Flavored tea
By DE
@DaddyEvil (137145)
United States
December 16, 2016 3:37am CST
IDK about how anyone else does or views this, but I like my own flavorings for tea.
I purchase Orange pekoe/black tea (usually in individual bags that have a pyramid shape) for brewing... I also use a hot water dispenser, not our water heating tank that provides hot water for the house, in general. (There is an old wive's tale that boiling the water in a kettle or pot allows the water to retain more oxygen than pulling it from a hot water heater, which is bullshiite! When you boil the water, most of the free oxygen is released from the water, no matter where you get the original water. The real reason you shouldn't use hot water from your water heater is because more lead and minerals can be transferred into the water while it is sitting in the holding tank. Concentrating those minerals in your beverages is not the brightest idea! Those minerals can make you sick!)
While my tea is brewing (2 to 5 mins, max), I choose the flavoring I want to add... Today, I chose cherry. I like to use Maraschino cherries to flavor my tea. I pour a small amount of the liquid from the jar into the hot liquid after I remove the bag of tea.
When my tea cools somewhat, I add three or four cherries from the jar to my glass and pour the tea over them... If the tea is added while it is too hot, it will blanch the cherries, which I don't like. They taste weird if blanched.
I may add fresh mint to my tea instead of cherries or cherry juice. We grow both regular mint and chocolate mint in our flower beds. I only make mint teas during the growing season... I suppose I could dry my own mint leaves, but that is a pain and you still don't get the same flavor as fresh.
What do you use to flavor your tea? Do you drink it hot or cold?
31 people like this
31 responses
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
16 Dec 16
Hmmm... I have heard of that before, M.L. One of my uncles was Norwegian. He drank his tea with jam mixed into it... I haven't ever tried it, though... (I can't remember how to spell his name for sure, but it was pronounced Yence Satness. He was a multi-millionaire, but I don't know what he did or anything else about him. I met him when I was 10 or 11 years old.)
No, not Russian, as far as I know. Originally German stock mixed with Native American, English, Irish and a couple of other peoples, though.
2 people like this
@xFiacre (12593)
• Ireland
16 Dec 16
@daddyevil Such a noble drink. I never really flavour my tea myself but I do amuse my palate with a variety of pre-flavoured teas. My flavour of the moment is burnt vanilla. I always drink tea without milk or sugar, and hibiscus flower tea does seem to perk me up somewhat. Cherries are a new one on me. And thanks to @pgntwo for suggesting this study on tea.
4 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
I've never tried milk in tea, @xFiacre... that always sounded weird to me.
It depends on what flavor I put into my tea whether I use any sugar in it or not... The juice from the Maraschino Cherries is pretty sweet by itself, so I never add sugar when using cherries for flavor. If I am making mint tea, then I might add a teaspoon of sugar to an 8 oz. glass of tea.
Thank you, @pgntwo!
Thank you, @pgntwo! 2 people like this
@dpk262006 (58675)
• Delhi, India
16 Dec 16
Most of tea is exported from India. India is one of the biggest exporter of tea. We do not take cherry, orange or mint flavored tea. However, we add cardamom and little bit of crushed ginger in our tea to make it more tasty.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
16 Dec 16
Hmmm... ginger, I know and like in small amounts. Cardamom is one I have heard of but have never tried in anything. IDK if I would like that or not, dpk.. I think I will check and see if Walmart carries it in the food flavoring department.
Thank you for the idea! I appreciate it!
1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (81540)
• Onaway, Michigan
16 Dec 16
@dpk262006 Go to produce area you can get fresh ginger there I have tried it before and it is very strong.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
16 Dec 16
@dpk262006 Hmmm... we never see spices as whole nuts or leaves or whatever. All we ever see are jars of ground spice or dried leaves. These jars will have only the spice indicated in it, but many things call for mixtures. It is very difficult to figure out how much of each spice is added to the mixture to make it taste the same as someone else mixes it.
For that reason, I usually don't try to make things just like someone else did. I may use the same spices, but the taste comes out completely my own.
3 people like this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
16 Dec 16
Like to drink it as hot as I can specially in this kind of weather. Only the Moroccans who have a Field out the back grow fresh mint and they plant it and dig it up by hand all the time. In Summer you can smell the fresh mint a long way off.
