/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>6633903
I drink tea regularly, but it's become more of a habit rather than a beverage I actually enjoy drinking. It's not like coffee where I actually crave the flavor of coffee, but rather just something hot and smells nice that I can sip on while working to relax.

From my personal experience, tea isn't about the flavor. There is no distinct "tea flavor" like there is a coffee flavor. Tea is essentially scented water. A lot of big tea brands like putting gimmicky shit in tea like citrus flavors to make it sour or overpowering concentrated herbs. Avoid those like the plague. Most "herbal teas" are basically crushed potpourri; an overpowering mess that is more distracting by how strong it smells.

Which is why I prefer green tea. It is very subtle, smells nice, and has no real taste to it. Sencha smells faintly of grass and doesn't leave much of a taste on your mouth.
Genmaicha tastes and smells like Sencha but you can taste the starch in your mouth and it is quite annoying after you finish drinking a cup.
Generic "green tea" store brand bags like Kirkland, Trader Joes, etc, all taste like stronger Sencha and often have a weird sharp taste to them as if they squeezed a bit of lemon onto the tea.
Oolong smells nice and smokey, but it has a smokey taste too. To me it isn't very pleasant to drink. It leaves a weird bitter taste on your tongue and is slightly metallic.
Jasmine tea I adore. It is very aromatic yet not overpowering, and leaves no aftertaste. It is the perfect tea in my opinion. My favorite brand is Capital Teas Jasmine Gold Dragon, pic related.

Honorable mention: Earl Grey/Black Breakfast Teas
I would never drink Earl Grey or any english/irish breakfast tea plain jane, but it is absolutely delicious with milk and honey/sugar. I consider Milk Tea an actual beverage and I drink it every morning with my breakfast.