BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cluin
Date: 19 Jan 03 - 12:08 PM

I agree. Earl Grey is to perfumey for me. But I drink it because other folks I drink tea with like it.

I feel the same thing about Crown Royal rye, too. Overpriced perfume.

Subject: Lyr Add: EARL GREY (Enda Kenny)
From: JennyO
Date: 19 Jan 03 - 02:04 AM

Here are all the words of Enda Kenny's song about Earl Grey tea, from his album "Baker's Dozen"

EARL GREY
(can't stand the stuff - I like to steer clear of grey areas)

Is it perfume? Is it tea?
Whatever it is, it does nothing for me
Should I drink it? Or dab it on?
Can I swap it for a coffee or has all the water gone.

It is hot, it is wet,
It is eau de toilette
Is it from the House of Lipton or Chanel?
I only want a cup of tea, not this stuff you've given me,
If you think I'm going to drink it go to.....

Help me
Someone call a doctor or a nurse,
Call an ambulance I'm poisoned,
And I think it's getting worse.
I only wanted a cup of tea
But I fear that my last mouthful will be the death of me

It is hot, it is wet,
It is eau de toilette
To my mind it is more toilette than eau.
If you want to spoil your day
Add the oil of Earl Grey,
I'm reliably informed it's bergamot.

What a mouthful!
Is it perfume? Is it wee?
Whatever it's supposed to be it doesn't taste like tea.
Should I drink it, or dab it on?
Can I swap it for a coffee or has all the water gone.

It is hot, it is wet,
It is eau de toilette
Is it Twinings? is it Tetley? let me see.
Go ahead and make my day
But please don't make me drink Earl Grey.
All I want is a proper cup of tea.

Enda Kenny (1995)

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: JennyO
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 04:51 AM

"Drawing" must be an Aussie thing, aussiebloke. You are the only person in this thread, apart from myself (from Sydney), who calls it that.

Hope you don't like Earl Grey! Have you heard the Enda Kenny song about it?

Think I'll go and have myself a cuppa!

Cheers, Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: aussiebloke
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 04:43 AM

We (in my family of origin) use the word "draw" or "drawing" for the time between pouring the boiling water into the tea-pot, and pouring the tea into cup - if we left it too long and the tea became too strong, my mother would state: "Draw? It has had time to paint a Picasso!

Cheers all

aussiebloke

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 09:25 AM

Gnu--An addictive combination I discovered by accident: English Breakfast tea and those rich little Cadbury semi-sweet chocolate Easter eggs. To die for!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: gnu
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 07:10 AM

Yup... and to take a draw (draw a breath) from a cigarette made from cannabis hemp is (almost "was" here in Canada) somewhat illegal.

Bert... the tea police shall be by shortly to confiscate your sugar. If you apologize profusely, you may get a light sentence for defiling tea with sugar. Although a misdemeanour, it is still a crime. Shameful. If you must, consume your sugar separately in the form of cookies, cakes or whatever. I find cheese compliments a strong cup of orange pekoe as well as any. Anyone have any "out of the way" suggestions for accompanyment ?

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cluin
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 12:25 AM

"Tea" was supposedly another name for marijuana, just like "Mary Jane". It said so in all the brochures.

But like George Carlin pointed out:

Nobody ever SAID it!"

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: JennyO
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 12:21 AM

Sorry, gnu, I don't know what you mean. You said if I said "tea" and "draw" in the same sentence in your part of the world I might be subject to search and seizure. Why?

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: The Walrus
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 08:08 PM

One quick note for #1 Peasant,

Yes, tea is a diuretic - so either don't drink too much, go before you leave he house or just don't get caught.

Regards

Walrus

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: CarolC
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 11:24 AM

Graham, one of our British friends, has just returned from a visit home for the holidays. He brought us some PG Tips tea, which he says is his favorite.

