• Why do my teas now taste bland or metallic to me?

    From Jacques@21:1/5 to All on Sat Apr 2 23:54:01 2016
    I drink tea every day, especially when I'm working, having anywhere from 3-5 cups a day ("cup" means a full mug/tea cup with a new tea bag). I take my tea black always--never any sugar or anything else. Just the hot water and the
    tea bag.

    I've been only using bag tea, and I've been thinking maybe I need to start using loose leaf tea to solve my problem.

    I like any teas, but my go-to is green tea.

    About 6 months ago, all my teas would taste fantastic. The flavors were very interesting (most varieties of white teas / green teas), and my absolute favorite tea was Jasmine tea. One day, I started having my usual cup of White Tea (Mighty Leaf White Orchard), and it started to taste like metal.
    Absolutely terribly taste. It was from the same package I had been using. I soon discovered the same was true for my beloved Jasmine tea.

    Eventually, even Green Tea started to taste metallic like. For Green tea, I started using 2-3 bags per cup, and this helped. Now I can do OK with just 1 bag of Green Tea. But I still can't drink the White or Jasmin teas.

    What could be at play? The water I use is always purified.

    1. Have my tea cups degraded?

    2. did my body get too used to those flavors that I no longer taste them?

    3. am I getting old (only in my early twenties)?

    4. ???



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  • From Lewis Perin@21:1/5 to Jacques on Mon Apr 4 10:45:53 2016
    Jacques <7267f4609f0437938ad701c38f8cb3fe_195@example.com> writes:

    I drink tea every day, especially when I'm working, having anywhere from 3-5 >cups a day ("cup" means a full mug/tea cup with a new tea bag). I take my tea >black always--never any sugar or anything else. Just the hot water and the >tea bag.

    I've been only using bag tea, and I've been thinking maybe I need to start >using loose leaf tea to solve my problem.

    I like any teas, but my go-to is green tea.

    About 6 months ago, all my teas would taste fantastic. The flavors were very >interesting (most varieties of white teas / green teas), and my absolute >favorite tea was Jasmine tea. One day, I started having my usual cup of White >Tea (Mighty Leaf White Orchard), and it started to taste like
    metal. Absolutely terribly taste. It was from the same package I had
    been using. I
    soon discovered the same was true for my beloved Jasmine tea.

    Eventually, even Green Tea started to taste metallic like. For Green tea, I >started using 2-3 bags per cup, and this helped. Now I can do OK with just 1 >bag of Green Tea. But I still can't drink the White or Jasmin teas.

    What could be at play? The water I use is always purified.

    1. Have my tea cups degraded?

    2. did my body get too used to those flavors that I no longer taste them?

    3. am I getting old (only in my early twenties)?

    4. ???

    Are your teas getting oxidized / rancid due to repeated exposure to the
    oxygen and humidity in the air?

    /Lew
    ---
    Lew Perin / perin@acm.org
    http://babelcarp.org

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  • From Scott Dorsey@21:1/5 to Jacques on Wed Apr 6 14:24:03 2016
    Jacques <7267f4609f0437938ad701c38f8cb3fe_195@example.com> writes:

    I drink tea every day, especially when I'm working, having anywhere from 3-5 >cups a day ("cup" means a full mug/tea cup with a new tea bag). I take my tea >black always--never any sugar or anything else. Just the hot water and the >tea bag.

    I've been only using bag tea, and I've been thinking maybe I need to start >using loose leaf tea to solve my problem.


    1. Has your water changed at all? Try using bottled water and then try
    using unfiltered tap water and see if anything is different.

    2. How are you storing your tea? Tea should last a good while if it is
    stored in a sealed container but nothing lasts forever. Try buying a new
    box of tea and seeing if it's different.

    3. Has anything changed with your nose? It's spring, everybody is getting allergies now. If your nose is partially stopped up you're going to a lose
    a lot of the aromatics and just have the bitter left.

    1. Have my tea cups degraded?

    2. did my body get too used to those flavors that I no longer taste them?

    3. am I getting old (only in my early twenties)?

    None of these make sense to me.
    Tea going stale or water changes seem more likely.

    On the other hand if your teacup is covered with brown stains, now might be
    a good time to clean with baking soda anyway.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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