3 people like this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
19 Dec 16
@DaddyEvil
Some will plant it yes but not many. Before it was a very common thing. Seems the kind of mint they have withstands the cold yes as I was smelling it the other day and it has been very cold here indeed.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
@lovinangelsinstead21 You mean mint is not commonly grown in Spain?
In some places here it is considered a weed plant because it grows so easily and is rather difficult to kill once released from confinement. That's why our mint is grown in one of our flowerbeds. It is contained and can't get away from us.
The flowerbed where the mint is growing is right in front of our house alongside our front deck. It smells heavenly during the warmer part of the year.
Is the temperature in Spain too cold for mint to stay outside without freezing in winter?
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (457925)
• Switzerland
18 Dec 16
@pgntwo I have Irish whiskey at home (Tullamore Dew and Bushmills), I always keep two cartoons of fresh cream... just in case. In the United States they serve the Irish Coffee with whipped cream 
and mint syrup on the top 
, just because it's creen 
and mint syrup on the top , just because it's creen 2 people like this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
18 Dec 16
Irish whiskey goes into an Irish coffee, with fresh cream floated on top. Regular Scottish whisky, without the "e", goes into a Scots Gaelic coffee, ask me not why. Both are popular at this time of year, and I purchased a small carton of fresh cream yesterday... 
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
LOL! I just told silvermist that I drink tea by the glass, not by the cup, Judy.
To me, it just tastes fresher than using a pre-mixed tea with flavoring added to the bag. (No big deal, either way.
)
To me, it just tastes fresher than using a pre-mixed tea with flavoring added to the bag. (No big deal, either way.)1 person likes this
@celticeagle (158958)
• Boise, Idaho
17 Dec 16
I use honey. I drink mostly green tea.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (158958)
• Boise, Idaho
18 Dec 16
@DaddyEvil .....To me the green tea has a sort of weird after taste. The honey eliminates that. I also enjoy Oolong tea.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
Green tea is what Pretty prefers, celticeagle... I have tried it when she makes it and like it well enough. Honey is always good instead of sugar, too.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (98787)
• India
17 Dec 16
I am now avoiding tea. I prefer ginger in my tea. I now suffer from lactose intolerance so no milk most of the time, though I do take milk at times...hoping nothing bad happens. As things stand, nothing bad happens most of the time unless somebody is cursing me under his or her breath. I am stopping all beverages...in general, I prefer them cold and am not addicted to any food or beverage. I am essentially eat or drink while watching tv type of person. lol You get the tv out of equation and my eating comes down drastically. lol
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
4 Mar 17
I, too, do most eating in front of the tea or computer these days, except on Sunday afternoons. I do find this tends to make me eat more.
@much2say (53960)
• Los Angeles, California
30 Dec 16
I just drink my tea straight - no flavoring (perhaps an occasional lemon or honey at best). But interesting you put extra flavoring like that - perhaps there are extra health benefits to using those natural flavorings as well? I prefer hot tea even in the summer!
2 people like this
@rebelann (111154)
• El Paso, Texas
17 Dec 16
Mostly either water or coffee for me @DaddyEvil sometimes mineral water.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
LOL! Fresh lemon is always good in tea, Ann!
There have been several interesting suggestions in this discussion... maybe something else would be more to your taste? 
There have been several interesting suggestions in this discussion... maybe something else would be more to your taste? 1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
@rebelann I don't really like water by itself and I've lost my taste for coffee... I usually drink juice or tea.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
4 Feb 20
I should have known you'd do something uhm... different, Ann! 
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
24 Dec 16
It has taken me a while to get around to this, mainly because the only things I put in my tea, depending on the variety of tea I am using and the time of year, are boiling water (on the tea-leaves or on the tea-bag in the warmed teapot) and either a slice of lemon, or a splash of semi-skimmed milk.
If the tea I am using is already scented, like Early Grey (this variety of tea has typically been flavoured with bergamot oil), I I usually drink it without any additional ingredient or sweetener.
Mint tea, which is a lot stronger, is usually served already-sweetened, and has to be slurped noisily from the small glass into which the scalding, minty liquid has been poured.