Here's our verdict. The Lifeboat tea is more like what JtS is used to back home in Newfoundland. We both find it to be much heartier and more earthy and robust. I think it makes a good morning (wake up) tea. The PG Tips has a more delicate, flowery fragrance and flavor, and I think it would make a lovely afternoon or evening tea. I like the Lifeboat tea with whole wheat biscuits (I think scones would be good with it, too), but I think the PG Tips would be great with all kinds of confections, cakes, or pastries.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 02:36 AM

As I am not one of those blessed with hard water, the best I can recommend is what we were taught about cleaning crusted pipes in water treatment systems: Boil the kettle with vinegar until the encrustation comes off, rinse, boil a potful of water, boil another potful of water and enjoy your tea from a pot that is now large enough to give you a couple of cups more than before. Good luck.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Bert
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 12:55 AM

Oh, and you go to an Asian or Indian store to buy the best tea.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Bert
Date: 13 Jan 03 - 12:46 AM

Oh dear, CarolC! that's not the way to do it at all.

You need a stainless steel teapot.
Pour some boiling water into the teapot to warm it up, then pour the water out.
Use four teabags or, better still, four teaspoons of loose tea (Darjeeling of course) for a regular size teapot.
Fill to the top with freshly boiling water and stir a few times.
Cover and let sit for a few minutes.
You put the fresh milk into the cup FIRST and then add the tea.
Add sugar to taste.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cluin
Date: 12 Jan 03 - 05:21 PM

Read both of `em, EBarnacle. I agree. Excellent books; real page-turners.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jan 03 - 12:43 PM

Sounds like you get a serious buzz from your tea, Donuel! Do you have to wipe the mud from the cow pasture off your boots before heading to the espresso machine to make this stuff?

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Jan 03 - 11:23 AM

Anyone use an expresso machine for tea?

A little constant comment and your favourite mycological spice and you have a dreamy tea.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 12 Jan 03 - 10:57 AM

Both Sweetouchnee and Red Rose are available from Stop and Shop and A&P in the New York Area.

I still use the cannisters (one of them still has loose Sweetouchnee in it) and wouldn't consider selling them.

Many of the unusual teas are available on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, that hub of Middle Eastern commerce.

Top quality Oolong can be gotten from Ten Ren Tea Company of New York and Los Angeles (213-626-8844) unless the company has changed the number.

Has anyone read "Tea with the Black Dragon" and "Twisting the Rope" by R.A.MacAvoy. Both books relate peripherally to oolong and are folk music related. Recommend them both.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cluin
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 09:56 PM

Yeah, you could have started posting on the Internet.   ;)

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 09:54 PM

Often I hear that folks dont drink tea because it make them pee...
I find this hard to believe. I tell them that with proper sweets....scones and breads etc....you wont pee hardly at all and with all the raisins and fruit that go into scones and cakes and jams and the like your poops will be as regular as clockwork....

But stil you get this paranoia with peeing...the legal system makes it hard dont you know....I got a ticket for peeing in public...public disturbance it was called ....about $100. only last year....I told them that if they REALLY...wanted a public disturbance I could have done much better...

Conrad

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 09:33 PM

I disagree, but that's because I don't like to brew my tea in a pot that has a soft and fuzzy crust inside after brewing lots of batches of tea. That's why I tend to brew it one mug at a time now, and the mug gets washed with the dishes. I use a small stainless steel tea strainer over the top of the cup and don't pour water directly into the strainer or it washes too much of the little fine grounds into the cup. But McGrath is right--be very careful to not leave behind any soap in anything for tea. Ugg, but dish detergent is easily noticable and you need to throw out the batch if you can smell or taste it in your tea.

I had forgotten about the tea/tissane information. And since none of the boxes come labled tissane I expect that term will gradually go away completely. (To my American ears "tissane" sounds like eating or drinking something akin to plastic wrap).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 03:18 PM

Nowhere is water harder than Hertford and Harlow.
Still no need to add chemicals. I don't even rinse.
Occasional flakes of scale come away. No effect on the tea.
Keith.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Beccy
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 03:07 PM

McGrath, I don't mean to sound thick. But can you get more specific? Little brother told me not to use anything other than a rinse of water to clean out the kettle. Does that hold true even with SUPER hard water? My tea kettle would have about 2 square inches of space in which to boil h2o if I didn't use vinegar to get the deposits out.
As for the pot, just rinse with h20. Correct?

