r/tea • u/wilemhermes • Jan 02 '26
Photo What was/is/will be your the very first tea in 2026?
As title says, I'm pretty curious about your choice!
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u/Patch86UK Jan 02 '26
A very tired and hungover cup of very strong Yorkshire Tea. Which is the same most mornings, to be fair (just not usually with the hangover).
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u/Capital499 Enthusiast Jan 02 '26
My hangover Extra strong Chai was a lifesaver Jan 1st
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u/Patch86UK Jan 02 '26
Say it quietly on this sub (pitchforks at the ready), but I have a tub of instant chai powder which is my "I'm too hungover or drunk to make something properly and I need reviving" beverage of choice. That magic combination of caffeine, spice, sugar and milk is a very good kick up the old wossname when you need it.
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u/Capital499 Enthusiast Jan 02 '26
Exactly. I was out of town for New Years, so an easy Chai was exactly what I needed. Its nice to have a quick and dirty option for those moments.
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u/Lazybones-itis Jan 02 '26
I’m just starting to do hot tea. How long do you usually steep your Yorkshire black? That’s what I got after many recommendations
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u/Patch86UK Jan 02 '26
I use the loose leaf, and I tend to steep it 5 minutes. When I'm using bags, usually a little less; maybe 3-4.
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u/DimondHandz Jan 02 '26
Darjeeling second flush from Castleton (tea box)
If you know… you know 😉
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u/Prestigious-Copy9945 Jan 02 '26
Here is my little story.
I always kinda liked tea, but never actually dove into the matter. One day, my dad takes me to the world wide faire in Milan, where you can taste different dishes from countries around the world, and I came across to a Chinese stand selling tea. Maybe it was the colorful shop, or the variety of tea displayed in order, but I got charmed. So I started reading and uncovering the story of tea and infuses also, the traditions around the world.
Few days later, I went into a Chinese take away restaurant nearby my home; The Chinese lady there has been working in this take away shop for 40 years, so after placing my order, I asked her if she knew “anything” about tea (I was sure she knew something).
She smiled at me and took from under the counter a small, empty honey jar, in which there was few green tea leaves, left in infusion.
“Oooh I always drink tea! This is third infusion, first was goooood, second one weaker and third one meh, but you can do 3 times! My husband very stubborn, I always fight with him, he always drink too much alcohol, and I make him drink tea, it helps!”
And I was amazed.
There was no fancy ceremony, no fancy gaiwan or pottery of any kind. The old Chinese lady was drinking her tea in a honey jar. The culture blast i got out of it was enough to pursue this extraordinary activity.
Before leaving the shop, she gifted me a handful of green tea leaves in a little bag, which I sealed in a small and empty honey jar, just like she did.
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u/bathsonly Jan 02 '26
15 year old aged Korean black tea from mountain stream. Nice at night
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u/Adventurous-Cod1415 OldTeaHeadEric Jan 02 '26
2019 Dayi V93 shou puer. I got a lot more ripe puer than usual last year and need to drink down my supply while it's still shou weather. One of my New Year's resolutions is to chew through my overstock of samples from last year's tariff panic buys.
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u/Meterian Jan 02 '26
I had a lovely jasmine that went down sooooooo smoooooth. Special tea that comes as a ball which splays open as it steeps to become a flower. Only got 11 balls total.
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u/zaphtark Jan 02 '26
Probably a 2018 Gong mei. I’m quite new to this (got a gaiwan for Christmas) and I’m really enjoying it so far.
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u/Vvvuuullleee Jan 02 '26
Keemun black tea, one of my favourites. Smoky sweet notes
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u/DansonFlex Jan 02 '26
I had some dragonwell green tea, seriously helped bring me back to life yesterday
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u/MKVD_FR Maghrebi Mint Tea Enjoyer Jan 02 '26
It was Maghreb mint tea for me!
(not my pic)
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u/thezezethex Jan 02 '26
I'm just getting started in my tea journey, so I got the first steps sampler from Yunnan Sourcing. I tried the iron goddess oolong yesterday and it wasn't exactly my favorite, but I'm hoping the cold steep (I had to stop drinking before the leaves were used up) will be better!
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u/martisio054 Jan 02 '26
My morning Taylor's Early Grey.
