YAY, ALTERRA!! Viva Milwaukee and Rishi Tea!

I'm a tea baby, so most of mine are herbal-- I am obsessed with Rishi's Tangerine Ginger as well as their Unity blend. They also make a great anise tea, Starfire Anise, I think? That's great in the fall and winter.

I prefer coffee in the mornings, so I keep tea around for when I'm feeling sick. Or cold in the winter. I usually keep Tension Tamer, something gingery for when I'm sick, Throat Soother for when I've got a cold, and Good Earth because it is sweet and cinnamony.

An english breakfast, mint, and a ginger are always available. Then I love having whatever Mariage Freres I can get my hands on here or what I've picked up in Paris. So far their Bourbon, French Breakfast Tea and Casablanca are my favorites.

Darjeeling leaf blend, chamomile, mint, nilgiris tea, tulsi( holy basil) and ginger tea.

I am a tea and not a coffee person. I keep whole leaf black tea (plus whole cardomon to make chai), stash organic mint, celestial seasonings sleepy time (and sleepy time extra), plantation mint (which is a mix of black tea and mint), celestial seasoning wild berry zinger (which steeps extremely well in cold water and with the hibiscus looks like koolaid), and my absolute favorite jasmine pearl. When guest come I usually offer the jasmine pearl of chai (I grew up drinking chai).

I have a big bag of Yorkshire Tea for day-to-day. Nowt quite like it...

I also have some Teapigs (http://www.teapigs.co.uk/) Lemon & Ginger, and some Teapigs Chocolate Flake.

We also have a small selections of various green and black flavoured teas.

As a tea totteler I keep a large assortment on hand. Right now I drink Typhoo, Scottish Breakfast, English Breakfast and have some others in my stash. I am allergic to mint so don't even have anything like that in the house. But I love a hot cup of tea anytime of the day. I usually keep a small thermos filled with hot tea on hand so anytime I want a sip of something hot I don't have to make a new cup. Also love my Russel Hobbs tea kettle.

I've got a whole shelf dedicated to loose teas! On this shelf you can find: White needle tea, Gunpowder Green Tea, Green Chai, Chai, Jasmin loose and pearls, Camomile, Cinnamon Black tea, Oolong (can't remember which one), Fennel, Ginseng and Lavender Tea.

love, Marijn
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I don't have my tea very organized right now. I have the end of a huge amount of jasmine pearls from a trip to China years ago, and a couple random loose teas from that trip that I haven't opened yet. I have an Indian green tea mixed with cardamom. I have a bunch of random bags of herbal teas, and a box of green tea bags. My dad picked me up a box of bitter melon teabags at an international food store as a joke (they're pretty nasty). And I have a little container of tea masala, just a spice mixture that I add to various teas now and then.

I'm no tea connoiseur but I do have a cup of ginger tea after dinner almost daily and a cup of green tea in the afternoon most days of the week. In addition to those two, peppermint makes a regular appearance in my household.

PG Tips for me too! I feel like my philosophy for keeping teas is similar to the authors: at least one everyday bagged option of black/green/herbal and one fancy loose leaf. I also have a wonderful friend who is an accomplished tea gifter, so I have a few very nice artisinal loose teas, and my sister used to work at a tea shop so I have very high quality jasmine pearls. Yum!

i always have to have chai, earl (or lady) grey, mint, and some sort of fruit tea on hand. i rarely drink coffee, and so normally have at least a few different cups of tea a day - it's nice to have a variety so things don't get boring.

Luved ur collection

Yorkshire gold, chai, earl grey (twinings), chamomile (or sleepy time), mint, and then some kind of blend. I know I should be more interested in green tea but I'm not.

PG Tip regular AND decaf are a must! I even travel with a stash of it!

I have several back-up tins of Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice, and also plain black. My husband keeps Earl Grey at work but I prefer coffee.

I'm generally more of a coffee person, but I always have Earl Grey, green, peppermint, and chamomile teabags on hand. (Quite basic, I see.)

