I'm an herbal tea drinker as I avoid caffeine. But I drink mine without milk or sugar.

There's only one kind of tea that I really like- it's Good Earth and it's sweet and spicy. I only drink it in the winter. I like it with a little honey, and that's it.

We drink tea! Not eight cups a day, though. Tea is relaxing for me, so I primarily drink it in the evening. I love Yogi tea.

Count me into the tea club! I grew up in a house of copious tea drinkers, and now I live with an even more copious tea drinker. First thing in the morning, throughout the day, and after dinner, too.

Anyway, it's milk and no sugar for me, too. I took sugar when I was younger but weaned myself off it in university. Oh, and it must be steeped for at least 4-5 minutes, I hate weak tea. It's just coloured water- blech!

Another tea drinker here - used to take milk or cream in my tea, but no longer. This works well for things like Earl Grey, but means a slightly weaker brew for some of the stronger teas, such as Irish Breakfast or Tazo's "Awake" (one of my all time faves).

I'm also a tea lover .. with no sugar. I prefer herbal teas and lemon tea (one of the portuguese favorites).

Here there are not many tea lovers, but those who drink use sugar or honey (no one drinks with milk).

It depends on the tea. I like all kinds of tea, except those specifically formulated to be medicinal.

Herbal and flavored teas, I like to drink straight, with no milk. Depending on the tea, I may add honey to it.

Black (non-iced) teas, such as Tazo's Awake, Earl Grey, or English and Irish breakfast teas I drink with milk, and may add a little bit of sugar (if my husband makes it for us, he always adds a tiny bit of sugar and LOTS of milk). Iced tea I drink with no sugar or milk.

Japanese green and Jasmine teas (I love Jasmine tea) I drink with no milk or sugar or honey. They are usually so delicately flavored that adding anything kind of overpowers the tea and it just tastes like I'm drinking milk.

Another tea drinker here! I drink black tea with milk and just a pinch of sugar. My favorite time for a cuppa is around 4pm. I especially enjoy sitting down with a good book and a relaxing cup of tea.

High five, Ele!

I take my tea VERY seriously! Life without tea is grim. Greg and I are total teapots.

I do not drink coffee. Only tea and only black tea (earl grey, English breakfast, Irish breakfast). I take it very strong with a spot of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. The milk has to be fat free – cannot stand the taste of creamy tea. I also have to sip my tea from the right cup. The lip of the cup has to be delicate and small. I have an apoplexy when tea is served in a huge mug with a big fat lip. (But the Starbucks cup is fine). That being said, about 4-8 small cups of tea day.

Nothing herbal for me unless I’m eating Asian food.

I'm with you on the cup, Angie! I can't stand drinking tea out of a mug, either. I also can't stand cream in my tea. It's usually 1% milk for me!

I'm the same way about cups - too funny. Can't stand a chunky coffee mug for tea.

me me me!
We are tea drinkers through and through. I don't drink coffee so I get my caffeine fix with tea. I drink all sorts of black teas (mostly earl gray but also English and Irish breakfast teas) and Turkish tea (a mildly flavored black tea with a particular method of preparation in a special pot). I like my tea black, no milk, no sugar, no honey, no lemon, no nothing! I drink at least 4 cups a day.

I also enjoy herbal infusions, especially in the winter. My favorites are mint, rosehip, sage. I don't add anything to these either, except when I am feeling under the weather. Then honey and lemon are in order.

Finally, I really enjoy a good Chai tea in the winter. A little bit of honey and milk added to a spicy black tea does the trick for me.

Like Angie, I am particular about the cup as well. I can't stand mugs with fat lips. Also, we have special, delicate glasses for Turkish tea.