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 03:04 PM

Certainly you rinse out a teapot and a kettle. But don't get any washing up liquid left behind it it. (But you wouldn't need any - just rinse.)

But it's quite common to refresh a teapot with a bit more tea and fresh boiling water. People who treat tea-making with reverence probably wouldn't approve of that.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Beccy
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 02:38 PM

Two things
First, I have a question. Am I or am I not supposed to wash my tea kettle and tea pot? My brother, recently back from exchange in London, said that I should wash neither. Very curious to me, but if it makes a sublime cuppa, I'm willing.
Next, has anyone every tried black tea steeped with rose petals and lemon zest? It's quite tasty. If you have, I won't bore you with details. If you want details, say so.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 02:33 PM

Correctly (insofar as there is such a thing as "correctly") it's only a "tea" if its made from tea leaves. If its ptely a herbal infusuion it's a "tissane".

Mint tea is tea though, becuse it's made with tea, plus mint leaves. There probably are some other herbal teas which are made the same way.

Regardless of whether its tea or coffee that people drink, the meal is still called "tea" in the British Isles.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 12:16 PM

I have to confess that for general cost-savings, I buy the can of loose tea for ice tea that Kroger grocery stores sell. Their intent is clearly that one puts large amounts of it in machines for brewing a dense tea for dilution as iced tea. But I use a scoop at a time in the morning for my first cup or two of the day. The can is 12 ounces and costs all of about $3. Lasts for quite a while.

I like many of the spices and fruit flavors. My cutoff for caffeinne during the day is 3pm, and after that I drink the teas with other flavors, because decaff black tea tastes as bland as dishwater.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 11 Jan 03 - 11:32 AM

I really do not care much for fruit or berry teas. If I want fruit I gets fruit....I dont like a sweet tea....
Tried looking up massing google has at least one page with a tea like meaning used but none of the dictionaries. Perhaps only catholics mass their tea! One of the dictionaries consulted listes massing as related to going to mass.... :)

Holy tea perhaps!

Conrad

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 11:21 AM

It is indeed, Sian (WW)!

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: sian, west wales
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 11:11 AM

Oh, and I forgot my bit of 'thread-drift'.   I am gobsmacked that Anita Best is guesting here!

Anita Best in addition to Buddy Wassisname last year: Mudcat is indeed a marvellous place to come across amazing people!

sian, ww

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jan 03 - 05:28 AM

JennyO.... around here, Maritime Canada, if you said "tea" and "draw" in the same sentence, you'd be subject to search and seizure.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 09 Jan 03 - 10:45 PM

I steep my tea, or in the alternative allow it to steep (i.e., "the verb 'to steep'" can be either transitive or intransitive. Massing and mashing are news to me. Brewing is more likely to be coffee or beer than tea, though I'd have no trouble understanding it, and I've run across letting tea draw before.

Haruo

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Shields Folk
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 04:53 PM

I often find that in England the morning break at work shows a divide between the working and aspiring middle class: working men (or women) have tea breaks, but in offices etc they have coffee breaks. When I was working as a fisherman we always used evaporated milk as fresh milk didn't keep, and tea was the best drink of the day. Mind you when I returned from sea I wouldn't have entertained it in a cuppa.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 02:25 PM

Even without consulting botanists here at the university where I work I can see that I'd have to have a raised bed, at the very least, with our limestone bedrock. And spider mites--ah, the stories I can tell about fighting with those little plant-tormentors. It's also probably too hot at night. Special tomatoes have been cultivated for growing down here, where it doesn't get cool enough for pollination for much of the summer (below 80 degrees is necessary for most tomatoes). Thanks for sending the writeup, Q.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 01:39 PM