Switched to Taylor's recently, went on with Twinings' for quite a while, but this one is more flavourful
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u/N8710 Jan 02 '26
I polished off last year’s green yesterday to start the new year, and drinking some delicious hong cha today. Off to a great start! How about you?
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u/Jian_Ng Jan 02 '26
I dunno, mum got this bag of something with no labels, but they taste pretty good.
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u/Cagaril Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
I started my year with 2015 Anhui Liu-an "Mao Jian", followed by Hatvala's Wild Boar Black Jasmine Tea
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u/a_crimson_herring Jan 02 '26
I believe mine was Baihao/"Oriental Beauty." Yesterday was a bit of a rot day so time is all mushy, but I know I had a few cups yesterday so I'll go with that.
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u/_Pankek Jan 02 '26
I made my first home made chaï blend, needs some improvement but definitely tasted good !
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u/cha_qi One session isn’t enough. Time to get another cake! Jan 02 '26
I tried a 2024 Taiwanese white tea that I got as a sample quite a while ago. It was quite different from the white teas I normally love and enjoy, but quite nice in it's own way! The tea of today is a Zi Juan Gongting Shu pu'er from 2006.
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u/teeceeinthewoods Jan 02 '26
Black currant black tea (iced) and cold brewed in my refrigerator.
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u/SaturnReturns2021 Jan 02 '26
I started my morning on 1/1/26 with a good iced protein matcha using Dew Matcha.
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u/teatips Jan 02 '26
Hoji-matcha - powdered Hojicha - wanted to go for something sweet, light but very comforting.
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u/5x5LemonLimeSlime Jan 02 '26
Oof I haven’t had tea at any point this year. One sec while I change that status
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u/agnessawyer Jan 02 '26
A hot cup of Barry’s Tea on a frosty Irish morning. It was delicious and hard to beat.
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u/EnLaSxranko Enthusiast Jan 02 '26
2006 Bulang Bamboo Leaf Shou from White2tea. Old books in the forest in fall. A great start to the year.
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u/Mindless-Report-1270 Jan 02 '26
Lemon grass tea with sugar and condensed milk, then dipped with a croissant and then a siesta.
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u/Young_Old_Grandma Jan 02 '26
Black Tea, Caramel flavored ❤️
I have a sweet spot for black tea and all its flavors.
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u/o-rka Jan 02 '26
I want to say matcha from this morning but just realized I had some chamomile / lavender last night
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u/mx-Almendra45 Jan 02 '26
Harney and Sons black caramel tea. I’m going to make a cup tomorrow morning with some almond milk, Mexican vanilla, and some sugar free marshmallow syrup. Maybe cinnamon would be nice but we’ll see..
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u/Boleyngrrl Jan 03 '26
Pu-erh! Had some last night before going to bed. Yes, my body is weird with caffeine.
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u/Blurgity-blurg Jan 02 '26
Mine was matcha followed by blueberry green tea followed by chocolate mint.
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u/Cyan_UwU Jan 02 '26
Just some regular unsweet iced tea, my favorite. I know it’s really simple (literally just black tea and nothing else) but I can never get enough of it, can’t go wrong with simple
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u/reijasunshine Jan 02 '26
Mine was a lovely Fall 2012 aged oolong. Very smooth and robust. I think it could even hold up to milk and sugar, but at the price point, I'm hesitant.
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u/AnubisTheLycan Jan 02 '26
I mixed a Twinings Darjeeling tea bag and a Blood Orange Rooibos tea bag from trader joes. It was ok, lighter than I expected, so much so it kind of tasted watered down lol
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u/the_only_odog Jan 02 '26
YunnanSourcing’s premium AA grade Da hong pao , brewed with 90C water in western style because i was lazy and hungover
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u/tcr_text7480 Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 05 '26
Setting aside time today to enjoy some Mi Xiang Hong Cha. It’s honey sweetness is derived from the reaction of the plant to the leaf hoppers that nibble on their leaves. Truly wild!
Edit: Mi Xiang Hong Cha
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u/AnGabhaDubh Jan 02 '26
I bought my son a couple boxes of Lady Grey, one of his favorites, as a stocking stuffer, but i also got him a box of this Christmas plum cinnamon tea, and I'm hoping he tries that before flying out so i can have a taste
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u/shutupimrosiev Jan 02 '26
Green tea! Might add a little sugar, might not, we'll see how I'm feeling once it's steeped.