I make myself a big pot of tea every morning and finish it by 10 am. I will have another cup around noon. I LOVE my tea! I drink it black, no sugar. I used to drink with fat-free milk (ugh on the fatty texture) but lactose intolerance forced me to wean off it. I go through phases of tea drinking...I like some variety. Currently drinking Red Rose tea (national tea of Canada!) but when I'm feeling decadent, I will dip into my secret stash of Murchie's tea (smuggled across the border from Canada). I like my tea dark and strong. I make it the "proper" British way, using the specifications set forth by my grandmother when I was a child. Occasionally, I will do it the "wrong" way and grin when I imagine my grandma's horrified reaction (picture Angie seeing someone walking down the street in cropped capri pants...that is my grandmother and her tea recipe!)

I do happen to use a big, chunky mug because I like BIG and the heavier cups keep my tea HOT for longer.

I'm going to go make myself another cuppa....

I am a very big tea lover! I do not drink coffee except very rarely. And 99% of the time I drink black tea, with milk (fat free) and no sugar (waving to anne, Ele, Angie and Debora). I dislike weak, watery tea. We almost exclusively drink this tea adding cardamom, ginger, or sometimes a spot of rooibos tea for added flavor.Once in a while we will want Earl Gray or Rooibos by itself (without milk). Tea bags are only for when we're traveling or at work. I drink atleast 3 cups of at work. DH and I have a ritual of brewing fresh tea after I get home from work and lounging in the patio for a bit. Amongst Indians, I am an oddball of sorts, not having sugar with my tea.

Drinking tea also holds special memories for me. Back when I was home, my mother would brew fresh tea as soon as she would get home from work and I would just have come home from college. And we would talk. I really miss that and am grateful DH has grown to love tea as much as his coffee.

Ok, I need to make myself a cup of tea now :-D

When I lived in San Diego, my neighbor two doors down, who is from India, would make us afternoon chai. Heaven in a cup! She would make mine special with very little sugar since her traditional Indian recipe had way too much sweetness for my taste. But it was a nice way to unwind in the afternoon before we all had to race around at dinnertime. Another great tea memory!

I am a tea fiend and easily drink 8 cups a day. I never put anything in my tea. I usually drink 3 types of tea during the day - keemun (most of the day), occasionally light oolong (puchong) and at night herbal - mix of mint, eucalyptes, etc. Keemun is a recent change, I used to drink Ceylon for a long time.
I also don't use tea bags, unless I have to. The only bagged kind I like is Afternoon Tea by Whittard, but I can't get it here any more. Do any UK people know if they are still around?

I love tea but I'm picky about what kind. I love peppermint tea when I don't want caffeine with no sugar or milk. For caffeinated, I like Jasmine, Darjeeling, or many black teas. For some of the black teas, I like them with milk and sugar. I also love Indian style tea - where you brew 50% water, 50% milk with tea and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, etc. OK, I think I need to stop typing and go make myself a cuppa :-)

I drink herbal tea (peppermint, chamomile or mixed herbs), with no milk or sugar. And I always use my moomin mug :)

I'm a huge earl grey fanatic and I drink a lot of it. How I like it depends on my mood and the time of day. I like it black, with cream, with cream and sugar, with lemon, with lemon and honey, with lemon and sugar. Either of those variations make me a happy girl. Lately I've been enjoying the lemon and sugar variation or just black the most.

Another tea lover...all kinds and hot or iced. I usually take it without milk and never with sweetner. I like some teas like kiwi pear and ginger peach most in the summer and chai and the smokey ones best in cold weather. An Assam tea is my favorite especially when made quite strong.

Another tea lover- i find i'm drinking more the older i get. I have to have it in a china mug (stays hot longer) fairly weak (the colour of a rich tea biscuit) with milk and 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar x

Always tea, never coffee. If it's "non-flavoured" black tea, I put some lemon in it (never milk or cream), no sugar. I also love many of the Celestial Seasonings flavoured teas (they have some punch to them - unlike many other brands - but don't taste too artificial). I know green tea is very healthy, but I don't like it "straight" (too bitter), do love it with mint etc.

