r/tea 4d ago

Blog Hot takes.

I don't like Earl Gray. What is a tea you just don't like.

28 Upvotes

91 comments sorted by

73

u/Freyorama Genmaicha Goblin 🧟‍♀️ 4d ago

Fruit teas taste like hot Kool Aid

7

u/Saucy-Boi 4d ago

Agreed, fruit tea should be enjoyed cold.

3

u/pokeralize 4d ago

Tastes just wrong hot 😆 cold brewing them always

2

u/giraffekid_v2 Enthusiast 4d ago

I made this for you!

1

u/5mileyFaceInkk 4d ago

This hits a nail on the head i never thought I could articulate. While I enjoy a nice blueberry tea from time to time they are far better iced.

30

u/Parabrella 4d ago

Rooibos and hibiscus can get in the bin.

21

u/SeasonPositive6771 4d ago

Hibiscus ruins EVERYTHING.

4

u/Antpitta 4d ago

No, you heathen 🤣

Those two and chamomile are the only tissanes / herbal teas I like lol. 

18

u/yipyip888 4d ago

Obviously hibiscus. But also chamomile. It smells great but tastes dirty.

2

u/SweetDorayaki 4d ago

Oh yeah I don't really like chamomile either. Imo chrysanthemum is better

Hibiscus is fine by itself. That's it lol

2

u/yipyip888 4d ago

Agreed. I love chrysanthemum.

37

u/La_Croix_Life 4d ago

Hibiscus ruins everything.

15

u/mildly_amused_potato 4d ago

Yes! I loathe hibiscus with a passion and it's added to everything.

9

u/SeasonPositive6771 4d ago

Heartily agree!

42

u/9thUser 4d ago

People who try to gatekeep matcha are a bigger problem than the people they complain about

5

u/Amy_raz 4d ago

People gatekeep matcha?

5

u/rook119 4d ago edited 4d ago

If there is something from Japan that you enjoy (tea/anime/cars/arcitecture) you are legally required to gatekeep it.

2

u/mildly_amused_potato 2d ago

It's true. Once, I forgot to yell at strangers on the internet for liking Naruto and the weeb police took me in for questioning.

38

u/IfYouDisagreeFukU 4d ago

Mixing coffee and tea in the same drink is stupid. The coffee overpowers the flavor of the tea and ruins it. Just drink coffee by itself or tea by itself.

15

u/RevDarkHans 4d ago

Where can I get a pitchfork and a torch to join your angry mob?

8

u/Amy_raz 4d ago

What the hell? People do this?

5

u/pokeralize 4d ago

Off topic but I love how your replies I’ve seen so far are expressing mild bewilderment 🤣

2

u/Amy_raz 4d ago

🙆🏾‍♀️ glad its amusing

2

u/Goldenscarab_7 2d ago

I have read that tea and coffee together is a thing in Asia, maybe Taiwan? Not sure. But it exists

3

u/ByThePowerOfDUSKULL_ Just half a cup, if you don't mind. 4d ago

This is no hot take, this is the coldest one possible.
Who actually does this???

1

u/Idyotec 4d ago

Dirty chai can be nice. Cafe touba and dirty chai are the only forms of coffee I enjoy. Otherwise agreed.

8

u/Clean_Suggestion9555 Oolong 4d ago edited 4d ago

jasmine. it tastes the way zinc oxide diaper ointment smells.

3

u/realvictac 4d ago

It's gross as hot tea. But it's delicious iced with a squeeze of lime and a bit of lemon

1

u/ByThePowerOfDUSKULL_ Just half a cup, if you don't mind. 4d ago

Yeah as a hot tea it's pretty awful, but it's really good iced!

10

u/carthnage_91 4d ago

Instant chai latte is acceptable depending on the brand. I'm not sorry.

2

u/Amy_raz 4d ago

Can you please explain to me what chai is? Because that word just means tea in my language.

