right after lunch, and herbal or fruit teas in the evening. Other than that, I’ll drink white, herbal and fruit teas all throughout the day, and green tea at any time except in the evening. I’m sensitive to caffeine and don’t want to risk anything, haha!
What are your three favourite tea flavours at the moment?
- Silk Road by Wall & Keogh
- Sencha green tea
- Jasmine green tea
What mugs or cups do you drink your tea out of?
I’m not too particular with my mugs, as long as they’re nice and large. Altough I’ll sometimes drink tea out of tiny Chinese cups as well. And I love cute prints. And Christmas mugs.
What standards does your perfect tea cup need to meet? (Large/small, thick/thin walls, glass/ceramic)
Well like I mentioned, I prefer my mugs nice and large. Thicker walls are definitely the way to go, so that I don’t burn my hands and the tea stays warm longer. I like glass because it looks clean and I can see the colour of my tea well, and I like ceramic because the ceramic ones often have really cool designs on them. Luckily I have a bit of everything in my mug collection, haha!
What tea do you find really disgusting?
I think my least favourite tea is plain black, but I can’t say I find it disgusting. In general I think I like most teas. I’ve come across some unfortunate blends but I can’t remember any specific ones that were especially bad.
When do you enjoy a cup of tea the most?
After coming home from a nice walk in the cold autumn/winter air, or a good cycle trip, there’s nothing like resting against a bunch of throw pillows, cuddle up underneath a blanket and drink a giant, steaming cup of my favourite tea. LOVE!
Feel free to use this tag on your blog, or answer the questions in the comments. I’d love to read your responses!
Loose leaf or bags?
Loose. Most definately. I don’t really find it inconvinient. I just put the leaves into my teacan and then I have this small “filter” I put in my mug when I pour the tea.
That way there won’t be any leaves in the mug (my Chinese boyfriend and his family does the same, so I guess it’s a legit method :P )
Also, if there are no flowers or anything in the tea mix (that is, it’s just “plain” tea without anything in it), the leaves will drop to the bottom of the mug after some time.
Strong or watery tea?
I like it strong. Not so strong it turns sour or bitter, I like to really get a good taste of the tea.
Favourite brand?
I don’t have a favourite brand, as I almost only use loose leaf tea.
Although, I do most often buy my tea at this very old Danish tea salon, A. C. Perchs (180 years old).
Here’s a link, if you’d like to see. :)
http://www.perchs.dk/index.php?doo=changelang&tolang=2
Specific types of tea at certain times of the day?
Not really.. I try to avoid black tea at night, but besides that I don’t really think about it.
Three favourites?
1) Gun powder (green tea, loose leaf)
2) Milky Oolong (love oolong/black dragon tea)
3) Silver tips (also green loose leaf)
Mugs or cups?
Like you, I don’t really care that much. I like big mugs because it can contain a lot of tea.. :P
I have both ceramic (painted some myself at this ceramics store Creative Space in Copenhagen) and glass mugs.
I like the glass mugs for loose leaf tea, especially if you put the leaves in the mug and pour water on them.. Then you have this beautiful view of leaves loosening up and you can see the wonderful colour of the tea.. :)
Standards for perfect tea cup?
Haven’t thought about that.
I like them large.. But on the other hand I don’t mind smaller cups. They are great in their own way too.
Disgusting tea?
There is no such thing as disgusting tea. Then it’s not tea. :P
Although I don’t really like rooibos. It’s just too strong in flavour for me.
When do you enjoy a cup of tea the most?
Any time of the day. I really relax when I drink tea.
But the best, most perfect time is in the evening after a nice shower.. Just relaxing in a bunch of pillows and blankets, reading or watching TV. :)
Oh, I forgot one!
I drink tea to almost anything – breakfast, lunch, dinner.. Cookies and just tea alone. Tea (and water) is my preferred beverage, so I drink it whenever I can. :D
Lately I enjoy ginger, black tea and a mix called Serena-té, (it is a game with words, it means calm yourself and a tea that calms you hehe n.n). this mix has (I don’t know the words in english) jamaica, flor de azahar, flor de tila, flor de manita, hojas de naranjo, melisa, manzanilla, pasiflora, yoloxochitl, rosa de castilla. It tastes lovely!
And I’ve been trying strawberry leafs as a tea to help me with my menstraul cramps.
I like large cups too n.n mostly plastic because I use a lot the microwave to reheat the tea :(
I lovelovelove tea. I’m so gonna do this tag! :D
Actually, I just did a halloween themed one and I tagged you. http://junimondig.blogspot.de/2015/10/13-halloween-questions-tag.html Right at the top I put a link to where I got this tag from. You can find the english questions right there. I know you plan your blogposts ahead and I’m sure you’ll have enough to do but I also know you like halloween and tags are quick to answer. So maybe you can squeeze it in? I’d love to read your answers! <3
I was never really into teas until just recently! Now I have been drinking tea nonstop. I love herbal teas and fruity ones the most, although I always enjoy a spicy and sweet chai tea latte. Peppermint is my favorite in the morning, a sweet flavourful fruit tea with lunch, and herbal or spicy warm for the evening. As always, I loved this post!
This weekend I was in Berlin and brought home a box of Teekanne ‘Sternenmarkt’, I’m really excited to drink it, christmas market tea!! I never used to drink a lot of tea but I’ve started to appreciate it the last few years and man is it nice to pick new cool flavors :D
I used to follow the instructions on the package, so I used to use 200-300 ml of water per a tea bag. But when I saw the way you make your teas, I tried it and discovered that I can put one tea bag into a 1 litre jug, and have 5 teas instead of 1 from just one teabag. And the taste is still there, nice and strong.
Only fruit teas need 2 bags per litre for me. All the rest – just one. Now each pack of tea lasts me 5 times longer and every cup is still tasty :)
:D The instructions on the packaging are just a trick to make you buy more tea, haha!
Out of curiousity, how many cups of tea do you drink a day (on average)? I don’t drink tea (which might be a crime considering I’m British) or coffee so I find the whole “tea culture” quite interesting.
Tea is pretty much the only thing I drink, so I think I drink a little under two liters a day :P
Love this tea tag! I agree with you about the whole drinking tea all day thing. I also am guilty of doing the same thing. I tend to choose one type of tea to drink for the day and would stick with it all day (of course changing out teabags and using fresh leaves) so I can’t really say there’s something I like to eat with my tea. I also prefer green or white teas rather than light fruity teas. Love your post and have a good day!
~Andrea Tiffany~
http://aglimpseofglam.blogspot.com