Prepacked tea bags are mostly average, Typhoo, Tetley, Lipton etc so I thought I'd experiment with loose Tata tea, lot's of factors involved, how fresh are the tea leaves, weight of tea, amount of water, amount of milk, length of time brewing, i tried many combinations with the help of Gemini. 100g of loose tea is best to keep the freshness, split into plastic zip bags which later go into tea bags when i make the tea. All purchased on Shopee where delivery is free

Winner Tata Red Label 2.5g tea, 250g boiling water, 4 mins brew, 15g milk, 1 tea spoon sugar, cost 40 baht 100g

2nd Place Tata Premium 3g 250g boiling water, 4 mins brew, 15g milk, 1 tea spoon sugar, cost 34 baht 100g

3rd place Tata Gold 3.5g 250g boiling water, 4.5 mins brew, 5g milk, 1 teaspoon sugar, cost 49 baht 100g.

It's a very personal thing so it's about trial and error to get everything just right, now every cup of tea is very good, before some good some bad

Yep, actual leaves is obviously going to be better. We buy from the Chiang Rai growers on shopee, so quite fresh, preferring jasmine tea, without contaminating with milk and sugar.....

I'm not particularly fussy about my tea, makro here are selling their own brand "Aro" tea bags 160 bt for 100 bags available in both traditional "black" tea and a chinese green style perfectly drinkable and better than lipton's

Someone on here a while ago recommended Barry's tea, they are an Irish company, they will send to Thailand, and they do leaf tea. The tea is not bad, can be builders' tea if you overdo it, they do different types, the green label is my favorite, others not bad

Somehow, they have found a back door into Thailand ,I can get a delivery to here in 12 days,a lot quicker than anything from the UK.

52 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

I'm not particularly fussy about my tea, makro here are selling their own brand "Aro" tea bags 160 bt for 100 bags available in both traditional "black" tea and a chinese green style perfectly drinkable and better than lipton's

i think most people are ok with average tea, i always found it inconsistent, good one day, average the next. Lots of tea bags on Lazada and Shopee

Just now, kickstart said:

Someone on here a while ago recommended Barry's tea, they are an Irish company, they will send to Thailand, and they do leaf tea. The tea is not bad, can be builders' tea if you overdo it, they do different types, the green label is my favorite, others not bad

Somehow, they have found a back door into Thailand ,I can get a delivery to here in 12 days,a lot quicker than anything from the UK.

Must be expensive to import those, on Shopee 359 baht for 40

Just now, atpeace said:

I go with the below for explosive results.

Yes, this stuff is the best laxative on the market!

Just now, wil iam not said:

Taylor's Yorkshire loose tea , for me, beats them all.

Have you tried Tata Red label? 40 baht for 100g, hard to beat that

I get great herbal teas from a “health” site here in Thailand. Organic teas without toxic sprays or soil. You can really taste the distinct herbs. 😋

Just now, wil iam not said:

Taylor's Yorkshire loose tea , for me, beats them all.

Have you tried Tata Red label? 40 baht for 100g, hard to beat that, makes a really good milky strong tea

Just now, wil iam not said:

Anything is better than Liptons.

On Lazada there is 100 TyPhoo One Cups for Bht 159.

But Taylor's Yorkshire loose tea , for me, beats them all.

back in the UK my tea of choice was "yorkshire gold" which I think was a "Taylors" product (I'm not actually from yorkshire so naturally I found their full strength, original, red label ,"yorkshire tea" a little overpowering for my more sophisticated palate)

I invariably use teabags just for convenience, there is another tea available in big C "dilmah" comes in several varieties not bad but a bit pricey if I recall correctly Thanks for the Typhoo tip i'll be checking that out

I like the masala tea in indian restaurants.

Not even sure what it is exactly, but nice and spicy. Interesting flavors.

Just now, spidermike007 said:

Though a lot of British, Australian and other folks seem to be rather obsessed with black tea, there are a lot of other types of teas available that are infinitely more sublime in flavor.

I purchase very high quality oolong and green teas direct from China and Taiwan. They are exceptionally good and offer a tremendous variety of flavor and character. And in addition they offer health benefits.

Plenty of top quality tea grown here for fair prices. Hard to taste through the milk and sugar though. Covering for lame tea bags.

1 minute ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Plenty of top quality tea grown here for fair prices. Hard to taste through the milk and sugar though. Covering for lame tea bags.

The Tata Red Label easy to have a milky sweet tea and keeps a strong taste, the Tata Gold needs a small splash of milk only, just not strong enough, so depends on the leaves

I teabag chicks all the time. They love it. Best brew they’ve ever had, they say, especially when they get to steep the bag for a long time. Hard to blame them.

10 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

The Tata Red Label easy to have a milky sweet tea and keeps a strong taste, the Tata Gold needs a small splash of milk only, just not strong enough, so depends on the leaves

Indian black tea. Best served by a street walla in India.

Just now, spidermike007 said:

Though a lot of British, Australian and other folks seem to be rather obsessed with black tea, there are a lot of other types of teas available that are infinitely more sublime in flavor.

