Some tea companies have begun manufacturing tea pods for making tea in
Home Cafe coffee-brewing machines. The pods seem to be rather
expensive, and I have my doubts as to how they could possibly make a
better cup of tea than good quality tea leaves - except it might be a
few minutes faster. I also have some concerns about using the same
appliance for making coffee and tea. Wouldn't the coffee smell
permeate the machine and taint the tea?

It did occur to me, though, that tea pods might prove to be a good
solution for restaurants, who seem incapable of preparing tea properly
using conventional methods.

Has anyone tried any tea made from pods, and if so, what did you think
of it?

Pat wrote:
> Has anyone tried any tea made from pods, and if so, what did you think
> of it?

In a word: Terrible. Not in an "I brew *my* tea from loose tea only"
way, but in a seriously terrible tea way.

I got one of these for free before Christmas at Target. If you bought a
box of pods you got the maker for free. So I bought Tea pods, English
Breakfast (it was one of the better options from the selection) and it
consistently is some of the worst tea I have ever drank. I will say
that I tore open a pod and put it in my infuser and brewed it properly
and it was better (although still not great) so I am thinking the maker
is to be blamed somewhat. The tea that came from the pod was poor to
barely passable IMO, and a pack of Twinnings would give it a strong run
for its money (and much cheaper).

I actually wouldn't say a restaurant would be any better with one of
these. They are purely a money making scheme and the pric per cup is
very high. The only possible thing I could see this good for is teas
that require lower temp. water. I have brewed a plain teabag of green
tea in it to see and it was pretty much the same as if I had done it in
the microwave.

Dunno, that's just my opinion. I've made about 4 cups of tea with it
and it is in my basement now, where it will most likely stay.

- Dominic
Drinking: Nothing, time to brew more.

Dominic T. wrote:

> In a word: Terrible. Not in an "I brew *my* tea from loose tea only"
> way, but in a seriously terrible tea way.
>

Thanks, that's what I thought. It doesn't seem like the tea in the pod
would have enough time to infuse to draw out the flavor. They keep
trying to build a better mousetrap when it comes to ways to preparing
tea, but so far, in my experience, nothing beats the good old electric
kettle.

I know some people make their tea in their coffee makers. I wouldn't
want to drink tea prepared that way, either.

"Pat" > writes:

> Dominic T. wrote:
>
> > In a word: Terrible. Not in an "I brew *my* tea from loose tea
> > only" way, but in a seriously terrible tea way.
>
> Thanks, that's what I thought. It doesn't seem like the tea in the
> pod would have enough time to infuse to draw out the flavor.

That sounds like an argument against gongfu tea preparation.

Disclaimer: not a pod person, have never tried pod tea.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Lewis Perin wrote:
> That sounds like an argument against gongfu tea preparation.
>
> Disclaimer: not a pod person, have never tried pod tea.

I'm confused, help me out there? Gongfu is a standard brewing process
taking the proper steps, water temps., brewing methods, and time to
produce the tea... a pod brewing machine is basically a glorified
coffee maker and using a small pod that is restrictive and running
improper water temps through it, and for an improper length of time for
most tea... and it is not configurable for different tea's needs. They
are pretty different animals altogether.

- Dominic
Drinking: Cheap Jasmine Green.

"Dominic T." > writes:

> Lewis Perin wrote:
> > That sounds like an argument against gongfu tea preparation.
> >
> > Disclaimer: not a pod person, have never tried pod tea.
>
> I'm confused, help me out there? Gongfu is a standard brewing process
> taking the proper steps, water temps., brewing methods, and time to
> produce the tea... a pod brewing machine is basically a glorified
> coffee maker and using a small pod that is restrictive and running
> improper water temps through it, and for an improper length of time for
> most tea... and it is not configurable for different tea's needs. They
> are pretty different animals altogether.

Of course they're different, but I was responding to the assertion
that the pod machine was bad because it didn't allow enough steep time
to draw out the leaves' goodness. I plead guilty to provocation, but
still...

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

On Mon, 06 Feb 2006 20:43:15 -0800, Pat wrote:

> Some tea companies have begun manufacturing tea pods for making tea in
> Home Cafe coffee-brewing machines. The pods seem to be rather
> expensive, and I have my doubts as to how they could possibly make a
> better cup of tea than good quality tea leaves - except it might be a
> few minutes faster. I also have some concerns about using the same
> appliance for making coffee and tea. Wouldn't the coffee smell
> permeate the machine and taint the tea?
>
> It did occur to me, though, that tea pods might prove to be a good
> solution for restaurants, who seem incapable of preparing tea properly
> using conventional methods.
>
> Has anyone tried any tea made from pods, and if so, what did you think
> of it?


My "Mr. Coffee" only makes the hot water. I use separate pots for the
tea and coffee. If I see a package of pods, I would like to try it. My
machine is for 4-cups. MLB

Lewis Perin wrote:

>
> Of course they're different, but I was responding to the assertion
> that the pod machine was bad because it didn't allow enough steep time
> to draw out the leaves' goodness. I plead guilty to provocation, but
> still...
>
> /Lew

Well, gongfu doesn't come in pods, so clearly that is a non-issue. The
types of tea that are available in pods all require longer steeping
times than the pod machine allows for proper infusion.

mlbriggs wrote:
>>
>
> My "Mr. Coffee" only makes the hot water. I use separate pots for the
> tea and coffee. If I see a package of pods, I would like to try it. My
> machine is for 4-cups. MLB


Apparently the pods are recommended for use only in the Home Cafe
brewing machines and not a regular coffee maker. The pods are
expensive - about $6 for a package of 20, which I think is a lot for
the quality they are offering. I suspect that they are only glorified
round tea bags and I bet they could be prepared in a teapot with
boiling water from the kettle. But it's not worth it to me to find
where they are sold and pay the extra bucks to find out.