And I'm with Louise, I take my tea very weak;-)

I'm drinking tea after going out for tea :)

I'm a real snob about tea. I can only tolerate Twinings when it comes to tea bags, which I use a lot for sheer convenience, but I always favor loose tea and keep it around for times when I'm not in a hurry. Today I had some incredible floral Darjeeling tea, and now I am having Assam. My parents bring several boxes of tea back whenever they go to India because frankly, American tea is awful. They tend to weaken it for a coffee-drinking palate. Indian Twinings Earl Grey has a very different flavor from American Twinings Earl Grey. When I drink the American Earl Grey, I feel ilke I'm drinking plain bergamot essence in hot water. When I drink the Indian version, I actually taste the tea first and the bergamot second.

I drink mostly black tea with milk and sugar, but I also like green and white teas with lemon and/or honey or sugar. Agave nectar is also nice but hard to find.

I never used to drink herbal tea, which is not really "tea" anyway (I told you I'm a snob). But I have recently started to enjoy rooibos tea.

Like Angie, I cannot STAND tea served in a mug. I have a dainty tea set from India and larger, but still thin, cups when I want a bit more (the beauty of loose tea is that you can make a huge cup and it will still remain strong since you can control the amount of tea leaves).

I love tea but I find if I drink several cups in a day my skin breaks out in a rash. I like regular instant tea, so I guess I am not a tea snob. I would probably be a regular tea drinker if it were't for the rash issue. I actually like tea more than I like coffee.
My husband and I drink 'Tension Tamer' in the evenings in the winter.

Thanks everyone - all very interesting. Looks like I drink more cups than almost anyone! (I go for the big mugs!)

Like a few of you, I find it hard to take full fat milk in my tea. I have mine quite milky.

Funny, to my Australian eyes to see people say they have "black tea with milk". I know what you are talking about, (ie not green or herbal tea), but in Oz, in everyday language, "black tea" means "no milk"! And conversely - I have "white tea".

My favourite brand is Dilmah, which is from Sri Lanka. Recently we have been exploring some fair trade ones though. I also brew it for a few minutes.

I love the spicy, sweet indian tea some of you mentioned but hardly ever drink it. The "chai latte" which is I guess inspired by that I like in most of its manifestations. I often drink that in a cafe, or have a hot chocolate, as it seems a bit mundane to order tea when I drink so much at home. I dislike, and rarely drink coffee.

Reading this thread has made me really miss drinking tea (I can't have any caffeine)! I'll do an occasional herbal or decaf tea, but it's not the same as the green and white Asian teas I typically drink. No cream or sugar; growing up in a Chinese household, the idea of putting cream or sugar in tea was very very foreign and odd to me.

Earl Grey, black with a slice of lemon! I do drink coffee with milk. I also find the cup important and have a niggle whenever the cup is not properly balanced.

Anne, I love this thread topic. :)

I usually start my day with a pot of tea (about 4-5 cups, plain without milk or sugar.) I tend to like flavored black teas, and my two favorites (I alternate about every other day) are Jackfruit and Vanilla Honeybush.

On another note, one of my favorite tea experiences ever was visiting the tea house in Portland's Classical Chinese Garden. Have any of you ever been there? The tea selection is wonderful and there are lots of tasty traditional Chinese snacks to go along with your tea.

Just HAD to resurface for this one (otherwise, moving house, renovations, work, new schools for kids - life is too crazy lately to do anything else besides the most basic things) ...

Only black tea, only loose leaf. I prefer Assam, though English breakfast is good too. Darjeeling is usually too delicate - I like my tea strong-flavored. I make my tea in a french press, like many people make coffee. I take my tea with a little bit of milk (lactose-free, because I am lactose-intolerant), and a dash of sugar or Splenda.

I really don't like tea bags and use them only at work, where I cannot prepare myself a good fresh loose leaf tea.

I also don't drink herbal teas at all, except for green tea, which I drink with Asian food.

Yo wouldn't believe how complicated it is to get good quality strong black loose leaf tea in Israel :( I brought a huge stash from London, but it is long gone ... I order mine on the Internet, from one of the fancy internet coffee shops we have here. Last time I ordered, they also had an interesting tea called "Christmas tea", which had spices added to a strong black tea. Very nice.