Mariage Freres’ Wedding Impérial tea is the Best Tea in the World. It is rich, velvety, chocolatey, and caramel-y. I drink black tea the English way - with milk and sugar - but those who have drunk this tea straight up also say it’s pretty awesome. It is not very astringent (i.e. tannic), like some (cheap) teas that make you feel like all the moisture is being sucked out of your mouth. High tannic content is also what makes wine taste dry. Dry wine – good. Dry tea – bad. You can find Wedding Impérial bagged or loose here and here.
The worst tea in the world is what I call convention tea: Lipton tea bags with the same sugar and powdered cream that is served with the coffee. If you’re lucky, you get the little pots of liquid creamer. If you’re unlucky, you get tea water that's been heated in the coffee maker.