Good brief article on the tea plant (uses, folk medicine, toxicity, cultivation, etc., on the Purdue Univ. website, www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Camellia_sinensis.html: Camellia sinensis

Also Univ, Delaware: Camellia sinensis

Someone in the Botany Dept. at your university may have direct experience in your area.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Cluin
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 01:33 PM

I like the occasional cup of black currant tea. Mainly for the aroma. It reminds me of childhood camping days when we used to collect all sorts of wild berries and mint leaves and the like and boil them in an old juice can on the fire just for the smell. We were often tempted to drink our mixture but never took the chance, being only amateur shamen.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 01:20 PM

I was curious since I have tried the Japanese Camellia, but always had trouble with spider mite.
The bare bones: Camellia sinensis. Half-hardy evergreen shrub. Needs acid, lime-free soil. Propagate by seed in early spring or late summer cuttings in sandy peat in a close frame. (Our flowering camellias are the species japonica and its many selected cultivars and crosses).
Needs protection from wind and a shady place. [In England] "excellent for shady places and for walls with north aspect."
Scarify seed (hole in outer coat and plant 1/2 inch deep in rich soil, pH 4.5-5.5, in gallon pots, soil moist (not soaked), part shade, germination 6-8 weeks, decrease moisture somewhat after germination. Hardy to 20 degrees F. Protect from wind.
All teas, green, black, etc., and no matter where grown, come from cultivars of this one species.
Own observation of Camellia (flowering)- should have temperature drop at night. Spider mites a problem esp. if temp. too high- protection from wind does NOT mean keep in a closed environment, good air circulation absolutely necessary. That is why it should be grown outdoors unless one has a good ventilation system in the greenhouse (very difficult where winters are very cold like they are where I live).
Supposed to be OK in US plant zones 7-9. Grows 4-6 feet high.
Nice photo and a few directions at tea plant

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 12:25 PM

Let me ask this question, and see if anyone else has had the same thought: what if I want to try growing my own tea? How would one go about it? I know how to grow herbs to turn them into tea, mint and such, but where would one get the plant that has the bona-fides as green tea or black tea (depending on processing, fermenting, etc). And what kind of soil, water, etc. How often would you harvest it? Is it just the top leaves that get picked? How often? Does anyone know of recipes for fermenting your own black tea?

Okay, as maven of web searches, I can probably figure this out myself. But I have to go to work now, so I'm sending this along in case someone else has already thought of it. And if not, I'll do a search later and post what I find out.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: sian, west wales
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 11:17 AM

My mother (Canadian, 82 yrs old) thinks condensed milk is a real treat in tea. I myself am of the "oh-yuk" school of thought. She's also a member of the Buffalo Welsh Society and, as a Canadian member, is the soc's official smuggler-in-of-Canadian-Red-Rose-Tea ("only in Canada, eh?") My town used to be a rum-running port; now it's tea. How the mighty have fallen ...

I'm glad Sinsull mentioned warming the pot, and others have chimed in too.

My favourite is a 50-50 blend of Earl Grey and Assam. Perfect.

The Welsh seem to favour a strong tea (spoon should be able to stand up in it) and there are some brands produced particularly for the Welsh market: Welsh Brew and Glengettie. Someone told me that they're blended keeping in mind that most Welsh water is very 'soft'. It makes sense that soft/hard waters have different brewing qualities. If anyone wants to try some, PM me with an address and I'll send (tea, not water).

Re: American tea, many years ago there was a Canadian satirist, Eric Nicol?, who explained that in 1773 a number of Americans dumped a shipload of tea into Boston Harbor ... which explains how Americans have made tea ever since. (No offence intended.)


Tea UK

Tea Canada

Tea USA

sian

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: CarolC
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 11:11 AM

Interesting question, Bagpuss. The only word I've ever heard for it is "steeping".

