Enjoying a cup of tea

[Kt Templar]

the addition of milk to tea is one of those mysterious alchemical transmogrifications- if you sniff and taste a certain tea or blend without milk, then add milk and try again, a whole new world of flavour and bouquet opens before your very nose. Same goes for sugar- some of the flavours aren't realised without milk and sugar.

Yes, but only Indian teas (and only some of them) are designed for milk, if used I prefer semi -skimmed milk (2%?). Chinese/Japanese teas are not. It makes sense as many Oriental people are lactose intolerant and milk was for many years not part of the diet. I can't take the greasyness of full fat milk/homogenised milk or cream with tea, Yuccch!

On another note if you have any opportunity to sample Chinese Chiew Chow Cha, served from a small earthenware pot into tiny cups, please try it, that tea is served stunningly strong. It is the tea equivalent of espresso and wonderful. Just don't expect to sleep that night.

 

[BellyTank]

Baron and Templar-

Yes- I'm referring to milk in Indian teas- not the Chinese or Japanese green and fragrant teas.

Chai (masala tea)is a different thing- fresh ginger(or fennel or ajwain seed...) or a tea masala(dried, ground spice blend) is boiled with tea and water and milk and sugar are added and the chai is further simmered.
We drink this often- I have Indian in-laws and tea culture is something we have in common. Hot, spicy chai is nice now and again. I make my own tea masala too, with quite a lot of black pepper added- I like it a lot.

I enjoy 'Earl Grey' but prefer to make my own- with my own tea blend and my own choice of Bergamot oil- not too much mind and I don't let the oil actually touch the tea leaves in the fragrancing.

Drink on-

B
T

 

[BigDuke634]

I'm trying all sorts of tea when I can. Earl Grey ranks at the top of the list. I also have in my stash at the present time Chinese Green tea, Irish breakfast,pekoe, and I believe I have a small amount of Prince of Wales. My favorite cup however is a half quart military canteen cup.

 

[J.B.]

Speaking of teapots, that reminds me...

...there's a whole 'nuther world out there using one of the most famous tea "collectables" -- the YiXing purple clay teapots from China!

I'm strictly a coffee guy but I love digging around in L.A.'s Chinatown checking out teapots and mahjongg sets :arated:

There are a couple of nifty tea shops there, too. IIRC, Ten Ren is there with a store of exotic-sounding teas?!

 

[geo]

I'm for tea first and milk after, and I have a reason for this: if you add the milk to the tea, you can choose the proportion of milk you like, because you see the color of the tea changing, and you can adjust the quantity of milk as you pour. If, on the other hand, you pour the milk first and the tea after, you have a predetermined, fixed quantity of milk in the cup, and the only way to adjust the proportion of milk in the tea is to vary the quantity of tea that you pour. This method is less flexible, since you're limited on one hand by the quantity of milk already in the cup (if you want more, you'll have to add more to the tea after you're done pouring the tea, which is going back to the first method) and on the other hand by the size of the cup (if there's too much milk for your taste, you can only add as much tea as the size of the cup allows).

 

[WoeSis]

i am so glad that i found this thread! i am a tea drinker and an avid fan of good teas. So much so that i direct a local Ladies' Tea Guild in Long Beach, California.

Some of my personal favorite teas come from a local tea room, the Vintage Tea Leaf. They have a website, however, and do sell their teas online as well.

http://www.vintagetealeaf.com

Granted, the shop caters to more of the froo-froo Victorian flare, but their teas are wonderful. i'm partial to their Casablanca blend and their Irish Breakfast.

Lastly, i highly recommend to all tea drinkers to invest in a tea sock. Not that it is really much of an investment, they run around $10.00, but they allow the tea leaves ample room to unfurl thanks to the stretchy nature of the sock. Tea balls do not stretch, of course, resulting in leaves that are unable to fully open resulting in tea that is more bland and tasteless.

Dare i start the "milk in first" debate? Oh, why not. i'm a definite milk in first sort of gal. What was it, about 2 or 3 years ago that scientists in England proved that milk in first actually made for a better tasting cuppa? i realize that milk in first isn't terribly Emily Post of me, but i'm much more caught up in how my tea tastes and not so much what my guests think.

