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I have always drank my tea black, even as a child. I used to take sugar but with the advent of middle aged spread I started using artifical sweeteners (urghh). When I became self employed and working from home in 2001 my wife suggested that I take my tea naked as she did. I tried this but it got dangerous if you spilled any in your lap. But seriously, my wife drank tea with nothing added to it. She suggested that if I gave up the sweeteners I would become accustomed to the naked tea in a couple of weeks.
She is not often right (looks furtively behind to see if he is being watched) but she was in this case. I soon became used to my tea like this and found that I was enjoying it so much I had to buy a bigger mug. I now have a lovely china pint mug (that's a 20oz UK pint not 16oz). Now I often have two of these at lunch time, that's almost two pints of tea and it is so refreshing. With tea on its own I find that if I leave it on my desk and forget about it I can go back and drink it even when it is stone cold.
Any other tea suggestions?
I also drink from a large mug for breakfast, however also enjoy tea from a smaller cup with a tea pot.
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My wife refused to drink tea that has not been made in a tea pot. She goes mental if I make hers in a mug with a tea bag and she can tell the difference! She won't use a metal teapot, only china or ceramic.
I think one of the main things that must be done is to heat the pot with boiling water before making the tea. It must then be left to stand for at least five minutes to infuse before drinking (masking as we call it here in Scotland).
I also agree with letting the tea 'steep' as we say here.
Too soon and you miss the full flavor. Too long and its sour and tannin-like.
(Tannin is used in wine making. Too much and your drink tastes like dried tree bark.)
I forgot something: Tea bags make great cat toys.
Tie a string to the short string already on the tea bag. drag it several feet behind you. Cat heaven.
Better than catnip. You just can't do that with loose tea leaves, it just makes a mess. -Larry
(I don't have a cat, I learned this from my erstwhile French girlfriend.)
She even had a cat named Tea-Bag, just like that in English. -Larry
And I'd never dream of using anything but a ceramic pot... A metal pot would add metallic taste (tea is quite corrosive when hot). I also feel that metallic pots radiate heat more quickly - you'll end up with luke-warm tea by the time it's ready to drink.
Better ask my wife to read this thread..
So what's wrong with tea bags?
The tea in most supermarket teabags is of poor quality, certainly of poorer quality than loose leaf tea at the same price and even of the same brand.
Bags keep the tea leaves from floating about, which allows tea manufacturers to use cheaper grades of tea, which become dusty more easily and have smaller leaves. These low grades of tea are known as fannings in the trade. They give up less flavour and can be bought much more cheaply than high grade leaves.
They cannot be used in loose leaf tea, even cheapo cheapo brands, because they don't settle to the bottom of the pot very well and they look like c***, so people would object.
These fannings are perfect for teabags not just because the customer doesn't see them and they are cheap but because they need much less room to expand. Most customers are funny - if they get a big tea bag with only a little tea in it, they feel cheated.
All in all the tea bag was a great invention for tea makers - it gave them a way of using up grades of tea that prior to the tea bag were often just discarded as waste. Not just that, they could charge more for this lower quality tea because of the added convenience for the consumer! They also created a new wholesale market for teas of a grade that were pretty much impossible to sell before the rise of the bag. Now of course, with almost all tea sold in bags in many countries, this market is huge and it has had a pretty devastating effect on smaller producers of quality tea.
It is possible to make teabags with better grades of tea, and may good tea makers do, they look very different from standard supermarket tea bags. They are larger, have bigger holes in them so the tea can infuse better and the leaves can expand, and you can see that the leaves inside are bigger. They are also a lot more expensive.
Ceramics/porcelain, definately. The same goes for coffee. I drink both.
With black tea I use sugar and milk. With green tea it differs. Herbal tea usually on the rocks. I use tea leaves. Yogi tea is nice, I like their lemon+ginger tea a lot. Also a special Danish brand of "universal herbal tea".
But that is taste and taste you can't discuss as everybody will have their own.
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Added:
The so-called "iced teas" sold in bottles is not tea.
As for real coffe or real tea literally "on the rocks" I do prefer it hot.
Earl Grey hot, please!
My routine:
Tea Bag, 1 sugar, pour on boiling hot water so the bag 'whoomps' - leave the bag in for the amount of time it takes to distribute the coffees to the REAL heathens, remove tea bag, add milk, stir, drink repeat.
At home I do use a pot - saves energy and makes more :)
I have read a little about teas health benefits - its quite a plant by all accounts - reduces risk of cancer, cleans up free radicals, is an antioxidant - amongst others...
I have read a little about teas health benefits - its quite a plant by all accounts - reduces risk of cancer, cleans up free radicals, is an antioxidant - amongst others...
Green tea is claimed to be more effective than black in this regard. Also, one thing the "tea industry" doesn't tell you - whilst pushing the healthy properties of the stuff - is that research has shown that the antioxidant properties are negated by the addition of milk.
Whilst I would have to agree that loose tea produces a far superior brew, that's not to say that a decent cuppa cannot be had from tea bags. It's all about knowing the optimum brewing (steeping) times and ensuring that it doesn't stew.
For me Earl Grey (5 minutes) and Lapsang Souchong (3 minutes), or "smokey bacon tea" as my girlfriend calls it, cannot be beat - leaf or bag.
I have a lovely two-cup Royal Doulton pot, and matching milk jug, that I use every now and again, when I want to treat myself and also if I'm having tea (that is, sandwiches/cake, etc, as opposed to just "a cup of tea").
With the two-cup pot I've found that if using tea bags, one is enough. Indeed, one tea bag in a two-cup pot makes for a marvellously refreshing brew. Again though, the tea must brew for the optimum time.
I never add milk or sugar to the cup and then pour boiling water on top, although I do add just enough milk to colour the tea, and one teaspoon of sugar; I'm afraid even with it's health-giving properties, I cannot drink my tea black.
One should be aware that sugar is scorched when boiling water is added to it. Also, adding boiling water to a quantity of sugar is an age-old favourite "trick" of inmates in prisons all over the world!
As a famous advertising slogan once reminded us, "Tea! Best drink of the day!"
Syzygy
Why does no one like the metal tea pots?
Why does no one like the metal tea pots?
For the same reason as I'd never drink tea from a flask. Tastes ghastly. Ceramic or china pot just makes tea taste better ;)
In our family, the rule for tea with milk was always this:
1. Loose tea: add milk first then pour tea. 2. Tea bags: add water first, milk last.
Syzygy - you ever tried Lapsang iced? Very refreshing!
For sure, the water on black tea must be boiling. Anything less than that and the flavour will not come through from the leaf.
It always tastes better from a teapot, and is often better as loose tea (it brews easier).
It is possible to make an acceptable cuppa using a tea bag in a cup, although, it will be better, IMHO, from a pot using loose tea.
If you must add milk, please, please, please (if you're making tea as my wife does), remove the tea bag before adding the milk!
I do find that the slightest dash of skimmed milk can enhance the flavour of some teas, but it really depends upon the tea. The milk will help combat the really acidic teas and soften the flavour. But, only the very slightest dash of milk will do.
No sugar, for sure, as it masks the flavour of the tea.
Always serve tea hot.
Early Grey, or any decent black tea is good for me. You tend to get what you pay for.
There are some brands of tea that produce hard water versions. I've yet to try them, however, a good water filter will remove most of the chalk which often contributes to the scum seen floating on the top.
Brewing good tea can take a little longer than brewing coffee. Perhaps that's why many people prefer the convenience of coffee.
Oh, and yes, I also like good coffee. Again, freshly brewed coffee is best.
Now, that reminds me. Time for tea!