At Christmas, a blend of tea with cloves or cinnamon might be the thing, sweetened with a little honey and drunk black.
The beauty of tea is its versatility.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
13 Jan 17
I've never considered flavoring my tea in that way. I'll drink black or green tea, but possibly I've had it too long for it's not as flavorful as I remember or I'm getting bored of it. I doubt that I'd flavor it in that way, but I'd consider trying it out sometime. I have one tangerine left from what I bought last week and would consider trying to squeeze some of the pulp in a cup of tea. Food, or should I say... drink for thought.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Jan 17
I have added orange and tangerine pulp to my pitcher after the tea has started cooling down. If the water is still too hot, the pulp will blanch, just like the cherries. That makes the tea taste funny/bad.
Tea can become old/stale. If it does, it loses flavor and to me, has a musty taste. I pitch leaves when my tea has a hint of must. (I also store my tea in re-sealable quart Ziploc bags and place the bags inside a small-ish Tupperware bowl then put the bowl on the lowest shelf of our fridge. Bowls holding different types of tea are the only thing stored on that shelf. LOL! It is full of bowls right now!)
If you take sweetener in your tea, may I suggest you try half a teaspoon of honey gently stirred into your tangerine flavored tea? It has a soothing taste and, to me, makes a good beddy-bye drink.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
17 Jan 17
@DaddyEvil Thanks, but I don't particularly like the taste of honey and tend to steer clear of it normally. I'm really not interested in developing a taste for it either. I use stevia for a sweetener currently.
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
17 Dec 16
I don't much care for tea, but I drink a lot of coffee.I don't care for the flavored creams at all just a tiny bit of half and half or milk
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
LOL! My family always had coffee brewing all day long when I was a kid growing up, tiger. Whoever wanted some would just go grab a cup and have it... We milked our own cattle, so always had fresh milk or cream to add to coffee.
When I met my first wife (Pretty's mom) the scent of coffee would make her sick to her stomach, so I stopped drinking coffee... I've tried it a couple of times since our divorce, but have lost my taste for coffee.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
17 Dec 16
@DaddyEvil Love my coffee, and the smell of it..........heaven
2 people like this
@Tina30219 (81540)
• Onaway, Michigan
16 Dec 16
I use sugar to sweeten mine but I like your ideas especially with the cherries and juice from the cherries going to have to try that sometime. I just got a new tea the other day sugar cookie sleigh ride it is a celestial seasonings tea they have some more holiday ones but I wanted this one it is so good. Other than this tea I drink a lot of hog green tea.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
Thank you!
Hmmm... I've seen that tea in the stores around here, but what is 'hog green tea', Tina? That's a new one on me... 
Hmmm... I've seen that tea in the stores around here, but what is 'hog green tea', Tina? That's a new one on me... 1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (81540)
• Onaway, Michigan
17 Jan 17
@DaddyEvil Sorry that was suppose to be hot green tea. Sitting drinking some now waiting for load of laundry to get done so I can hang it and get in the shower.
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
10 May 17
I could drink tea like that, although I do prefer a little flavoring....
I do hope you are having a good start to your day!
@Tampa_girl7 (48908)
• United States
12 Apr 17
Your recipe for tea sounds really good. I love cherries.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
18 Apr 17
Thank you, Marie! It tastes just as good as it sounds! You really should give it a try sometimes!
@Marilynda1225 (79678)
• United States
16 Dec 16
Your flavored tea sounds interesting. The only tea I drink is regular or green. Now that you've enticed me I might be willing to add some flavor
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
LOL! My tea is usually considered regular tea, Marilyn.
Come on over and have some! I'd be happy to share!
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
Is the way I make my tea very different than the way you normally make tea, KnehKnah? (I'm very curious!)
I'd share, if you wanted to come stay a while and drink tea with me!
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
17 Dec 16
Okay, Kandase, the cinnamon sounds fine, but I don't use Stevia. (I don't grow it, and the 'stevia' I have seen in the stores around here have almost no stevia present in them. I believe the brand name is Truvia. Only 1% of Truvia is actually stevia. The other 99% is fillers and aren't good for you.)