 

[Kt Templar]

...there's a whole 'nuther world out there using one of the most famous tea "collectables" -- the YiXing purple clay teapots from China!

Yup, those are the one's I was talking about.

 

[Kt Templar]

Dare i start the "milk in first" debate? Oh, why not. i'm a definite milk in first sort of gal. What was it, about 2 or 3 years ago that scientists in England proved that milk in first actually made for a better tasting cuppa? i realize that milk in first isn't terribly Emily Post of me, but i'm much more caught up in how my tea tastes and not so much what my guests think.

I agree, there is a theory that you don't scorch the milk if you add the tea to it rather than add the milk to the tea. I don't know how scientific that is. I believe the tea tastes different, better. If you leave it to go cold you don't get a skin on top, so the milk is definately reacting differently.

 

[Bebop]

A few years ago, I had to quit coffee, among other loves in my life, like garlic, tomatoes, chocolate, alcoholic beverages, because of stomach problems and discovered tea. Within a few months, I was hooked on green tea which I purchase in Japan Town here in San Francisco. I now drink at least 4 pots of tea a day and in the summer gallons of iced green tea. I am glad this thread came along because I have had questions about different teas that have now been answered. I can see how teas can quickly become a hobby of sorts.

 

[zeus36]

Now in my mid 40's and have yet to drink a cup of coffee... I can't even stand the smell of the stuff. Needless to say, I've been a tea drinker and usually have two cups a day, morning and evening. During my navy days, in the early 80s' we were deploying to New Zealand and the airline stewardess offered cream with my cup of English breakfast. I was hooked! Cream and sugar in my tea became the norm until I started Adkins and switched from sugar to Splenda.

I've been sticking with Tetley's British Blend as it tastes just fine and is readily available. It makes a nice black, strong cup ( I use an espresso machine to make my one cup of tea) A female friend of mine is really into loose and expensive teas and has had me try a few, but I'll stick with the standard stuff.

About two years ago, I was out of cream and could only find my roomate's Carnation Hazelnut creamer. Wow, you should try that stuff in a cup of tea! I'm addicted.

 

[WoeSis]

About two years ago, I was out of cream and could only find my roomate's Carnation Hazelnut creamer. Wow, you should try that stuff in a cup of tea! I'm addicted.

i find that creamer is just too heavy for tea, it covers up the taste. Even with a good strong tea. However, my fella is fan of Irish Breakfast with some Baileys in it.

i like a good strong tea, but i stickler for brewing for just the right amount of time. Before i became well versed in tea, i thought that if you wanted a stronger tea, you just brewed it longer! i've since learned that if i want a stronger tea, i need to simply add more leaves - not more time. Overbrewing is responsible for an astringent taste. Seriously, though, i'm sure that i could bore the pants off of you folks with my tea talk. i even took a course to be a certified tea expert! Silly? Perhaps, but i find it helps for my tea guild work. But i digress.

 

[Elvgren_girl]

Tea.... *sigh* after a long hiaitus I've come back.

I travel a lot for work and most of my teas are picked up along the way. Most of the time I have tea using my robin's egg blue Hall teapot which is far from perfect condition, and a teacup I bought on a trip - it has a scalloped edge to the cup and just feels good when you take a sip.

My favorite teas - meaning I have to replace them when they're out!

- Twinings Darjeeling
- Silbner Drache (silver dragon) from Tee HandelsKontor (http://www.thk-bremen.de/index1.html) ...and any of their Darjeelings are great\
- A good Earl or Lady Grey....which I love to smell for a second or two before I drink
- Assam. Nothing, in my humble opinion, beats a strong cup of Assam with a tad of milk or heavy cream. It's roasty and toasty and can hold it's own whether you've got a cold, stormy rainy weather, anything. Assam doesn't care and it gets the job done

The other thing I love with tea is "Kandis" or crystallized sugar. They sell these in germany in light or dark rum or other fruit juices.

 

[macawber]

The tea most likely to be served in 'Westernised' hotels in India, Pakistan and Kashmir (oh, to go back to Shrinagar!) is Liptons.

Whilst I stayed in a 'westernized' hotel in Bengal India, the tea was definitely not Liptons. The closest tea I have had that approached the taste of Windamere tea was Wiiliamson and Magors Assam tea. Recently I tried Yorkshire tea it was very nice.