This is a really interesting post. As an avid tea drinker (like 2 full pots a day) I have a great variety of loose teas (and recently I started buying some bagged tea - Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice and Mighty Leaf Green Tea Tropical) all of which I consume frequently. My issue comes to guests, last week I had friends over and offered them tea for after dinner and they were all overwhelmed (I offered maybe 6 teas - showing them the containers) so my real question is:

How many teas should you offer guests?

As a big tea drinker I love being able to choose from a large selection but it certainly seemed like my guests did not!

we keep chai, black, green, and chamomile. good for caffeine-lovers, herb-lovers, health-nuts, and decaf-lovers :D

I usually keep a box of ginger tea on hand (I like the one Yogi makes), but right now I have a box of Celestial Seasonings Green Ginseng and Lemon. In the Summer I but Celestial Seasonings Zinger Variety Pack and use it to make iced tea. It is so crisp and refreshing!

Lisatee - I never travel without my stash of PG Tips! I bring a few of the pyramid bags with me whenever I know I'll be away from home, even just an overnight trip...

'PG Tips black tea. This is my everyday tea and what I reach for first thing in the morning.'

Exactly...

@PHD : I'd first ask whether they like green, white and black tea, say. And then probe a little more. And then you can go, 'I have a couple of teas you might like...' and offer them a small selection.

I have 30+ teas (bagged and lose) divided between work and home. A lot of black teas (lose and bagged), very few herbals (mint, ginger), two rooibos (Mariage Frère's Vanille Bourbon and a caramel one), bagged green tea (basic stuff) and genmaicha (aka popcorn rice tea).

Loose teas: twinings earl grey, lapsang souchong, darjeeling, orange pekoe, black chai, genmaichai, minty green tea, jasmin green tea, white tea, a couple herbal blends.

Bagged teas: yogi ginger tea, and bigelow's mint medley.

Anyone else use Tazo's Awake as a basic black breakfast tea? I drink it instead of coffee every morning, and on weekends I add a homemade chai mixture to it. I also like Mighty Leaf Organic Breakfast but it's way too expensive for everyday use. Still, I'd love some recs on other basic but flavorful blacks.

My two everyday staples are Chai for the morning and some kind of chamomile blend (usually Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime) for nighttime.

I always have a couple of wild card black teas (right now I have a mint black tea and some weird thing my husband picked up called morning thunder) and herbal teas (almost always mint and one or two fruitier ones).

Then I have a random assortment of Stuff I Am Trying to Get Rid Of--I'm looking at you, tasteless "Sugar Plum" tea I got in my stocking!

Always on hand: Bigelow's Constant Comment (my long-time favorite), some form of Earl Grey, some form of green (preferably a jasmine and a sencha), and Irish (preferably) or English Breakfast. Since I'm currently pregnant, I also have all those in decaf. :)

In addition to the standards, I always have a dozen or so other varieties, depending on where I've been, what sort of mood I've been in, and what friends and family have gotten me as gifts lately - I'm notoriously hard to buy for, so the default is tea!

I have always kept a large assortment of teas on hand, but recently I've realised that having 30 boxes of tea is a bit much so I am currently in the process of drinking all my tea before I buy any more. One of my favourites is Tetley from England-it's not the same in the US, even the "British blend." So much blander than it's UK counterpart. I also have some lovely loose-leaf teas from my trip to India and Sri Lanka. When I have totally consumed my stash, I'll probably get some PG Tips until my next trip across the pond.

PG Tips and Yorkshire tea (both loose and bagged) for a great everyday cuppa. Harney's English Breakfast (loose) is on the shelf as is the usualy Red Rose and Tetley. Not all my friends are fans of the English brand of tea. I have become a fan of Trader Joes English Duchess tea this year. Tend to keep a larger variety of green teas in the summer as I make both hot and iced tea. Other types of tea vary on whim and fancy.