I purchase very high quality oolong and green teas direct from China and Taiwan. They are exceptionally good and offer a tremendous variety of flavor and character. And in addition they offer health benefits.

it always amazes me that those little green balls swell back into full sized tea leaves when soaked in hot water for a few minutes,

Years ago I knew a "well to do" Chinese Thai businessman who used to like oolong tea, he used to order it from China it was, as I remember, very expensive compared to the stuff I occasionally bought here, he claimed it was "moon dried" I think he had more money than sense, as it tasted just the same as the stuff I bought at Nong Khai market for less than a tenth of the price that he was paying

Only smoke the premium stuff...

5 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

I'm not particularly fussy about my tea, makro here are selling their own brand "Aro" tea bags 160 bt for 100 bags available in both traditional "black" tea and a chinese green style perfectly drinkable and better than lipton's

Anything is better than Liptons.

On Lazada there is 100 TyPhoo One Cups for Bht 159.

But Taylor's Yorkshire loose tea , for me, beats them all.

Edited May 6May 6 by wil iam not

Though a lot of British, Australian and other folks seem to be rather obsessed with black tea, there are a lot of other types of teas available that are infinitely more sublime in flavor.

I purchase very high quality oolong and green teas direct from China and Taiwan. They are exceptionally good and offer a tremendous variety of flavor and character. And in addition they offer health benefits.

I go with the below for explosive results.

I'm a devout Teaist. I drink 3-4 liters of black tea daily, both hot and cold.

Of the teas on offer here, I was happy to have Yorkshire tea available, but then discovered the Australian brand, 'Madura,' and am completely captivated by their English Breakfast and Premium Blend teas. If you like Yorkshire tea, you'll love Madura! Even their Assam is delicious! Rimping carries this tea.
I start the day with two fills of hot, black tea in the 1-liter beer stein I use as a tea cup. Then another 750 ml of iced tea with lunch, perhaps two, and a few more of these throughout the afternoon and evening.

Unfortunately, I have to spend a good bit of time returning it.

I like normal black tea and it's good for you, but have been experimenting with some healthy teas to give me a boost in certain health areas. Have tried hibiscus tea and it's well regarded as a healthy tea, tastes okay, caffine free and can have it hot or cold... and good for the liver and heart most importantly.

Love tea as much as good coffee, and plan to have a coffee and tea bar when we move back to Texas. I drink tea daily, but it's only Nestea and a few green and black teas here.

Back home, I loved Starbucks Passion Ice Tea, and had many different teas living there from many companies. Earl Grey and English Breakfast were hot favorites and many others as ice teas, Twinings, Celestial Seasonings, Luzianne, Tazo, Teavana, Lipton, Snapple, Sweet Leaf, Arizona, and many others to choose from, all with sugar substitute, lemon or nothing added, the fruity flavors enough.

This is the one I bought driving around Texas, along with their ice green tea............https://www.starbucks.com/menu/product/461/iced/nutrition

Edited May 6May 6 by fredwiggy

6 hours ago, save the frogs said:

I like the masala tea in indian restaurants.

Not even sure what it is exactly, but nice and spicy. Interesting flavors.

Steeped in milk with heavy sugar and cardamom. It came delivered every day for 5 rupees a cup, or you could get it on any corner. The shops would put the loose tea in a sock, then dip the sock to fill the cups.

I started about three weeks ago trying different tea instead copy I’m drinking tea I found the shop in Chiang Mai a lot of their tea you buy it loose it comes in the forest in Chiang Rai some of the stuff is really good myself I already had a little round metal ball that I put the loose in but I was there I ended up buying this tall thing that’s all perforated with little holes and I pour the hot water in it usually about three minutes I drink it it’s really good I drink it with monk fruit no more diet sugar for me

There are many good experiments one can conduct, using TEA....

For one, TEA is a decent pH indicator, and also.....

Good for kids.

But, intake of caffeine at a young age....?

I frown upon this....

I DO believe that caffeine can be considered a GATEWAY drug, for very young humans.....

So Solly.....

There is also a song I love about caffeine...maybe you have heard it......

I have been drinking TEA in teahouses for many decades, in Japan, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, but not in Thailand.

The tea here is NG....compared to China and Taiwan....

So Solly.....

NOTE: I STILL buy this same tea from SICHUAN, after quite a few years....and it's OK.....(Low Cost plus Quite Good)

IMPORTANT NOTE2: Children younger than 17 or 18 should NOT be encouraged to drink caffeinated beverages, including TEA. The effect on a young human brain is very significant. Drink water, instead, if you are young. This is NOT a joke

Edited May 7May 7 by GammaGlobulin

On 5/6/2026 at 10:30 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Must be expensive to import those, on Shopee 359 baht for 40

On 5/6/2026 at 4:07 AM, kickstart said:

Someone on here a while ago recommended Barry's tea, they are an Irish company, they will send to Thailand, and they do leaf tea. The tea is not bad, can be builders' tea if you overdo it, they do different types, the green label is my favorite, others not bad

Somehow, they have found a back door into Thailand ,I can get a delivery to here in 12 days,a lot quicker than anything from the UK.

I think it not that expensive you pay about 8.50 GBP for your 40 Shopee tea bags, I am paying about 3.19 GBP for 250 gram boxof lose tea ,or 2.50 GBP for 40 tea bags,add about 20% for P and P and import tax, not a lot in it.

I like my tea it is the only thing I import into Thailand.