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Tea (1999)

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Re: Tea (1999)

#21

Post by amluto »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #4

We need better sieves. Tea-balls are awful, and the vast majority of tea sieves are these tiny little mesh buckets that affix to the top of the kettle, meaning they only even touch the water if the kettle is completely filled. Then, to boot, they are so woefully undersized (probably for the sake of making them easy to fit into the pot) that the tea leaves barely have any place to bloom. The result is a very weak tast…

I'm a big fan of a kyusu (Japanese side-handle teapot) with a built-in metal strainer.

Unfortunately, finding a good quality kyusu in the US isn't so easy. Daiso used to stock them, but they seem to have stopped.

Re: Tea (1999)

#22

Post by blacksmith_tb »

subnaught wrote: post #14

This is absolutely incorrect. The best thing you can do to enhance your tea-drinking experience is to buy good tea, and good tea is invariably brewed off the boil, usually somewhere between 170-200F, depending on the tea.[0] Higher temperatures will extract too much tannin at the expense of aromatics. The British generally drink shit tea and then add milk to it, which is why they can get away with brewing it at 212F.…

Well said, though it might be more generous to say that using guidelines like the Itoen ones are a good jumping-off point, but that ideally everyone should experiment with temp, time, and tea quality to make something they like to drink. For example, it's common in China today for people to drink green tea that's been steeping for long periods of time in travel cups with a strainer in the lid - steeping indefinitely (aka 'stewing') is supposedly against the rules (but lack of the time to use a teapot has changed the rules).

Re: Tea (1999)

#24

Post by deepnet »

Tea provides much of the alertness of coffee and a sort of well-rounded relaxation unlike the beam like focus and occasional jitters from coffee - consuming both is best for a highly productive day.

Re: Tea (1999)

#25

Post by ozy123 »

Kind of missed the point. Most people drink "bad" tea because they enjoy it. In fact the "correct" way usually is rejected when tried by your average tea drinker as being too strong.

Re: Tea (1999)

#26

Post by morsch »

peterwwillis wrote: post #8

In fact the truth of the matter is that most English people don't know how to make tea any more either, and most people drink cheap instant coffee instead, which is a pity, and gives Americans the impression that the English are just generally clueless about hot stimulants. When you're using water that's 212 degrees, and measuring by teaspoon rather than weight, and suggesting porcelain will hold the heat the longest…

Ignorant westerners have been drinking tea for hundreds of years. I don't think it counts as foreign food anymore.

Re: Tea (1999)

#27

Post by lukasm »

British don't drink that much tea comparing to, say, Poles or Russians, which was a surprise, since english books stereotype British as massive tea drinkers.

My ideal tea is Earl Gray with lemon. Put a teabag in a cup with a tiny slice of lemon (DO NOT peel off the skin, it's blasphemy). Pour boiling water into the cup, wait 15 seconds, squeeze the teabag and lemon with a spoon and chuck them. Good luck :)

You don't have to warm up the cup, just pour the boiling water straight away. When water reaches tea it has around 95°C (204F).

Tea from warm water is indeed disgusting. Not a big fan of tea with milk, although it work with Chai(especially Chai on milk).

PS never use sugar!

Re: Tea (1999)

#28

Post by antognini »

subnaught wrote: post #14

This is absolutely incorrect. The best thing you can do to enhance your tea-drinking experience is to buy good tea, and good tea is invariably brewed off the boil, usually somewhere between 170-200F, depending on the tea.[0] Higher temperatures will extract too much tannin at the expense of aromatics. The British generally drink shit tea and then add milk to it, which is why they can get away with brewing it at 212F.…

I have seen a variety of opinions on whether to use water just off the boil, or slightly cooler water to brew tea. The Royal Society of Chemistry released a guide to make the perfect cup of tea:

http://www.academiaobscura.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/RS...

They recommend using boiling water as well. Harold McGee's Keys to Good Cooking recommends water just off the boil for black tea, but cooler water for oolong and green teas.

Re: Tea (1999)

#29

Post by ozy123 »

peterwwillis wrote: post #10
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #4

We need better sieves. Tea-balls are awful, and the vast majority of tea sieves are these tiny little mesh buckets that affix to the top of the kettle, meaning they only even touch the water if the kettle is completely filled. Then, to boot, they are so woefully undersized (probably for the sake of making them easy to fit into the pot) that the tea leaves barely have any place to bloom. The result is a very weak tast…

You're supposed to brew the leaves in the pot. That's why traditional teapots have built-in straining holes (or you can use an alternate vessel like a Gaiwan). Most people rarely get the temperature right anyway so proper extraction isn't usually a consideration. That said, this thing is friggin magical: http://www.teavana.com/us/en/teaware/tea-makers/teavana-32-o...

I have one, it's pretty awesome. Get 30% off - use FESTIVE at checkout.

Re: Tea (1999)

#30

Post by JasonCEC »

On the off-hand chance that anyone here is super obsessed with tea, I'm the founder and director emeritus of The Tea Institute at Penn State[1], and blog here: [2].

I now run a flavor profiling and quality intelligence company based off my research in the Institute.

[1] http://sites.psu.edu/teainstitute/

[2] http://cultofquality.com/

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