I'm a tea hoarder, so I have all sorts of half-empty boxes in my cupboard. The ones I actually refresh are regular black tea (Tetleys) and lemon and ginger (Twinings), which I drink every morning. I did, however, recently buy some liquorice and mint tea from the British brand teapigs, which I LOVE. Strangely it doesn't really taste of either ingredient, it actually tastes more like caramel.

Twinings Lemon Ginger: BEST TEA ON PLANET! I'd take a bath in it, if I could.

I'm a coffee person, but I do like a cup of Good Earth when it's cold outside. The Brit I live with has lots of different teas, but Yorkshire Gold is his favorite and PG Tips is a close second.

I'm a tea person, coffee makes me too jittery. I always have a plain black bagged tea (PG Tips, English Breakfast, Darjeeling, etc) on hand. Earl Grey is m y favorite so I always have a few different kinds of those lying around, including a special loose leaf one for cooking or special occasions. I'm not a huge green tea person but I do like the Tazo Green Ginger. I also try to keep peppermint and chamomile herbal teas around for upset stomachs.

I have mostly loose teas stored in tins, three different green teas, Oolong, Darjeeling and some tradition English Breakfast tea. I am not a tea expert but if I am going to drink tea I want a good quality tea not the dust from the floor that goes into most commercial tea bags. Also, been experimenting with some flowering teas too.
I have some Yogi decaf green tea bags I keep for travel. I prefer coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. What I enjoy the most is serving tea and all the glorious tea paraphernalia- tea pots, tea cups, Chinese gaiwan, etc.

Simplified my tea life (like I did with my mustard life though not quite as simple as that).

Earl Grey (personal fave); English Breakfast; Darjeeling; Peppermint

I also keep Throat Coat around because there is just nothing else like it for a sore throat.

I also like Constant Comment, but don't always have it around. Takes me back to college days!

TWINNINGS!!! English breakfast and Irish breakfast teas, plus some regular Tetley's orange pekoe to make my chai, Indian style.

I have pretty much every variety of Organic India Tulsi tea and I love Allegra organic breakfast blend. I was raised with peppermint tea, we had it every night after dinner and I still love doing the same. My husband love the sweet spicy cinnamon flavor of Tevana samuri chai but it's way too caffeinated for me.

I'm looking for an all natural black currant black tea...anyone know of a maker?

When I read your selection, I thought that at least two categories were missing: the so-called "white" teas and the very floral ones. Though these are not my favorites, I tend to have some to offer guests, because not everyone is a green tea/herb addict like I am. My stock rotates quite quickly, but I always try to have the following:
- At least one bagged green tea. I use leafs, but I find it often messy for guests. Right now, I have a very good sencha.
- Black tea
- Smoked black tea (like souchong)
- "White" tea (the Twinning works fine)
- Orange or Lemon black tea, like the "orange jaipur" or Russian Earl Grey from Lipton, is a good, very pleasing option
- one very floral tea. Living in France, I find the Marco Polo from Marriages frères to be the perfect mix of flowers
- one fruity mix. I hate those, but they go faster than any other tea, so I keep on offering them. Apple, strawberry (eww), pear, whatever.
- Rooibos tea. When you're 30, a lot of your friends are pregnant and only drink that kind of tea. Plus, it's tasty even if you're not !
- Herbal teas, at least two mix (fennel's not for everyone, though I love it)

I thought it was a good question to ask how to present them to guests. I tend to have two nice boxes where the bags are displayed: one for tea, one for herbal teas. I discovered that it is less intimidating for guests to choose from one box than from several: if I bring out many boxes, everyone takes the same; with my current method, everyone feels free to choose the one they like.

I am a huge fan of Harney and Sons and of Tealuxe. I also enjoy any tea that is given as a gift (Hawaiian Islands Tea Company).
My current stash (all loose tea) at home is:
-Harney & Sons: Earl Grey Supreme, Lavender, Chamomile
-Tealuxe: Victorian Rose, Caramel Creme Brule, Peppermint
My current stash (all bags) at work is:
-Harney & Sons Pomegranite Oolong
-Hawaiian Islands Tea Company Passion Fruit

Tea Source (teasource.com) is my favorite supplier and has a black currant variety. Their loose teas are spectacular.

