Home » Discussion Forums » Blog Post Discussion » Tea and No Sympathy
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49430 is a reply to message #49427 ] |
Sat, 28 April 2012 22:56   |
 libby.gorman
Messages: 72
Registered: June 2009
Location: Durham, NC |
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Thank you for the explanation...but now I have more questions...so that when I make a proper cup of tea next, I will know what to do.
If you use loose tea, can you still make it directly in a cup (assuming you have first warmed the cup...) instead of in a teapot? Since I like milk, I would assume that this method requires adding the milk second, since I would imagine the milk in first would get in the way of tea steeping? (And my teacups are not delicate enough to crack with hot water...)
I'm sorry that your weather is so rotten. Over here, we are having schizophrenic weather--one day nicely seasonal (for NC, mid 70s), the next unseasonably cool (50s) or unseasonably hot (80s). But we can use all the rain we can get (this year, a pretty good amount) since we have spent lots of recent years in droughts!
Libby
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49431 is a reply to message #49427 ] |
Sat, 28 April 2012 23:10 |
EMoon
Messages: 669
Registered: March 2009 |
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I think being in central Texas defeats the whole notion of tea. When visiting in England, I loved tea. I had people tell me how to make tea. But here I have a) sulphury, hard, heavily treated water, b) water that is, for much of the year, emerging from the faucet warm to hot, and c) no real desire for anything hot to drink because it's so hot. And no desire to waste the water that filling a pot with hot water, tossing that water, and then filling it again means, because we're still in drought. (Or for that matter having the stove on long enough to boil that much water.)
If a cup of well-made English tea could appear, steaming gently, at my side on six months out of the year, I'd drink it happily (with sugar, no milk.) Maybe even two cups. In our rare cold spells, I wish very hard for good hot tea. But make it? In these conditions? Probably never.
E
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49435 is a reply to message #49430 ] |
Sun, 29 April 2012 09:49 |
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nickithomas
Messages: 45
Registered: December 2011
Location: Speen, Bucks, UK |
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[quote title=libby.gorman wrote on Sun, 29 April 2012 03:56]
Thank you for the explanation...but now I have more questions...so that when I make a proper cup of tea next, I will know what to do.
If you use loose tea, can you still make it directly in a cup (assuming you have first warmed the cup...) instead of in a teapot? Since I like milk, I would assume that this method requires adding the milk second, since I would imagine the milk in first would get in the way of tea steeping? (And my teacups are not delicate enough to crack with hot water...)
I use loose tea in the cup (on the infrequent occasion that I know I will only want one cup!). Put milk in cup first (if that's your preference, I am one of those unreasonably fanatical milk-firsters), a generous spoon of tea in a strainer, shake strainer over bin (to get rid of the dusty bits that will end up floating on your tea otherwise) before putting on cup then pour boiling water in SLOWLY and moving around to cover all the tea. When full, leave a minute or 2 before removing strainer and stirring.
Have to admit that this does not work well with the really good expensive tea that tends be much bigger leaves and requires more steeping - but I can't afford that very often anyway. Also I have been given a couple of mugs that are perfect for doing this - they have there own strainer which is extra deep so that the tea has more room to steep, and a lid to keep it warm(er) while brewing.
And I say I can't afford the really good expensive loose tea but I can't honestly be really uppish about it as after many forays into the wonderful world of First Flush, Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe etc etc, I've found that my favourite cup of tea is made with Yorkshire Tea - a cheap and cheerful brand available all over here in the UK. This has caused a few problems with the boyfriend who also like a good cup of tea but comes from Lancashire and for him the War of the Roses is still going. Bless him, he has tried to tempt me away with Fortnum & Mason Extra Special Really Expensive Fancy Tea, but even he admits that Yorkshire Tea actually tastes better! It makes proper "builder's tea" which is what I like. I salve my conscience a little by mixing it in the caddy with half as much again Assam.
[Updated on: Sun, 29 April 2012 09:56]
We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and all our little lives are rounded by a sleep.
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49438 is a reply to message #49427 ] |
Sun, 29 April 2012 13:23 |
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glanalaw
Messages: 88
Registered: August 2010
Location: Tennessee |
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As if anyone who drinks PG Tips cares.
I drink PG Tips, but only because it's the only halfway decent loose tea to be had in this part of the country. (In fact it may be the only one. Well, there's "Teavana" which tried to be all swanky and posh, but all their teas are flavoured. What happened to plain strong black tea?) Short of mail-ordering from England, which isn't an option on the poor-starving-college-student budget. But I DO hot the pot before I brew it (my mother taught me well  ) I usually put the milk in first because then I don't have to get a spoon dirty (I don't like sugar in my tea, so there's no need to stir) but if it's an unfamiliar mug I'll add the milk second to make sure I don't overdo it.
