Author Topic: Alternatives to milk in coffee  (Read 6379 times)

Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #25 on: 22 January, 2017, 01:32:01 am »
Good quality loose leave tea is often easy to make so it both have full flavour and not a hint of bitterness. Cheap quality leaves tend to contain a lot of bitter components that easily are extracted. 
 
So if you are prepared to experiment a little and spend a little money in order to have a good morning experience, then I suggest you find a good online tea-dealer and sample some good quality loose leave tea.
I suggest trying some in the £10-15 per hundred grams range but don't buy 100g, just buy the smallest amount possible like 20g or 50g. Try 3-4 different teas. Good quality tea can easily be had for less but in that range the tea tend to be really tasty and good examples of their type. Once you found out you really like e.g single estate Assam or Tie Guan Yin Oolong tea, it is easier to tune in on cheaper everyday versions of acceptable quality. 
 
Green teas are meant to be drunk without milk. I like green tea but it is a much more subtle taste experience than black tea. Still, I think green teas are a good match for fasting in the morning since they can be really gentle and subtle while still refreshing (they can contain a lot of theine/caffeine).

Green teas may be a little more difficult to make since they usually require around 80C water, but they are often very economical since multiple infusions are possible. Many good green teas can infuse for a long time without producing bitterness. 
If you are new to green tea try ones described as "floral/flowery" rather than "grassy/herbal" in taste at first. No particular recommendations, but Chinese green tea is probably a good starting point. Great for drinking all day long including with food.
 
Quality jasmine scented green teas don't contain any traces of the jasmine plant, only its scent (the Jasmine is pressed together with the tea, then removed), so no flowers. If interested, then you can't go wrong with Chinese jasmine "Dragon Pearls". Never had a hint of bitterness with any version of this tea. Goes well with lots of Asian food.
 
Oolongs are semi-green teas. They are usually more forgiven with temperature, and multiple infusions are possible. A step up from green teas if you want more "punch" and direct taste. Taiwanese/Formosa Oolongs are highly regarded. Personally I like Chinese "Tie Guan Yin" Oolongs from the Fujian province. It is spelled in a million different ways, but if "Iron Buddha/Goddess" or "Merciful goddess" or "Anxi" is mentioned, it is probably a "Tie Guan Yin". Don't buy it too cheap, since it comes in many grades. Goes well with food too.
 
Quality Darjeeling are also usually best without milk. Good Darjeeling really is exquisite but the demand for tea from this district also means that good quality Darjeeling is hard to source at low prices. (It is estimated that at least 40% of all tea in the world labelled "Darjeeling" is fake.). If interested, then a 2. flush, single estate Darjeeling in "TGFOP" leaf grade or better described as having "Muscatel" taste, is good introduction. 1. Flush are finer and more refined (as a general rule), but also more expensive. 
Use a timer for Darjeeling, since many are rather strict when it comes to infusion time. Sometimes even 30 seconds can make a big difference. I have tried several Darjeelings that could be infused more than once with good results.

Assam teas have the well known rich "malty" taste, and are usually associated with drinking them with milk and or sugar. However, I have tried several Assams that are so good I prefer them without milk. Use a tea timer for Assam. There are many caveats regarding recommending tea, but a 2. flush Assam from "Mangalam" in at least "TGFOP" leaf grade or something similar is worth trying.

High leaf grades isn't the same as good tea, or tea that you may like better, and the amount of grading systems from region to region is bewildering. The point is simply to avoid leaf grades with "B" for "Broken" in them like "GFBOP". Such a "GFBOP" graded tea may be a really good tea, perhaps better than another "SFTGFOP" graded tea, but "Broken" leaves indicate a higher chance of bitterness, something you say you want to avoid. 

Another problem with buying tea is that even the same tea bushes from the same field, produces different quality tea when plucked 10 days apart, with even bigger differences between every year. So good tea is less about well known tea estates or districts or tea names like "Dragonwell" or "Monkey Picked Ti Kuan Yin", than having a good tea vendor that ensures you get your "Mao Feng" tea at an acceptable price and quality every time.  So choose the tea merchant before tea brand names. 

If you find you like green tea/Oolongs but would like to make multiple infusions easy then this teapot is perhaps worth trying: https://www.siam-teas.com/product/tea-maker-991/ Make one cup at the time with perhaps just 30 second steeping time ("Gongfu"style ). Despite being rather gadget like, it makes tea making easy, something I like.

