nevialDec 30, 2023
Does this count as tea to you, @tea ? It's not camellia sinensis, but sideritis scardica (mountain tea). As this does not contain caffeine, I like to drink this in the evening
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Dec 30, 2023

@nevial @tea I love mountain tea. It has a very subtle herbal flavour which easily disappears if you add anything else into the mix. Unfortunately it's often found mixed with other things.

Just yesterday, I asked my mother to make me some mountain tea "without anything", knowing that she loves coming up with impromptu herbal mixes. She understood it as "without sweeteners" and added star anise. It wasn't even the first, or the tenth, time that I explained to her why I don't want anything else in the mix. Sorry, I just had to rant.

Show threadnevial
@vivia @tea oh wow, I didn't know that it's often mixed with other ingredients. I just buy raw mountain tea from the shop, brew it with boiling water and drink it just like that. To me, it has a distinct, citric flavour
Dec 30, 2023 at 9:00pmMastodon for Android
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Dec 30, 2023

@nevial @tea Citric flavour? Is that how citrus tastes to normal people? Interesting. (I have defective taste buds, many things are bitter to me but not to anyone else, especially teas and beers are huge landmines for me). But yeah, I come from a region where mountain tea grows (Greece) and people love using it as a base for herbal mixes.

Now that you mention it - I just discussed with @slomo - I might be perceiving a very mild bitterness in the herbal taste, which ends up concealing what you describe as "citric" and he describes as "lemongrass". If other people don't perceive that, it might explain why everyone is so nonchalant about mixing it with other things.

Show threadnevialDec 30, 2023
@vivia @tea @slomo oh yes, lemongrass I agree to. In fact, I would describe lemongrass as somewhat citric as well. However, both mountain tea and lemongrass are not as sour/acidic as real citrus
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Dec 30, 2023

@nevial @tea Wow. Oranges are one of the things that are very bitter for me. Very interesting. Makes me very curious about the science behind it 😊

BTW, there are some smaller ski resorts in northern Greece that make mountain tea in huge pots, then serve ladle-fuls into a cup when you order some. In Seli, in particular, they make it very very delicious, and I love sitting down for a cup of hot mountain tea on my breaks. In Elatochori, it was somehow brewed very badly (I can't reproduce that), and it was tasting bitter even for @slomo .

Show threadnevialDec 30, 2023
@vivia @tea @slomo That's very interesting. What causes defective taste buds? Oranges are mostly very sweet for me, but yes, some bitterness in there (it's only strong when they're not ripe yet), of course.
I think, I saw a video on brewing mountain tea the original Greek style where the tea is boiled right in the pot for a while. I might have to try that
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Dec 30, 2023

@nevial @tea @slomo I think it's genetic, at least in my case.

Yes, brewing tea right in the pot and then straining it works very easily, because the flowers are very big, so you can just throw away the tea remainders from the sieve. Camellia sinensis, in many forms at least, isn't suitable for that, it's a big hassle to clean the sieve.

Show threadnevialDec 30, 2023
@vivia @tea @slomo Okay, first time I am hearing about a condition like this.
Thank you very much, I will try that 
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Dec 30, 2023
@nevial @tea @slomo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster if you're curious. Seems to vary from person to person though.
Supertaster - Wikipedia

Show threadnevialDec 30, 2023
@vivia @tea @slomo I am, thank you. How does green tea/black tea taste to you (there's a wide range, I know, but maybe compared to others without this condition)?
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Dec 31, 2023

@nevial @tea @slomo Low-quality green tea tastes horribly bitter. High quality is OK, especially Japanese green tea. (Talk about having tea gourmet right in your genes, lol) I do perceive some bitterness in matcha, but it checks out with other people's experiences.

Black tea is usually bitter for me, apart from a few very specific and very high quality mild teas. Personal preference still steers me away from them.

Oddly enough, when I make cold tea, in green tea the bitterness tends to be more pronounced, in black tea it tends to mellow down.

White teas are usually also OK, especially those of lower processing. Oolongs are also usually OK, but I prefer green ones.

Show threadnevialJan 1, 2024
@vivia @tea @slomo Interesting, I don't have any bitterness in any of them and prefer stronger black teas/Pu Erh, but also love white tea and the occasional Green or Oolong. Cheap green tea sometimes has a fishy taste to me
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Jan 1, 2024

@nevial @tea @slomo
Happy new year!

Fishiness in cheap green tea has actually been studied! https://teacrossing.com/does-your-green-tea-taste-fishy-why-what-to-do/

There was also a time when an overbrewed old bancha tasted extremely bitter to me and had no taste at all for @slomo : https://toot.cat/@slomo/111393320835652623

Does Your Green Tea Taste Fishy? Why & What to Do - Tea Crossing

If you’re like me, taking a break with a nice cup of healthy green tea is a necessary self-indulgence. However, what happens when you take a sip of fresh, piping

Tea Crossing
Show threadnevialJan 1, 2024
@vivia @tea @slomo Oh yes, happy new year to you, too!
It's cool that the chemical compound causing the fishiness is even known. Maybe it's a dumb question, but how are strong bitter tastes (as in bitter for most people) for you? E.g. bitter lemon?
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Jan 1, 2024

@nevial @tea @slomo I'm not really sure if I perceive "normal" bitter things with the same intensity, so I cannot tell. For bitter chocolate, for example, it's not my favourite, but it's tolerable to pleasant. It can be really delicious when combined with sweeter things. Gin tonic is something I have no idea how people tolerate, let alone enjoy.

By the way, I had a cup of mountain tea without anything else today 🍵

Show threadnevialJan 4, 2024
@vivia @tea @slomo Look what I did today
Show threadVivia 🦆🍵Jan 5, 2024
@nevial @tea @slomo Yummy! How was it? 🍵
Show threadnevialJan 5, 2024
@vivia @tea @slomo I liked it! I didn't really notice a difference to how I usually prepare it (pouring over with hot water), but in all fairness, I had ramen before with a lot of chili 🌶️ not sure if I was able to taste everything