Regarding cats vs. dogs: I've always preferred cats (and at my present stage of life, a dog would be impossible because I'm not home often enough). But then most of the cats I've know, definitely including the current one, seem to think they are dogs actually, at least in terms of the being-glad-to-see-you and the cuddling.
I hope your baby robins don't wash away!
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49439 is a reply to message #49431 ] |
Sun, 29 April 2012 13:27 |
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glanalaw
Messages: 88
Registered: August 2010
Location: Tennessee |
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| EMoon wrote on Sat, 28 April 2012 23:10 |
I think being in central Texas defeats the whole notion of tea. When visiting in England, I loved tea. I had people tell me how to make tea. But here I have a) sulphury, hard, heavily treated water, b) water that is, for much of the year, emerging from the faucet warm to hot, and c) no real desire for anything hot to drink because it's so hot. And no desire to waste the water that filling a pot with hot water, tossing that water, and then filling it again means, because we're still in drought. (Or for that matter having the stove on long enough to boil that much water.)
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I've always found hot tea refreshing even in heat -- and summer in Tennessee is pretty brutal! Also, you don't have to *fill* the pot with water to heat it -- just put in a cup or so of nearly-boiling water, and swirl it around. If your pot is clean and you're worried about water consumption, you can even save this water out and use it again -- for the same purpose, or add it to the washing-up water, or let it cool and pour it on the garden. No need to waste it! (Also -- electric kettles. They're amazing.)
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49459 is a reply to message #49436 ] |
Mon, 30 April 2012 21:13 |
claning
Messages: 266
Registered: February 2010
Location: California |
Senior Member |
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Water filters only work if what makes your water taste bad is capable of being filtered OUT. Mud, dead leaves, that sort of thing. If the problem is dissolved minerals, such as iron, calcium, or a double handful of bicarbonate of soda, it comes out of the filter tasting about the same as it went in.
Dissolved calcium, BTW, is what makes water hard. You can get water softeners but they are not filters -- -they merely replace the dissolved calcium with dissolved something else. All too often it's dissolved salt, which is not much of an improvement health- or taste-wise.
I live in California's central valley, and while our town doesn't have the worst tasting water, it's noticeable if you're not used to it. I was amused to find it has enough dissolved minerals right out of the tap to meet the State of California's legal definition of "mineral water".
(My nomination for worst drinking water is an otherwise very nice retreat center in San Juan Bautista. That was the double handful of bicarbonate stuff. I couldn't even brush my teeth with it.)
O Chris Laning <claning@igc.org> - Davis, California
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49474 is a reply to message #49463 ] |
Tue, 01 May 2012 12:44 |
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shalea
Messages: 785
Registered: October 2008
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, ... |
Senior Member |
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| Diane in MN wrote on Tue, 01 May 2012 00:27 |
I like cats--at least, I like doggish cats--but I seriously do not like litterboxes, or the little kitty feet on the countertops after they've been in the litterbox. I admit that my dogs can slime the countertops, but there is a difference, however slight.
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I love both dogs and cats, but I have an absolute No Feet or Butts on Food Preparation Surfaces rule for everyone -- cats, dogs, small children (who might sit on countertops).
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49476 is a reply to message #49459 ] |
Tue, 01 May 2012 16:35 |
Aaron
Messages: 319
Registered: June 2009
Location: California |
Senior Member |
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| claning wrote on Mon, 30 April 2012 18:13 |
Water filters only work if what makes your water taste bad is capable of being filtered OUT. Mud, dead leaves, that sort of thing. If the problem is dissolved minerals, such as iron, calcium, or a double handful of bicarbonate of soda, it comes out of the filter tasting about the same as it went in.
Dissolved calcium, BTW, is what makes water hard. You can get water softeners but they are not filters -- -they merely replace the dissolved calcium with dissolved something else. All too often it's dissolved salt, which is not much of an improvement health- or taste-wise.
I live in California's central valley, and while our town doesn't have the worst tasting water, it's noticeable if you're not used to it. I was amused to find it has enough dissolved minerals right out of the tap to meet the State of California's legal definition of "mineral water".
(My nomination for worst drinking water is an otherwise very nice retreat center in San Juan Bautista. That was the double handful of bicarbonate stuff. I couldn't even brush my teeth with it.)
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Reverse osmosis systems will eliminate some dissolved minerals. I have only ever used manual ones (for producing drinking water from sea water) but I know that there are domestic systems with electric pumps to produce the pressure. I don't know about cost.
[Updated on: Tue, 01 May 2012 16:38]
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49489 is a reply to message #49474 ] |
Wed, 02 May 2012 03:21 |
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white_roses
Messages: 31
Registered: January 2011
Location: Western Nebraska |
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| shalea wrote on Tue, 01 May 2012 10:44 |
| Diane in MN wrote on Tue, 01 May 2012 00:27 |
I like cats--at least, I like doggish cats--but I seriously do not like litterboxes, or the little kitty feet on the countertops after they've been in the litterbox. I admit that my dogs can slime the countertops, but there is a difference, however slight.