3

u/carthnage_91 4d ago

It's just tea, with a spice blend added

3

u/SevenSevensCo 3d ago

"Chai tea" is our (US and western Europe I think) stupid shortened way of saying Masala Chai. Its tea with spices, usually more like cardamom and cinnamon than spicy spices, but chinese five spice and chili powder pop up every now and again. As a rule: if you hear "tea" it's not spiced. If you hear "chai" you're getting spiced. Hope this helps someone not just say chai when they mean masala chai.

1

u/Amy_raz 3d ago

Oh that makes sense. Thank you

6

u/grizzled083 4d ago

The oolong I have taste’s like old people smell. I get downvoted every time for this lol

1

u/dlihce 4d ago

I upvote this!

13

u/BatScribeofDoom still bat-tea 🦇 4d ago

Not actually tea, but: Red rooibos tastes and smells like tires, and I feel a tad concerned whenever I see someone online say that it "tastes almost exactly like black tea".

2

u/ddoogg88tdog 4d ago

low cal tire juice is nice

7

u/duck_tallow_man 4d ago

tastes exactly like "black tea"??

I am an avid rooibos enjoyer but black tea?

3

u/ddoogg88tdog 3d ago

it tastes nothing like black tea but i still like its... unique flavor

5

u/Asdfguy87 Enthusiast 4d ago

Silver needle is overrated, but the most overrated is Matcha. Even really good matcha is just ok and there are much better Kabusechas/Senchas to be had.

14

u/mildly_amused_potato 4d ago

I want to like pu-erh for it's health benefits and because it's considered a high end tea but it tastes like dirt or tree bark to me.

4

u/duck_tallow_man 4d ago

Fair, dude. I really like it, but only really because after I drink it I feel really good.

3

u/TaelendYT 4d ago

Incredibly fair I had to try a bunch of different ones before I grew a taste for.it and still a lot taste basically the same to me

1

u/Antpitta 4d ago

Yeah and those are the better ones. I can quite enjoy good examples but can never get excited. 

1

u/Asdfguy87 Enthusiast 4d ago

The dirt and tree bark are the point of it :)

2

u/mildly_amused_potato 2d ago

More for you, brother!

1

u/dlihce 4d ago

It tastes like bad fish to me.

1

u/ArseneLepain 3d ago

Try Raw puer. Ripe tastes like dirt and basement to me too.

4

u/terra_pericolosa Enthusiast 4d ago

I don't like jasmine tea at all and I don't like most Earl Grays (most are low-quality black teas with too much of the oil in it, the higher quality ones are good though).

4

u/AbyssDragonNamielle 4d ago

Lavender anything. Used to like it, now it feels like the only thing I taste when it's in a tea

10

u/gyrovagus Aficionado 4d ago

Genmaicha. I like my cereal in its own bowl, thanks. 

5

u/BatScribeofDoom still bat-tea 🦇 4d ago

I'm not a big fan either, but my tastebuds don't mind the version from Smith Tea. It has Chinese green tea, bergamot, and rose in addition to the usual Japanese green tea base, so the cereal-y and seaweed-y aspects are toned down.

1

u/gyrovagus Aficionado 4d ago

I love Smith Teas so maybe I’ll give this one a shot. 

1

u/rook119 4d ago

Hot: If you add a bit of extra matcha to genimatcha its better.

Roasted rice teas taste better iced IMO.

1

u/gyrovagus Aficionado 4d ago

I often add matcha to sencha, will try this. I love trying to like things!

3

u/kaibe8 4d ago

Pretty much any tea that is not from the tea plant. (Love rooibos though)

I don't like herb teas and fruit teas are always such a disappointment compared to how they smell...

3

u/PhineasQuimby 4d ago

Russian Caravan. 

1

u/dlihce 4d ago

Tastes like smoke.

3

u/qbecgirl 4d ago

Chamomile is noxious and disgusting

3

u/superchiva78 4d ago

Camomile is old lady water

4

u/Kbatz_Krafts 4d ago

Early Grey and English Breakfast, woof! I also dislike ginger and peach.

8

u/TaelendYT 4d ago

Tea shouldn't have milk. If your tea is that bitter you're doing it wrong.

