Black tea - not bitter

Author
Discussion

Mojooo

Original Poster:

12,707 posts

180 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
I am trying to cut down or give up on dairy.

The main offender is full fat milk in my tea

I could go down to less fat milk but it tastes nasty and I would liek ot cut it completley anyway.

I usually have PG Tips so tried some with no milk and it tastes nasty - too bitter I think.

Are there any other brands that taste a bit sweeter or something? Or less bitter.

I stopped having sugar in my tea last year and that was actuallly quote easy with no problem.

BoRED S2upid

19,686 posts

240 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
Loads of weird and wonderful teas out there that are drunk black.

Japanese cherry sencha as the name suggests tastes a bit of cherry and is far nicer than your everyday breakfast tea.

archie456

419 posts

222 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
Earl Grey is an easy alternative, pleasant black and still definitely tea, unlike some of the stuff my wife drinks.

ali_kat

31,988 posts

221 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
I always drink black tea, usually Darjeeling, but will have PG/Tetley/Yourkshire when at friends.

Don't brew it for too long, it needs to be a golden brown colour, think rusty autumn leaves, don't squash the teabag out!

Teabags brew quicker than leaves.

Good article here

http://www.examiner.com/article/tea101-why-does-my...

Mojooo

Original Poster:

12,707 posts

180 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
One problem is vast majority of people I know use PG Tips so I don't want to be someone who can never have tea when I am out and about.

I do currently squish the teabag big time to make it strong so maybe I will give it a quick dip instead.

bint

4,664 posts

224 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
I don't drink PG Tips or Tetley for that reason, the bitterness. I do find it's more palatable with a swift triple dunk and that's it. They're made to brew strong.

tr7v8

7,192 posts

228 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
Been drinking black tea for 4 years or so. Don't brew for too long, or use a tea pot. I tend to use decaff at home which is less bitter as well. Darjeeling is better still. Started with some the TeaPigs range, their Rubarb & Ginger is lovely as is Roibos & Ginger. They do taster packs which are worth a try.

rehab71

3,362 posts

190 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
I drink Assam, which is by far at its best when black, give that a go.

21TonyK

11,513 posts

209 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
Rinse the bag first in a splash of boiling water in the bottom of the mug, top up with cold and drain then refill with boiling water.

Loses all the horrible dust and astringent tannins

bint

4,664 posts

224 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
rehab71 said:
I drink Assam, which is by far at its best when black, give that a go.
That's our "everyday" tea... It's the base for most mainstream tea, full bodied and designed to wake you up.

I am not a huge tea drinker, given I was brought up by parents that were Tis odd, but I can appreciate the flavours from Lapsang Souchong to Caravan oooh and Gunpowder!

(It's sacrilege but I drink black coffee and fruit tea on a daily basis instead)

themoon66

46 posts

193 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
There's a south african once called Red Bush which is non-bitter and bearable without milk. Its expensive though.

Hoover.

5,988 posts

242 months

Saturday 17th January 2015
quotequote all
love Chai masala tea if I don't want milk.......... world isle in Tesco I'm a afraid... would love to say some indian deli round the corner lol

tr7v8

7,192 posts

228 months

Sunday 18th January 2015
quotequote all
themoon66 said:
There's a south african once called Red Bush which is non-bitter and bearable without milk. Its expensive though.
Roibos is the Afrikaans for it. Teapigs do it standalone or with ginger which is awesome.

Mobile Chicane

20,815 posts

212 months

Sunday 18th January 2015
quotequote all
Oh dear. frown

There's a whole world of tea out there beyond PG Tips (and the like).

What goes into teabags is literally the sweepings from the floor.

RizzoTheRat

25,140 posts

192 months

Wednesday 21st January 2015
quotequote all
Agree with MC, get yourself a tea pot and then start experimenting. The Adagio IngenuiTEA pots are great, no need for a strainer. We tend to get most of our teas mail order as decent suppliers seem to be few and far between.

I'm a big fan of Darjeeling, although I tend to drink it white. There's some fantastic green teas about too, I've developed a bit of a taste for this
http://www.tipsnleaves.com/product_info.php/cherry...

Cheese Mechanic

3,157 posts

169 months

Wednesday 21st January 2015
quotequote all
Good tea costs, although, buying loose leaf is by far the most economical manner to gain good tea.

The vast majority of supermarket tea is low grade crap, there are exceptions, Teapigs, as example, but as said most of its crap. As is found when trying to drink it black with no sweetener.

I particularly like Lapsang Souchong with a small slice of lemon.

From experience, these people come highly reccomended. : http://hebdentea.com/

More varieties of tea than you can poke with a stick. biggrin

crazy about cars

4,454 posts

169 months

Wednesday 21st January 2015
quotequote all
Same situation here. I have either Jasmine tea or Green tea at home which is great. We have PG tip in the company and it takes a while to get used to the taste but I've finally did it. Just need to make sure you stir the bag in the cup and do not squeeze it.

I can't tolerate too much coffee otherwise would've gone the black coffee option instead.

Foliage

3,861 posts

122 months

Wednesday 21st January 2015
quotequote all
Your tea might be bitter because your leaving the tea bag in too long and the water is too hot. High temperature and leaving the tea bag in too long (longer than 2 minutes) will allow more tannin which is the bitterness you are tasting, personally I like to take the teabag out after about 30seconds if i'm not having milk.

mrsshpub

904 posts

184 months

Wednesday 21st January 2015
quotequote all
Foliage said:
Your tea might be bitter because your leaving the tea bag in too long and the water is too hot. High temperature and leaving the tea bag in too long (longer than 2 minutes) will allow more tannin which is the bitterness you are tasting, personally I like to take the teabag out after about 30seconds if i'm not having milk.
This. Alternatively, if you don't like 'wasting' tea bags, buy an infuser & loose leaf tea — then you can make a cuppa of a strength that's suitable for drinking black.

skinny

5,269 posts

235 months

Wednesday 21st January 2015
quotequote all
i've cut milk out of my tea as the o/h finds it 'chewy' so drinks it black

she also drinks earl grey whereas i've always had normal (and with sugar too!!).

it does take a few weeks to get used to but i don't mind it now, i still hanker after a little sugar but it's not too bad without.

anyway, i understand the temperature of the water makes a difference to how the tea tastes, due to the astringent tannins being extracted at higher temperatures. so maybe stop the kettle a little early or leave it to cool a bit, and also don't brew the tea for too long, to reduce the bitterness.