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I love both dogs and cats, but I have an absolute No Feet or Butts on Food Preparation Surfaces rule for everyone -- cats, dogs, small children (who might sit on countertops).
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The No Feet or Butts law makes cats a lot easier to get along with. My family has a No Feet or Butts on Surfaces for Any Use rule, which encourages human respect with only the odd exception. I am an animal person, but I like large, affectionate cats and large, gentle dogs. And by gentle, I mean those that are prone to affection but sit to take bread or cheese bits as gently as people sip tea. I've been wooed for treats by my impeccably-mannered collie for too long.
"I feel the best way to know God is to love many things." --Van Gogh
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49490 is a reply to message #49427 ] |
Wed, 02 May 2012 03:55 |
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equus_peduus
Messages: 437
Registered: September 2009
Location: France |
Senior Member |
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Black tea, you want water just-barely-boiling (it is not ideal to have the water boil vigorously first). Green tea, you want the water to have just-barely-boiled, then cooled to the appropriate temperature (most of them like 70-80) - if you use boiling water, the tannins in the tea will be released, and it will be bitter. Yes on the heated vessel, though I generally don't bother. You want enough space in the pot/strainer/cup/whatever you're making your tea in to allow the loose leaves to move around freely. If they're squashed together (as in a tea leaf egg thingy), the tea does not steep properly. If you were to add milk to the cup prior to adding the tea leaves and the hot water, it would cool the water down, so I imagine it wouldn't steep properly either; I have never taken tea with milk, and when I've observed milk in tea, the tea was always made in a pot and then poured into the cup (which may or may not have milk in it already).
As claning noted, water quality is important. I lived in the town I think she does for nine years. Ick. I bought water all nine years (I used the grocery store reverse-osmosis water dispensers most of the time). Making tea with the tapwater there is... blech.
I've said it before - Murchie's Tea, in British Columbia, Canada, makes some excellent tea. They will ship to the US - I used to order a big batch about once a year to get the shipping costs reasonable, if I didn't have a family member visiting other family members in the area - and have a lot of excellent choices (if you're ever in Victoria or Vancouver, go find them. They do coffee now too, but I don't drink coffee, so I don't care). They make a lovely blend - Palm Springs - which is specifically formulated for hard, minerally water (it even makes claning's town's water easily drinkable!), though it is lovely in decent water as well.
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49500 is a reply to message #49427 ] |
Wed, 02 May 2012 19:48 |
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Corellia
Messages: 111
Registered: June 2010
Location: Norway |
Senior Member |
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About cats presenting their butts for admiration: this is actually easy to avoid once you realise why they do it. Cats want to have their head close to your hands, for petting. When you are lying in a relaxed position, with your hands in your lap (or possibly holding a book), the cat will turn around, so that its head will end up by the hands, thus often sticking its butt into your face. The solution: scratch the cat around the tail every time it does this, and it will change position. Not difficult at all.
My cats never miss the litter box, so far they are indoor cats (I hope to change this soon) so no dismembered corpses. They may not show me that they are happy to see me every time I walk through the door, but they are very clear about me being the only acceptable human in all the multiverse (neurotic kitties, I haz them). My dog loves everybody indiscriminately, and would sell his soul for treats.
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49525 is a reply to message #49427 ] |
Thu, 03 May 2012 13:04 |
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Mrs Redboots
Messages: 949
Registered: October 2008
Location: London, UK |
Senior Member |
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This Brit likes Earl Grey (although not Twinings since they changed the recipe and made it absolutely VILE) or any other tea with citrus (Lady Grey, for instance, or a wonderful French Liptons with Agrumes [citrus fruit] that I buy by the boxful whenever I go to France and have just finished a cupful of). Teabags in a cup is fine by me; my husband, who likes plain black tea with milk, the traditional way of drinking it here, puts a bag in a pot so he can have two cups! I like plain black tea with lemon, but usually cba to buy a lemon, and lemon juice out of a bottle is Not the Same, so I don't bother.
My parents like a mixture of 50:50 plain tea and Lapsang Souchong, but are finding it difficult to get loose-leaf lapsang these days. Many years ago, they had a very splendid infuser, which was the size and shape of a doubled teaspoon, with perforations all over it. I used to have one, too, now I come to think of it - I wonder what happened to it. Very useful for an odd cup of tea when you didn't want to dirty the pot.
Mrs Redboots
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
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| Re: Tea and No Sympathy [message #49531 is a reply to message #49460 ] |
Thu, 03 May 2012 14:26 |
CathyR
Messages: 577
Registered: July 2009
Location: NW England |
Senior Member |
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Another perspective on the differences between cats and dogs.
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.
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Re: Tea and No Sympathy