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A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell (1946)

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Re: A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell (1946)

#21

Post by tsomctl »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #5
phpnode wrote: post #4

it's a shame for such a distinguished person to make such an amateur mistake - point 10 is indeed answerable: 1. people who put the milk in first have become adept at adding exactly the right amount of milk to a cup of any size. It's a ubiquitous skill, learnt virtually as soon as the person begins drinking tea in this (proper) way. Orwell was clearly inexperienced. 2. adding the milk last requires simultaneous stirr…

One can become just as adept at stirring the correct number of times. Its a ubiquitous skill too. Also, this myth about 'burning the milk' - I get my latte at 180 degrees, and the milk is not 'scalded' or 'burned' or any other thing - its just fine.

To make coffee, you need water just below boiling. Commercial brewers are set at about 200 degrees. To make a proper pot of tea, you need boiling water.

Re: A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell (1946)

#23

Post by facepalm »

phpnode wrote: post #4

it's a shame for such a distinguished person to make such an amateur mistake - point 10 is indeed answerable: 1. people who put the milk in first have become adept at adding exactly the right amount of milk to a cup of any size. It's a ubiquitous skill, learnt virtually as soon as the person begins drinking tea in this (proper) way. Orwell was clearly inexperienced. 2. adding the milk last requires simultaneous stirr…

The reason to put in milk afterwards: only then can you marvel at the swirling clouds of milk slowly dissolving in the tea. I don't think extra stirring is necessary. If you are fast enough, there will still be enough motion in the tea from pouring it.

Re: A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell (1946)

#24

Post by facepalm »

It's so curious that in the UK there is no notion of time when brewing tea. In Germany you are supposed to remove the tea leaves after 3 minutes. Or if you keep them longer, the tea will change its nature from being wakening to being tiring. (Actually times vary a bit depending on the tea - green tea is usually shorter). Eventually the tea will get bitter if the leaves are left in the water.

Re: A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell (1946)

#25

Post by dankoss »

moron4hire wrote: post #20

I'm a coffee drinker. For some reason, waiters and baristas look at me funny and ask if I'm really sure when I say I don't want anything in my coffee. Apparently there aren't any other black coffee drinkers left in the world. So I've taken to telling them I want my coffee to match my soul: "black and bitter". This tends to get the point across that I'm serious when apparently "no, no cream or sugar, I just want black…

You can get strong, flavorful tea, just not in bags. If you steep your own loose leaf tea, you can make it as strong as coffee with nearly as much caffeine. Unfortunately loose leaf is more expensive.

And I agree, both coffee and tea are better without additives.

Re: A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell (1946)

#26

Post by mwest »

facepalm wrote: post #24

It's so curious that in the UK there is no notion of time when brewing tea. In Germany you are supposed to remove the tea leaves after 3 minutes. Or if you keep them longer, the tea will change its nature from being wakening to being tiring. (Actually times vary a bit depending on the tea - green tea is usually shorter). Eventually the tea will get bitter if the leaves are left in the water.

In the UK, tea should be brewed for 6 minutes (see BS 6008:1980). :-)

Re: A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell (1946)

#28

Post by pasquinelli »

fennecfoxen wrote: post #10

Orwell is silly. You want your tea strong? Certainly. You want your tea pure, tasting like tea? Definitely. You want your tea bitter? ... While I can appreciate that for anyone who has to deal with the exigencies of war and rationing there is no real alternative, really good tea , made from the better parts of the tea plant, is not bitter even when exceptionally strong. It does, however, taste wonderfully of tea. Try…

i disagree. the bitter flavor gets a bad rap, but i find bitter tastes, in general, refreshing. obviously, you can have too much bitter, just like you can have too much sweet or sour or any other taste, but bitter isn't bad in and of itself.
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