Whenever I make tea, it has to be fruit tea or I'll load it with sugar. I like going to places like Teavana and sampling all the tea they have out.

Teavana? O,O

Also, herro all!

Teavana is a tea shop that sells a lot of really good tea. They also usually have a lot of different samples out every day. I really recommend them if you're looking to buy tea. :3

+1 to Teavana. (They recently got purchased by Starbucks but that hasn't hurt their quality or their variety.)

Adagio is also cool, for ordering interesting blends of tea online.

Went on a holiday to Pondicherry recently, and tasted fermented tea called Kombucha. (It's got other ingredients in it, and it doesn't follow the general rule of healthy stuff tasting not-so-great.)'Cha' is the Japanese word for tea and the Korean guy who brought is to Japan was called Kombu apparently.

No, "konbu" is the Japanese word for "kelp," and "konbucha" in Japan refers to a different drink made with powdered kelp. The name was probably confused by English-speaking drinkers who didn't know what was in the tea and thought that the film resembled the gel that forms when you boil seaweed. (The Japanese themselves call it "koucha-kinoko," or "black tea mushroom," referring to the fungus that ferments the tea.)

I'm not a big fan of kombucha myself. I can drink it a little bit at a time but the flavor stops being appealing to me after a while, so I've never finished a bottle.

Ah, the word is spelled "diuretic." *sweatdrop* Though the way you spelled it does conjure up vivid images of "this fluid has to get out of my body RIGHT NOW!" :P

We had a Teavana where I used to live but I've largely been focusing on David's Tea. I like stuff at a (formerly) local shop but I'n not there anymore. They had a plain mango and black tea which I liked. I've found a black tea with mango at David's Tea, but it has a bunch of other stuff in it too. Teavana also sells what they call German Rock Sugar, which I think is made from sugar beets rather than cane. It seems to take away the need for sweetness but without changing the flavour of the tea. I use it when I don't really want to alter the taste of something.

I have found a wonderful thing! I have been drinking Pu'erh tea lately and it's really been helpful with my troublesome stomach after I eat. I picked up one with garcinia to try, since it was advertised as helping "after dinner discomfort" and I'll try anything that might help things along since my pills tend to have mixed success. I can generally only get away with one cup though, as more than that and my stomach starts to act a different kind of funny.

*peeks in*

I'm a casual tea drinker..and not too picky. I've sworn off caffeine so no black tea for me, but otherwise I'm always open to trying new flavors. My favorites are pretty boring though...green tea is number one, followed by berry tea (pretty much any berry or mixed. i love them all.), and then probably lemon ginger. The lemon ginger is my favorite when I'm sick. It feels great on a sore throat.

But..I say casual because I just use store bought bags of tea...and heat my water in a mug in the microwave. >.>;; And then I leave the bag in forever and sometimes reuse it with a new one for extra flavor. *shrugs*

Oh, I forgot my favorite calming tea that helps my sensitive stomach. I like to drink lavender chamomile on the days I'm not feeling well.

(and I've oogled Teavana's website so many times...but I've never bought anything. I'd have to buy all sorts of strange and fascinating instruments to use their tea I think..probably. Loose leaf tea is a mystery to me. o.o)

Teavana is pretty good; haven't bought anything from them, though. Their tea demos are nice XD

That sounds like my usual tea method, minus the microwave. I often use the kuerig without the coffee and throw a tea bag in the cup.

Nothing fancy about loose leaf tea, really. At it's most basic, put leaves in a cup, add boiling water. That does make drinking it a little awkward though. You can buy empty tea bags to put the leaves in, and then just treat it like any other tea bag.

Alternatively, stuff the tea leaves into a coffee maker.

I've got a tiny fine-mesh strainer for the job -- put leaves in strainer, put strainer in mug of hot water.

That works, too. I'm getting a little collection of steepers, though my favourite is the little floating duck strainer. I know there's a Death Star tea ball around. A Tardis, too, I think.

I belong to a group of especially silly Steampunks over in the U.K called " the First Tea Company". Its little fake history museum is a blast and can ussaly be found at London Comiccon or small stampunk event's. It's a hoot and we have things like "Tea Dueling" that's always amusing. Basicly it's dunking a Nice Biscuit into a 35oc cup of tea for a cont of five then holding it straight with out it breaking and seeing out of the two who participate who noms the biscuit last. Great fun.