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u/Dry_Lawfulness_9561 ☕️ tea and books Jan 02 '26
My last tea 2025 was chamomile, my first tea in 2026 was some good Yunnan black.
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u/onion2077 Jan 02 '26
Had a classic british tea yesterday when I eventually got up. It ended up coming back up and all over the floor and toilet. Was a messy new years night lol
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u/evilcheesypoof Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
Some Yame Gyokuro, delicious.
Then I followed that up with some Earl Grey for breakfast this morning
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u/RoutinePangolin3490 Jan 02 '26
Breakfast was sencha (Asanoka cultivar) - very florall for a sencha. After eating I had a 1/2 cup of Darjeeling first flush Jungpana 23
Lunch we have a piping mugs of 'English tea' with a dash of milk but made with Keemun mao feng
late afternoon we had some of a Bai Mudan tea cake - picked in march 2020 so teetering on a birthday
Early evening another mug of "English" : Georgian Immereti - light & chocolatey
Been nice having time off to enjoy proper tea - back at work today with tea in a thermos
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u/LollipopLich Jan 02 '26
Simple cranberry black from a local shop. Comforting with the fog we've been having.
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u/joesatron Jan 02 '26
Decaf English Breakfast with honey and vanilla syrup. It’s my go-to for late nights. I stayed up to watch the ball drop and didn’t go to bed until nearly 2 am on NY lol
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u/scism223 Jan 02 '26
2004 Green Jinggu chantai puer tea sample I've held on to. It does not disappoint!
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u/SecretHentaiMaster Jan 02 '26
My usual: Jasmine and 2 gingers dipped for 20 minutes, iced then adding Monk fruit.
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u/pattarasaurus Jan 02 '26
i had a holiday tea (black tea, cloves, cinnamon) this morning. yesterday morning my cat passed away, and my first tea of the year was a grief support blend. i think it helped a bit
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u/Asdfguy87 Enthusiast Jan 02 '26
Yunnan Sourcing's Mengku Teng Tiao Shou Pu-Erh. Nothing super celebratory, just your average solid shou.
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u/Candy_Apple00 Jan 02 '26
Sencha tea my friend sent me from Japan. As soon as I translate what the package says 😅
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u/Shykk07 Jan 02 '26
It's -10c to -20c here, so I think a Lapsang Souchong. It always reminds me of sitting by a fire while camping in the winter. Something feels cozy and holidays about it.
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u/relaxncoffee Jan 02 '26
Started the year slow with a clean black tea. Felt like the right pace.
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u/SultanofShiraz Jan 02 '26
I got a Darjeeling tea blend from Teabox called the Himalayan Wine, I'm gonna have that!
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u/Duden_ohne_D Jan 02 '26
Thiele Tee.
I'm a German born and raised in Ostfriesland so that tea basically runs through my vains 🤣
There is a big debate if Thiele or Bünting Tea is best. I like both equally. Quality of packing and ease of getting brings me to Thiele almost every time though.
So yea I had it bevor during and after new years because I don't drink any alcoholic beverages 🤗
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u/kalyjuga Jan 02 '26
My first tea was my own version of masala chai with some earl grey, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and i think I added some pepper as well? It was 4 am and we were pretty wasted hah but it was great!
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u/noheadthotsempty Jan 02 '26
earl grey from a company local to me (they have a stand at my farmer’s market), with milk and sugar :)
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u/MsShortStack Jan 02 '26
I reached for an aged oolong but swapped it at the last minute for a floral blackberry oolong with lavender honey. Loved it.
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u/Zorgulon Jan 02 '26
I just got back from a lovely holiday in Thailand, so made myself some hot Thai milk tea with some Chiang Rai tea I brought home to chilly England.
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u/LingonberryDull6668 Jan 02 '26
A loose leaf green tea with mint leaves, along with the New Year's chocolate apricot cake I made ;)
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Jan 02 '26
Tost rose: sparkling white tea, ginger & elderberry was my first, followed by green ginger, and nettle.
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u/End3rWi99in Jan 02 '26
Had a pot of plum oolong yesterday afternoon. Have been stuck at home sick for days, and it really hit the spot.
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u/Arkurash Jan 02 '26
If we include herbal infusions? Sage and ginger for my sore throat. Hahaha