What has happened to our tea?

One tea that is very tasty is by Ronnefeldt and called Mokalbarie. Pricy but special.

I like Yorkshire, but DH keeps bringing home bargain packs of PG, which is OK .... . Just like fairly strong tea with milk! I'm probably a pleb.
Used to drink Rooibos but then I went right off it.
When DD2 is home the cupboard gets filled with all kinds of fruit teas, chai, rooibos, chamomile etc then she leaves it all here where it goes out of date.

How long does loose tea keep if it has never been opened and is in a tin? Surely years ago when it came in sacks and had to travel by slow boat it must have been quite old before being consumed? Just asking because I have a tin of loose tea, never opened, which is years old

I've gone right off tea and only drink coffee now. I think the problem is our water. Our village used to have its own supply coming direct off the hill. It was a joy to drink, either straight from the tap or as tea. In fact when DD1 worked in London for a year she used to take bottles full down with her and I used to take water from home to work in Town. With the huge expansion of the village we are now connected to chlorinated mains supply which is horrible to drink and makes tea taste yucky. Strong coffee seems to mask the 'artificial' taste.

I used to say that folk were mad to buy bottled water here but now I buy Highland Spring, bottled on the other side of the Ochils at Blackford. It tastes just like our tap water used to do.

A friend made us tea when we visited years ago - she had had water filters fitted to her mains system. The tea was horrible.
However, DD1 drinks filtered rain water (no mains) and I always enjoy the tea at her house.

We never use tea bags either. We used to buy M&S Gold tea leaves and gradually noticed the flavour had changed. We now stock up on large leaf Ceylon orange pekoe grade tea from an independent grocers in Colchester - £1.99 125g. We drink it black and use filtered water from a jug.

Having said that, for some reason I don't think any tea tastes as nice as it used to do years ago. But then I notice that with a lot of products - it's either something physiological or psychological to do with getting older, or else the quality isn't what it used to be.

I remember that my Mum used to buy a tea called "Indian Prince" from the Co-op when I was young. Don't know if they still do it

Margaret try it and see. We use leaf tea because I find the sight of tea bags revolting they remind me of.......no, I won't say do not want to put you off drinking tea.

oh, go on, tell

Just had a look, can't find it, DH must have emptied it into the compost bin. However, a cupboard full of all DD2's peculiar "teas", which must have been there for ages. Must de-clutter.

Do you think that it may not be the tea taste that has changed, but our [considerably older] taste buds?

If I have to have tea without milk I can cope with Earl Grey or Orange Picot but not my basic Tesco teabag. Although in the morning a huge cup of Tesco tea with milk is essential. I love coffee during the day but cannot start the day with it. I do like a nice fruit tea now and again - Aldi have a nice one. I always take a couple on holiday in case there is no milk.

I've got to have a cup of tea right NOW!

I drink Waitrose tea or Twinings Earl/Lady Grey and occasionally a fruit tea. My husband often drinks redbush (yuck) or a very special green tea which my 'son' sends him from Taiwan. The last time he was home my son went to great lengths to explain how special this tea is and demonstrated how to prepare and drink it (he has bought us the correct hand made teapot and cups). I confess that I didn't really appreciate what he was telling me and so this thread has just prompted me to check online about why this tea is so special and I'm flabbergasted. This is what Wiki says about it:

Dayuling (大禹嶺) oolong
Grown at altitudes above 2,500 meters. Some people name it as The King of Taiwan High Mountain Tea. Because the quantity is limited due to the geographical condition, the prices per 500 grams is often at the range of $200 US dollars up to $500. Because of its popularity, there are unscrupulous businessmen selling fake/unqualified tea using Dayuling's brand name.
Will pay more attention in future.

I only drink tea when I'm pregnant!

Memories....misty water colored memories.....

Galen, I only drink coffee when I'm NOT pregnant.

M&S gold teabags, no fuss, good strong taste for me and hubby. No expense spared when you have worked hard and have no other expensive vices in your retirement!! ��

The nicest tea I ever tasted was from Tea Pigs. But alas very expensive. I drink Five Roses Chai Spice tea. It is divine. I put the bag in a cup, fill with hot water and a bit of milk. Then leave the teabag in and keep refilling my cup from the kettle. I just LOVE it.

My sister travelled some distance to Winsdor to buy her tea as she said it was the best. She then used long life milk with it.

it has to be yorshire tea for me i find most other brands very bitter...

I like Teapiggs, it's sort of round and mellow, Marty, but it works out at about 4 times more expensive that PG Tips so I think we'll try others first.

Yorkshire tea in the morning tea bag in a mug. I like Earl Grey as well but do use teabags mostly as. I like my tea fairly weak. I have milk with the Yorkshire and milk or black/lemon with the Earl Grey according to my mood. Occasionally if I fancy something different I will drink Green tea or Orange Pekoe which has a very distinctive taste. I like coffee as well but can,t start the day without a cup of tea preferably one that has been brought to me in bed!

Yorkshire teabags on offer in sainsburys this morning. Also saw tea pigs, my, what a price. May buy some when DH is not with me.
Also found the tin of very old loose tea at the back of the cupboard - Harvey Nicks 'Afternoon delight'-still sealed up. Will try it, can't poison us surely?

I've recently bought some Redbush tea [as mentioned on another thread]. At first I thought it tasted like TCP but I really like it now. But not first thing in the morning. It has become part of my [worrying]daily ritual of strong tea with caffeine first thing, then coffee and Redbush third. The rest of the day I can have what I like [hurrah].