I am always vary with recommendations, but I bought some teas from this vendor some years ago and found the quality good:
http://www.highteas.co.uk/
This vendor is on my shortlist for my next purchases because of its good reputation and because they sell sample boxes:
https://www.siam-teas.com
 
Sorry that this became so long. The tl/dr is; sample some high quality loose leave teas from a good vendor.
--
Regards

Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #26 on: 23 January, 2017, 04:06:10 pm »
Nothing but Tea

https://nbtea.co.uk/store/

Do really nice tea and also do sample sizes so you can try a bunch. Each sample size is good for about 4 cups.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #27 on: 23 January, 2017, 07:13:19 pm »
So, tea people,  if I like earl grey but I can only drink it weak (as in pour the water on the bag and then remove it after a few seconds), would I find it less bitter and boaky by going for a fancier version?
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #28 on: 23 January, 2017, 10:44:07 pm »
Buy loose leaf, and just put fewer tea leaves in, or use the leaves for multiple brews

Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #29 on: 23 January, 2017, 11:56:45 pm »
So, tea people,  if I like earl grey but I can only drink it weak (as in pour the water on the bag and then remove it after a few seconds), would I find it less bitter and boaky by going for a fancier version?

Hm, that sounds like you are very sensitive to bitter components like tannins but also something else too, perhaps astringency?. The problem with Earl Grey tea is that it is black tea (fully fermented) which tend to contain lots of bitter tannins, and usually are made of low to lowish grade tea leaves with easily extracted bitter components for the very simple reason that the Bergamot oil will overpower most subtleties with the tea anyhow. All the Earl Greys I have tried, including the more expensive ones, have been more or less full bodied teas designed to be drunk with milk and perhaps sugar too.
 
It is perhaps worth for you to try some different styles of teas that perhaps suit your taste better than Earl Grey. If so, then I suggest buying a small sample amount (10g-20g) of some high end loose leave teas in the £10-15 per 100g range. Try fx a Chinese green tea or two, a Jasmine tea like Phoenix Dragon Pearls (don't buy Jasmine tea containing Jasmine flowers), and perhaps a "white tea" like Bai Mu Dan/White Peony.  Once you have found a tea type you like, it is easier to find cheaper everyday versions of them.

Green teas are generally sensitive to temperature with too high temperatures often giving both a rather bitter and astringent taste. Around 80C is usually the recommended temperature.  If you got a grill thermometer just boil the water and then add some cold water to the kettle and measure the temperature.

For a quick taste you can brew the tea with the "Grandpa" method, that is just put a small amount of tea leaves in a tall heat proof glass or tea mug and add water and perhaps stir a little. You can start sampling the tea rather immediately afterwards.
The Grandpa method doesn't make consistent brews (weak in the beginning, strong in the end), but it is a quick way to "tune in" on the flavour profile you want. If the tea becomes too strong, just discard it but restrain the leaves with a spoon and then just pour water over them again since multiple infusions are possible. Once you found a taste profile you like, you than try to recreate it in your teapot perhaps using a strainer etc.

If you don't like a tea, then try it again after some weeks. Your taste experience varies surprisingly much depending on mood and time of day etc.

Of course, you may find that green tea isn't you at all, but who dares wins and all that.
--
Regards

citoyen

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Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #30 on: 24 January, 2017, 11:00:17 am »
How about a DIY version of Earl Grey made using a nice Darjeeling and a pinch of orange zest?
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Mrs Pingu

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Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #31 on: 25 January, 2017, 07:44:33 pm »
What I really need, is a tea tasting event....

I probably should have given the background that in a past life I used to drink Scottish Blend, given a right good mashing and beating with a teaspoon. Then I went right off tea with milk, started drinking black EG and yes, it's Sainsburys own so it's probably floor sweepings.

Funny thing is I notice if I ask for Earl Grey in a hipster caff I invariably find it a bit insipid.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #32 on: 26 February, 2017, 09:39:03 pm »
I went into our local coffee emporium y'day and told them of my predicament. They suggested Darjeeling and Nepal, both of which I was able to drink after being brewed for longer than 30 seconds. They also suggested I try Darjeeling Earl Grey which I have a sample of.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #33 on: 17 March, 2017, 05:36:04 pm »
I'm loving the Darjeeling and the Nepal Maloom. The teapigs EG Darjeeling was also lovely, though I'm looking for a loose leaf supplier now that I've bought an infuser. I also pushed some free samples on a colleague who seems to have the same taste as me in beer, gin and tea and she was taken by the Maloom too.
Thanks to the bods on this thread for encouraging me to try something else :)
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Aunt Maud

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Re: Alternatives to milk in coffee
« Reply #34 on: 20 March, 2017, 07:30:05 pm »
Second brewed tea is quite nice.