What is your favourite tea?

[Lallans]

I enjoy the western black teas that are designed to be taken with milk, sugar, etc, if desired (for Canadians, I recommend an almost-as-good substitute for the late lamented Red Rose loose tea, which is Lipton's Yellow Label loose tea). Via the Japanese tea ceremony, which for me was a bit of a wedge thing, I developed a taste for Asian blends- the real ones made for Asians and not what the big companies sell as such. Once you find them, the trick is to abandon your previous habits about water termperature and steeping times, etc, and try the ways a good vendor recommends- it doesn't take long to appreciate they know what they're about. The Japanese teas are relatively easy to find but thanks to a short-lived tea shop in my home area, I also learned about Taiwanese High Mountain oolong teas. They actually have a remarkably variety once you find a good store- the only one I can personally recommend is the Ten Ren Tea Store on Dundas St in Toronto, Ontario. Ten Ren stores have a website but in my experience you only get the best stuff if you vist one of their big stores in person, with a big bag of money. They tend to sound you out with offers of ordinary teas that Westerners are used to, but once they decide you're serious about oolongs, and if they have the staff time available, they may offer you a tasting that embodies the Taiwanese Chinese tea ceremony.