Tea calls to mind associations of peace and tranquillity, in Australia when you go to the bush (forest) you have billy tea, a tea something like Liptons. Water is boiled in a pail called a Billy, the tea is added and left to steep for a few minutes or more, then you swing the Billy in a circular fashion to make the leaves go to the bottom of the Billy. Usually this is sipped black with or without sugar. Bushmen (outdoors men) loggers, stockmen, or anyone who goes to bushland usually drinks Billy tea and enjoys it more.

 

[John in Covina]

Tea

Ceylon, Orange Pekoe, Irish Breakfast oh GUNPOWDER, that's good when you can find it.

Cost Plus had some great teas, and we visit some Japanese lady that sells tea in Clairmont.

I also like Iced Tea a lot.

Anyone remember what tea-shades were? Hint, Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the drug convention chapter.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Belly ...

... Tank

BaronKurtz-
the addition of milk to tea is one of those mysterious alchemical transmogrifications- if you sniff and taste a certain tea or blend without milk, then add milk and try again, a whole new world of flavour and bouquet opens before your very nose. Same goes for sugar- some of the flavours aren't realised without milk and sugar.

B
T

Very fine advice. I've been testing various milk and sugar combos in a particularly bitter tea for the past week. I've finally got it to a lovely brew. My anti-sugar crusade is over. A dribble of milk and 3/4 teaspoon of sugar - Not too sweet and takes away all the bitterness ...

'nuva question: What is the word on using Demerara instead of white sugar? Blasphemy?

bk

 

[BellyTank]

Oh Sugar!

Are you on the not-so-refined foods lark..?

Demarera and brown will add that 'molasses' flavour- which will detract from the Tea flavour. Innit.

I usually add milk but don't have any in the hoose- so am frinking(yes frinking) my Darj without- which is nice...

I add only enough milk so's to not lose the 'red' tinge of the brew- if it has one... try a stronger brew with a little more milk- now you're talking!

You're right- there's a balance between refining the flavour and losing it- with milk and sugar(M&S).

The words 'Grandmother' and 'suck eggs' are tolling somewhere in the distance...

Darjeeling and Assam are two nicely different teas to keep about the place.
Like a Highland and an Islay, respectively...

Chin chin!

B
T

 

[mysterygal]

*sighs* tea's the best! even though I have to have my morning cup of coffee, for the rest of the day I prefer tea. My favorites for now is chai tea and mint. I love having my chai after dinner (it's starting to be a little ritual now) and having my mint throughout the day. There's something about it that's comforting. In a year me and the Mr. is going to England with another couple, so just for kicks I want to do an actual English tea while I"m there

 

[Serina]

English Breakfast and Earl Grey are my favourites, usually in my favourite mug and with a couple of biccies too.
I also like herbal tea's but not fruit, far to sweet for my liking.
I can't start the day without a cuppa.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Are you on the not-so-refined foods lark..?B
T

Nah. Just remember the demarara we had at home when i was younger. I used to just spoon it into my mouth. Ahhh, British teeth!

Wondered if it was any use in tea. Apparently not. Hard to find stateside.

bk

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Tea

Living in Seattle, coffee of course is a big thing, but after my two cups or so of coffee each morning, I break out the tea. During the warmer months, it's iced tea during the day but in all but the hottest months, we're making a pot or two of tea in later in the day and/or evening. One chain that opened an interesting shop near us (in Bellevue Square) is Teavana. They're originally from Atlanta, of all places. Their website (http://www.teavana.com) isn't the most user friendly but their teas are good and they've got some great Chinese cast iron & Japanese pottery tea pots.

For readily available tea, I'm finding Stash has a pretty good line of product. I've become pretty addicted to their black tea with peach (great with a little milk & sugar) but I also like Republic of Tea's Ginger-Peach and their Raspberry-Quince is also great. And when you're shopping and you look at the size of the container of Republic of Tea for about $7 sitting next to a box that's about the same of Stash for about $3.50, compute the per-cup cost. Republic of Tea's little canister doesn't have individually-wrapped bags, so you get a lot more in what appears to be the same space. In fact, on a per-cup basis, the two are about the same.