kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Twining's Irish Breakfast Tea is great!
I bought a Breville BTM800XL One Touch automatic tea maker several years ago now and it was the best purchase for me in a long while, tea wise. Although the initial investment is high there is really nothing lacking operational wise. I enjoy mine immensely. Brews most any tea to perfection and I have tried many methods. I found by buying a better than average, store bought tea and using the supplied controls I can get delicious tea out of a basket of tea leaves and use those same tea leaves more than once or for at least 2 brew cycles while maintaining all the flavor and consistency of the tea leaves.Any thoughts on the electric kettles with water temperature selections? There’s a few that offer 165, 175, 195, and boiling temperatures. For the various varieties of teas.
Thanks for the review and info!I bought a Breville BTM800XL One Touch automatic tea maker several years ago now and it was the best purchase for me in a long while, tea wise. Although the initial investment is high there is really nothing lacking operational wise. I enjoy mine immensely. Brews most any tea to perfection and I have tried many methods. I found by buying a better than average, store bought tea and using the supplied controls I can get delicious tea out of a basket of tea leaves and use those same tea leaves more than once or for at least 2 brew cycles while maintaining all the flavor and consistency of the tea leaves.
There is a strength selection/button with several levels. I just change the level between baskets still using the same leaves. So, I find I can get multiple brews using same basket of leaves and not suffer consequences of harsh or burnt out tea leaves.
This tea maker allows as much customization to a pot of tea I have ever encountered. I was hesitant for several years before I finally gave in to my urges and bought one. The main reason was based upon the price and was not really appealing to me at the time.
Sometimes a little patience and time will turn up a nice discount/coupon. Not sure if Breville has made any changes to this tea maker over the years since I have had mine but I really would not want to do without it now that I have experienced the convenience.
I used to use one of those fancy Bodum double walled hand blown tea pots and heat water in an electric kettle and add the hot water to the tea leave basket. That hand blown carafe was expensive by itself and did not last long. Add in the electric pot and I was half way to the cost of the Breville.
That double walled hand blown carafe did hold the heat well and was attractive tea pot. I do not know if they even still make them but I would never recommend one of those now after having experience with it.
One day and a light bump against the porcelain sink and it cracked beyond use. Buying another one of these would have brought the price of 2 hand blown pots up into the area of the Breville mentioned above. No doubt that would have broken again with minimal use also.
Of course, this tea maker is fashioned for leaves and tea leaves are not bags like you specified; but, my favorite loose leaf tea I found so far is “Jasmine” dragon balls. Takes a little getting used to dragon balls and dosage because these leaves like many other higher quality leaf will “unfurl or unravel” and increase in volume. Most cheap tea does not expand at all.
I’ve tried several types of Jasmine leaf and it is still my favorite no matter the presentation.
I could never acquire the taste for Earl Grey. My boss, a Brit from Birmingham drank nothing but. If memory serves me (it’s been a few years), it had a perfume smell to it that I could not get past my nose.Some new tea. Never tried these before. The Earl Grey smells better than it tastes. But it’s ok.
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I just tried the PG Tips Gold today and it is a really good tea. I have some Yorkshire Gold coming in a few days and I am anxious to compare. I also have some Ahmad breakfast tea I might try a little later. I bought my wife an electric tea maker with the presets for different teas and a 2 hour hold warm feature. It works really well.I have been on a PG Tips kick.
Supposedly that’s the tea that the queen of England drinksI always liked Twinings Earl Grey. Easy to find most places.
Only things you really need are a good infuser, proper teapot, and interesting cup.