I have about a dozen or so Mariage Frères loose teas, mostly black -- French Breakfast; Russian Breakfast; Marco Polo; Thé de Lune; Pleine Lune; Rose; Himalaya Rose... the one green tea I have from them is Thé de l'Opèra -- it's sublime.

I have one Kuzimi black tea; three from Sweden's Colonial Tea Company (best Rooibuis I've ever had); as well as several delicate Japanese green teas from Hibiki-an. I also have several Swiss tisanes -- sage, verveine, and so forth.

Tea is one of my passions, and I love serving it, as well as enjoying it, every day.

I should add that for guests, I either make a pot for all if we all want to enjoy the same tea, or I also have a couple of individual tea pots in my china pattern (Blue Onion), as well as both large and medium teapots to cover off all eventualities. It's a pretty way of serving tea (I'm now combining different blue and white china for a more interesting mix), and loose always seems to taste better than teabags.

Oh, and Celestial Seasonings for the kids -- they love Sleepytime, and a couple of others.

I drink coffee in the mornings, but I drink a good bit of tea, too - I always have chai and Earl Grey, and at the moment I've also got some Moroccan mint, and some loose leaf genmaicha (which will be regularly refreshed) and lapsang souchong (which probably won't be, since I'm the only one who will drink it). I've also got a truly ridiculous amount of coconut green tea left over from my wedding favours: it's delicious, but I ended up with way more than necessary.

This is a fun topic - I've been drinking a lot of tea lately and this gives me a lot of ideas.

My standard teas are a few flavored black (I don't really like just plain black tea) - vanilla bean (mighty tea is the best), coconut chai (zhena's gypsy tea), and a vanilla orange (mighty tea) - green tea (trader joe's), douglas fir spring tip and a sage and wild mint herbal blend (both juniper ridge), ginger (yogi), and a coconut white (bought at my local cafe, the only loose tea I have). I find that guests typically like what they can recognize, so they usually go for the ginger or chai.

I've been looking to expand, especially buying loose teas. As a recently reformed coffee drinker, its great to hear from other tea drinkers (and buyers).

I keep Mariage Frères' Marco Polo for a treat (if there's any left in the teapot after guests come over, I refrigerate it -- it makes heavenly iced tea), and Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice for daily drinking, because by the time I usually get home, it's too late for caffeine. And Rooibos (I like the Twinings brand), of course. There are many others, but everything else is of lesser importance.

I have to ask, where have you found a mint, fennel, basil tea? Sounds superb.

Another vote for Tea Source loose teas here! Their catalogue is gorgeous and informative too!

I keep a large tin of looseleaf Earl Gray, and separate stocks of various dried tea herbs (some from my garden, some from Mountain Rose Herbs) so I can mix up a herbal blend based on what's needed or wanted. We use herbal teas medicinally as well as for taste, so we like that flexibility.

I'd like to add a good looseleaf Lapsang.

mothwooedher: The mint, basil and fennel tea is really great. A friend mixed it up for me but Mystic Mint from Rishi (which is mint and cardamom) is also really delicious.

french earl grey, earl gray, ceylon, darjeeling, formosa oolong, a flavoured black and green tea blend and chai.

we drink at least 3 pots of tea a day. others types come and go from the cupboard but those remain pretty constant. all loose leaf of course. i'd keep more green teas but i have trouble finding them consistently fresh.

Good post--I'm really enjoying everyone's comments. My own selection includes my two breakfast teas, genmaicha with matcha and hojicha; an everyday sencha that I cold-brew in a thermos at work; a Lishan oolong from Red Blossom; and for some reason I have two Russian-style blacks, Samovar's Russian blend (for my own samovar), and a Russian caravan from theteahouse.com, which I discovered at Russian Tea Time in Chicago--they have a great tea list!