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 11:11 AM

We call it brewing, or very rarely mashing.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 10:22 AM

Guest,Q--I think I may go by my old tried-and-true system next time I go tea hunting (which I intend to do soon, since the topic has come up). Admire the boxes and give them a discreet sniff to see how much tea aroma comes through. Ask the staff. The usual. I'll report back. I've been drinking the blends from the grocery store in the evening (Celestial Seasonings and Stash produce quite a number of non-caffeine teas). This excursion will be to find my morning teas--the ones with some kick to them.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: JennyO
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 10:22 AM

Bagpuss, I've never heard of tea "massing".

I have heard of "steeping", but what we usually say here in Oz is that we are waiting for the tea to "draw". At least in my circle of friends.

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Wolfgang
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 10:11 AM

Regarding the highest tea-input per head, the most recent data I have found (source: http://www.tea.org.au/world/sub2.html) come from 1998: Ireland comes first, then the UK, then Kuwait, Turkey, Qatar, Iran, Sri Lanka, Syria.

Australia ranks 18th. Nothing strange about Australians considering tea-drinking a particularly English thing. And since there is no breakdown of the data to parts of countries, it still could be possible that the English consume more tea than the Irish though the UK trails behind Eire in that respect.

If my personal intake would be the rule in Germany, we would cpmpete for the first or at least second rank.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Bagpuss
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 09:37 AM

What do you call it when you leave the tea to brew in the pot? We always called it "massing" and I assumed it was the usual word in other parts of the country until I ventured out of the NE of England and got quizzical looks when I announced that the "tea's massin'". I have heard it called mashing, and steeping amongst other things. What do they call it where you come from?

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 09:18 AM

I recommend first colony teas....
there bulk Irish Blend is very good.
I get the big big boxes....
They are in Norfolk Va.


Conrad

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 07 Jan 03 - 01:03 AM

S R S, I buy lapsang souchong and that's about it. All I can suggest is to talk to the people at the university first- any Chinese, Indian professors and grad students? So many Chinese like it weak and drink it instead of water. My daughter knows Japanese teas used in the tea ceremony- but that tea is ceremonial and extremely expensive and not for normal use. My son gave me something in a red can (Chinese) that was pretty good- strong and aromatic- that was little bundles of leaves on stem tips but no English on the can (a little paper label on the top was lost).
Advice- and some may invite you to taste- seems the best way to start. Like people posting here, many will have developed a taste for one particular tea brand. Try it and move on, it may not be to your taste.

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:11 PM

GUEST, Q, do you have any recommendations on the teas found in the Asian shops? I like a good Oolong or Darjeeling, and don't mind if they aren't processed in the U.S. They're probably far more authentic to come from an Asian source. I live in a metropolitan area and work at a university that is surrounded by a large populations of Chinese and Vietnamese, among others. Lots of shops to choose from. Any suggestions? Or shall I go exploring and report back?

I grew up north of Seattle, and every year we would drive down to the International District around Jackson Street and shop at a few stores in particular for Christmas. (Higo Variety Store was always our first stop.) What started out as my mother's way to economize when there was little money for the holiday became a regular family tradition, and I remember several pretty decorated cans in which a very superior green tea arrived. I never knew what the brand was, just recognized the cans.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Haruo
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 11:10 PM

Uwajimaya (if you're in the Seattle or Portland areas; they don't sell online, and their mail-order line is pretty limited) has plenty of imported teas. (Packaged before they're imported, that is.) Indian, Chinese, Japanese, probably Vietnamese and Indonesian I suppose, though I mostly stick to the Japanese ones there myself. Not the cheapest place for such stuff, but the most inclusive; a time-saver.

Leland

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Michael B
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 10:56 PM

Typhoo is the ONLY tea worth drinking if you want real flavour and strength. Take it from an Englishman living in Minnesota, that has his dear old Mother send it over!

Subject: RE: BS: A proper cup of tea: nothing like it!
From: Alice
Date: 06 Jan 03 - 12:32 AM

I drink Yorkshire Gold with just a little (real) milk added. I buy it from the tea shop where we have our song circle. I drink it in a cup wih the Yorkshire Gold logo printed on it.

Alice in Montana