Although I don't drink it enough, I like Bigelow's English Tea a lot. I have both caffeinated and decaf at home.

When I make iced tea, I use the big tea bags and its usually decaf so I can drink it in the afternoon and evening.

My mom loves tea and drinks a lot of it, but she likes the regular stuff like Lipton or the store brand.

I flew midway to baltimore tuesday night. 1/3 full.

Theory go bang.

Ok, my second theory is that United simply cancels flights that aren't full. EL

I know all the airlines have cut down on the number of flights to try to better utilize the planes. If I had to fuel up those gas hogs, I'd be trying to do that too. Especially when gas goes back up to $4 or $5 bucks a gallon.

c'mon, we all know it's going to!

Ok, my second theory is that United simply cancels flights that aren't full. EL

Or, if I happen to be booked on them.

Good call on the Lapsang Souchong - I am enjoying a cup as I read this. :-)

I order all my loose tea from Adagio. It always arrives next day, it's very inexpensive and the quality is great. Twinings isn't bad, but for a similar price I find adagio's quality to be better. Some of my favorite varieties are their Yunnan, Golden Monkey, and Ceylon. Lately my fave has been their Fujian Baroque. If you like Lapsang Souchong give the Hojicah a try too - it is a smoked green tea.

I recently fell in love over Celestial Seasonings' Almond Sunset. It is part of the "dessert tea" line. Meaning it is sweet. But I tend towards the lighter teas these days. My favorite is still Darjeeling. But this is so flavorful I forget it is caffeine free.

I am a huge fan of:

1. Ronnefeldt's Morgentaue (Morning Dew). It's a great sencha with little flower petals and stuff in it. It's also Vladimir Putin's favorite tea.

2. Aveda. That tea is delicious. Walk into one of their stores at the mall and they will give you a free sample. I don't know what it is, but it's like crack. Earthy, like you are drinking an essential oil or something. But in a good way! Naturally sweet because of its minty flavor.

Especially when gas goes back up to $4 or $5 bucks a gallon.

And jet fuel is usually like $2 more than what we pay per gallon.

Vindication is coming your way, tea is the new coffee.
http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/04/tech-millionair.html

EL, you have touched on a subject that is extremely near and dear to my heart.

I have literally been drinking tea for as long as I can remember. My aunt's favorite is Twinings' Earl Grey, and we drank it on any morning I would stay at her house. I still drink a cup every single morning I am at the office. (Although occasionally I will change it up with some English Breakfast instead.) Of course I prefer loose tea but it's a lot to fuss with at work, and I'm clumsy.

One of the reasons I love weekends so much is because I get to drink my favorite tea; Harney and Sons' Rose Scented Tea. I order a one pound bag of the loose tea and it lasts me about a year. I originally discovered it at Tea on the Tiber in Ellicott City. If you like tea, I highly recommend both.

Tea is infinitely more varied and enriching than vulgar coffee.

Owlie, you are comparing Budweiser to some expensive, exquisite wine, rather than an artisinal Belgian or something. Americans drink gallons of crap coffee that has been brewed too weakly at too cold a temperature. That kind of coffee is as enriching as stale, 3 year old unwrapped generic tea bags at a restaurant, served next to a cup of tepid water.

If you are talking about a nice pu err, properly brewed, you'd have to put that up against a nice Yemen bean, roasted 12 to 24 hours previously, fresh ground and brewed properly. Both of those will be fine and rewarding brews.

I was trying to get indited for inciting a peaceful riot.

You had me at pu ehr.

American coffee indeed is a lot like Budweiser, weak, flavorless and hopelessly generic. It is the Triumph of the Swill, strength in numbers rather than purity of character (Mein Gott im Himmel where am I going with this?). I like a bit of coffee now and then in some other countries. Rather than insist on a truly excellent base product Americans like to add ornamentation and distraction. Regarding tea, I find it endlessly interesting without any additives other than water. Most people never master the basics, bit skip right to elaborate crap.

I get my tea at Baltimore Coffee and Tea in Timonium. They have a wonderful selection of regular, decaf and herbal teas. Their house brand teas come in little "paint cans". I recommend China Sencha Green, English Breakfast and Earl Gray. You can order from them on-line.

elaine, have you ever run into barbie hargrave there?

I am a fan of Brassica - Green Tea with lemon. A perfect start to the day.

I thik Barbie Hargrave has become the official D@L distracter of men.

Though it's nice having decent tea stored properly in decent canisters at Wegmans and Teavana, I'm finding myself more inclined to buy my tea from Teasource.com. The owner is an occasional guest on "The Splendid Table," and the descriptions and tasting notes in his very nice catalog are wonderfully helpful. Bonus is that the tea ships in ziplock plastic/foil bags that keep it as fresh as tins do.

Okay, I'm reluctant to give away all my secrets but my favorite place to buy tea after an obsessive search is Stash Tea. I buy mostly loose green tea in 50 or 100 gram packages. Like Penzey they have superlative customer service, selection, quality and freshness.

Stashtea.com

I've been using them for years and they seem to be getting even better. You can get loose tea in a nice tin or in the resealable opaque bags that you get easily squeeze the air out of.

In fact, I came back from a 14 mile bike ride this afternoon and saw the dreaded FedEx notice on my door. Grrr.... After a shower and some Aleve I would have been perfectly happy to do my smell-the-tea ritual. Mmmmm... Jasmine, oh no, that's the stripper that just moved next door. Try again: mmmmm... Dragonwell green, .. organic gunpowder green .... emerald goddess green .... monkey king jasmine, pu erh, kuchika, roasted brown rice genmai green.

Mmmm.... so simple and yet never completely knowable.

You know what the secret of a perfect cup of tea is? There is no such thing. And that's beautiful.