I also have some lemon verbena for evenings; dried, but when I can get it fresh, it's even better--the first brew is a beautiful delicate jade. All my teas are loose, except for a little jar of anonymous tea bags that I just sniffed and discovered they are chamomile. I like to have an English breakfast or an Earl Grey around but don't seem to at the moment.

I try not to give guests a choice; I just say I'm brewing a pot of (whatever) and ask who would like some. Otherwise chaos ensues!

We keep one caffeinated tea (PG Tips), a mate, Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime and Peppermint, a nice herbal tisane called "Men's Tea" from our local tea shop and a ginger tea for soothing tummies.

Oh man.... I have about 70 bags of DAVIDsTEA loose tea in my cupboard. Some flavoured, some unflavoured. Whites, Blacks, Greens, Oolongs, Pu'ehrs, Mates, Rooibos (red and green) and a hodgepodge of various herbal teas, blooming teas and the stuff to make a good cup of masala chai. What's your pleasure? I've got it.

When I have guests over, I usually quiz them on their personal preferences and go from there. (sweet/fruity/earthy/straight/spicy etc...)

Can't go wrong with a pot of Qhangzhou Milk Oolong, though. It's wicked expensive, but worth the money. *drool*

I drink one cup of Tazo's Green Ginger tea a day (drinking it now in fact), as a digestive measure - and it's had a nice little side effect in the form of 5 pounds disappearing. I've never been much of a tea person but it's growing on me. I will try some of the suggestions here to expand my repertoire a bit.

We are also very lucky to live in walking distance of two tea houses. I usually prefer to drink more expensive teas in shops as they don't charge that much extra for a pot and I don't need to worry about storage/freshness.

I drink more tea than coffee. Learned how to drink it at the knee of my Irish born Grandmother. My favorite tea is Dublin Morning by Bewley's. It's readily found in the States in Irish or British Isle import shops. I also like Twinings Earl Grey & Lady Grey. I love Stash's version of Chai (both with & without caffiene)I like Earl Grey laced with lavendar buds. I also like Market Spice. I'm not an herbal tea fan at all. I suppose I should have some on hand for guests..... :-/

I am a coffee in the morning person, but a small glass of Turkish tea in the afternoon served in a tulip glass is heaven. I also keep Mint and Ginger herb teas for bad stomachs and Lemon Zinger for colds/sore throats. And finally, I hate to admit it, but we keep Lipton tea bags for Sweet Ice Tea. Haven't found anything yet to beat it.

Christmas Tea
Ginger Tea
Valentines Tea (tastes like chocolate strawberries)
Earl Grey
Chai "Stash's brand"
Chamomile
Gingerbread and sometimes peppermint.

I buy almost all of my tea from Adagio.com

I can't drink coffee anymore (IBS) I Love the Yogi Ginger tea, really helps with digestion!

I keep the following in my stash:
PG Tips
Republic of Tea Blackberry Sage Decaf (loose and bagged). My absolute favorite!
Bigelow Constant Comment (regular and decaf)
Bigelow Orange and Spice
Twinings Earl Grey & Lady Earl Grey
Several types of Celestial Seasonings (I live in Colorado and their Boulder HQ is close by). Usually a fruit tea (Peach & Lemon Zinger)
Sleepytime Cammomile, Honey & Cammomile (for when one of us is sick).
Tazo Green
Irish Breakfast that my sister orders from Galway (she used to live there and I love Irish Breakfast tea)
A lemon loose blend that I got a the Dushanbe Teahouse in Boulder (running out of it)
I'm a big fan of Chai, and love the Oregon Chai Caffeine Free & Slightly Sweet concentrates.
Lipton is the best for making sun or iced tea.

Will have to try Teasource.

I always have a Chamomile, Dried mint that I add to all teas as a loose tea, and a fancy fruity herbal loose tea. I also should add I turn most of my teas into iced tea by adding water to two big pots of stronger tea and when I'm ready to drink I have a homade blueberry symple syrup I add a bit to flavor and sweeten and I have a few days worth of liquid gold at least with the chamomile that is.