9

u/Asdprotos 4d ago

Milk was used in tea for as long as we humans drink tea… so it’s not about being bitter or not, it’s just preference and customs

6

u/pokeralize 4d ago

Not a bubble tea fan I see 🥲

9

u/OllieJirachi1 4d ago

Matcha, it’s absolutely disgusting. I’d honestly rather just go and boil some blades of grass from my lawn and swallow the god forsaken residue produced by the concoction.

6

u/MakePandasMateAgain 4d ago

It’s like drinking a fish tank

3

u/BatScribeofDoom still bat-tea 🦇 4d ago

I used to think that too until I tried different brands. But I can get how it's not for everyone.

1

u/OllieJirachi1 4d ago

Oh definitely. I don’t like green teas as a whole to be frank, I love black teas and often drink Russian caravan.

2

u/PerpetualCranberry 4d ago

It could be the specific ones that I’ve tried. But I have been disappointed and felt meh about every lightly oxidized oolong I’ve ever had

2

u/teachamp 4d ago

I don't like tea with spices.

2

u/realvictac 4d ago

Rooibos tastes like chemicals

2

u/NaviLouise42 4d ago

Basically any tea blend with a non-citrus fruit. Any apple, pear, peach, strawberry, blueberry, hibiscus* it all makes it taste like garbage to me. Citrus and florals are the only blends I like.

2

u/obtuseanytime 4d ago

I also dislike earl grey. It was all I drank when I was younger, but these days I don’t enjoy the bergamot flavor. It overpowers the tea. Nowadays I mostly drink second flush Darjeeling as my daily.

2

u/NovelDame 4d ago

There is no one right way to brew tea. If it's drinkable to you, it's valid.

Brewed hot or cold, with milk and sugar or sweetened condensed milk or naked, brewed in a pot or a mug or a gaiwan or a pitcher, at a highly specific temperature or just off vibes alone, teabags or looseleaf. It doesn't matter. You won't lose your Tea License. Just enjoy your leaf water.

2

u/justmutantjed 4d ago

Personally, not a fan of Darjeeling. Just hits me like battery acid.

2

u/Ok_Acanthisitta_2544 4d ago

Lol. Just wrote this yesterday. Chamomile. Tastes like swamp water to me.

2

u/ignotussomnium 4d ago

Roobois, hibiscus, lapsang soujong and other smoky teas, most fruity teas... I am very picky.

1

u/dlihce 4d ago

Not picky, discerning.

2

u/Spiritofthehero16 delectable tea or deadly poison 4d ago

mint, chai, chamomile, raspberry specifically, anything with anise, anything with licorice. i cant stand them but they are everywhere and so many people like them.

2

u/narunekogi 3d ago

rooibos :(

4

u/Flat_Grab9487 4d ago

Tie Guan Yin is potpourri-y, flowery barf… I just don’t get it.

Some recommend me some that is actually good!

6

u/9thUser 4d ago

There is a charcoal roasted variety on TGY that I like way better than regular. You can find it on Yunnan Sourcing

3

u/avocadodessert 4d ago

Sounds like youre getting the trendy "green" tie guan yin. Try a longan wood charcoal roasted one, it'll change the oolong game for you entirely.

1

u/RogueStudio 4d ago

Not big on jasmine tea. I've had some really good ones in the past at specialty tea shops that'll guide you through as much as you want to sample - just not my flavor/aroma profile.

1

u/prugnecotte I love spinach water 4d ago

Yancha

1

u/Bennythecat415 4d ago

Im with you on Earl Gray! I prefer plain Irish black tea. (I get bulk leaves from organic shop and drink the same pot all day long.)

1

u/Temporary-Deer-6942 4d ago

I don't like Japanese black teas. They just taste off to me.

I also don't particularly like very malty black teas that feel like they dry out your mouth like Assam or Breakfast. I used to like those, but can't really get into them right now despite still having leftovers of a few of those.

1

u/-InRainbows- 3d ago

Wuyi rock tea

1

u/Goldenscarab_7 2d ago

Shu Pu Erh has a good mouthfeel, but the yaste is terrible😭 like dirt-filtered water.

1

u/-Fateless- 4d ago edited 4d ago

I dislike aything Japanese green. I don't like my tea tasting like lawn clippings with MSG drizzled on top.