Tea for me...

MORDETH LESTOK · Post by **MORDETH LESTOK** » November 16th, 2006, 3:27

now that i'm back to the great white north...well...south of the border...I'm gonna try some "Hot" tea to warm my ass up...so, I'm looking for some suggestions of which tea and your formulas...remember...I'm a Merkin! and "Hot" tea is new to me...been drinking "Cold" Arizona "Stress" Tea and Arizona Diet Green Tea.
http://www.arizonabev.com/csr/home.asp

trying to stick with Green Tea and Herbal to help cleanse out my double-cheese and pepperoni filled heart...

Nickface · Post by **Nickface** » November 16th, 2006, 4:52

Well, speaking as an American Tea drinker, I go for Bigelow's Green Tea with Lemon or Dajeeling.

As an American, however, several 5punkers have told me my tea drinking habits are "weird" as I don't add anything to my tea like sugar or milk. I just drink it straight up dark.

EDIT: Oh, and heating up that Arizona Green Tea is freaking good as well.

Guybrush · Post by **Guybrush** » November 16th, 2006, 8:15

Can't beat a nice mug of earl gray narf :D

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » November 16th, 2006, 8:49

Follow Douglas Adams' (God rest his soul) advice

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A61345

webclam · Post by **webclam** » November 16th, 2006, 8:53

Clam's recipe for tea:

Big mug (double "normal" size is a good starting point)
PG pyramid
Fresh, still bubbling, water from a just boiled kettle
splosh of semi-skimmed
leave bag for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, then lift out, giving it a last stir and a gentle squeeze.

enjoy.

for best results add Rich Tea Biscuits to taste.

amblin · Post by **amblin** » November 16th, 2006, 10:00

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » November 16th, 2006, 10:12

I like my tea green, just like my women.

(That's almost a quote from the new Sam & Max game)

Mostly I drink PG Tips but occasional Twinings Green Tea with orange and lotus flower goes down well, especially with Chinese food. I find pure green tea to be a bit bitter.

And earl grey is terrible IMHO, maybe I've not acquired the taste.

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » November 16th, 2006, 10:38

MOAR TEAS

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/92749167@N ... 56/detail/">
<img src="http://static.flickr.com/118/298664750_8792bef405_m.jpg">

Hehulk · Post by **Hehulk** » November 16th, 2006, 10:42

mrbobbins wrote:MOAR TEAS

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/92749167@N ... 56/detail/">
<img src="http://static.flickr.com/118/298664750_8792bef405_m.jpg">

Scared now. I've got that huge white mug with the weird writing

Post by **Joose** » November 16th, 2006, 12:42

I have a pint sized tea cup. It is win.

Does make me drink rather too much tea though.

webclam · Post by **webclam** » November 16th, 2006, 12:47

Joose wrote:Does make me drink rather too much tea though.

this looks like english, I recognise all the words, but it makes no sense.

Post by **FatherJack** » November 16th, 2006, 12:53

When I drink tea, I go for Assam, but it isn't very often because tea isn't alcoholic.

cashy · Post by **cashy** » November 16th, 2006, 13:11

amblin wrote: My preferred tea in cold conditions is 'builders' however - PG tips with milk and two sugars - it forms a thick paste which is hot and sweet, perfect for when you're out in the cold putting one brick on top of another.

This man know. Assam is pretty good, but im not generally a fan of 'fancy' tea like earl grey and all those crazy 'not tea but i dont have a clue what else we can call it' teas.
I usually use PG tips, but to be honest theres not allot of difference between the tastes of 'real' teas.

Beginners guide to making the perfect cuppa:

1. Boil kettle, and place teabag and any sugars you may want into the mug.
2. Wang the water in. Allot of people stir and squeeze the fuck out of the teabag, this is wrong. Do this and the last gulp will be almost certain death. let it brew for a while according to taste, maybe gently bobbing the teabag about a little if you have nothing better to do.
3. Remove teabag, give it a gentle squeeze so you dont make a mess. Also give it a stir if you added sugar.
4. Now add the milk: remember kids, adding milk too early can result in a weak ass cup of tea. nobody likes weak tea. Also theres a chance the sugar wont dissolve.
5. Consume.

Also when making a cup of coffee beside the tea, remember to either give the spoon a quick rinse or use a different spoon, as contaminated tea is evil.

Post by **fabyak** » November 16th, 2006, 13:23

FatherJack wrote:When I drink tea, I go for Assam, but it isn't very often because tea isn't alcoholic.

^this, Assam am win

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » November 16th, 2006, 13:30

Something I've been told and practice now is not pouring the boiled water in right away, especially important for green tea. Wait a few seconds and then pour the water in, just below the boil.

cashy · Post by **cashy** » November 16th, 2006, 13:37

spoodie wrote:Something I've been told and practice now is not pouring the boiled water in right away, especially important for green tea. Wait a few seconds and then pour the water in, just below the boil.

Thats a new one on me, think i might give that a go.
I know it burns coffee pretty badly, you can really taste the difference if you dont put the milk in before the water.

Post by **fabyak** » November 16th, 2006, 13:40

definitely a good thing to let the water stop boiling before you pour

Fear · Post by **Fear** » November 16th, 2006, 13:42

I was always told coffee should be under the boil, 80 to 90 <sup>o</sup>C, but tea as close as you can get to the boil so that it scolds the tea leaves.

I'm just trying a cup of PG Tips Special Blend - I will keep you posted as to if it is better than PG Tips, which would take some doing.

Also, I've always heard that certain teas should be with a slice of lemon, but how does that work.... do you put the slice in the tea? Squeeze it into the cup, or something else much more sophisticated that the likes of me wouldn't have even contemplated?

Fear · Post by **Fear** » November 16th, 2006, 13:44

OK the special blend is just really strong, just tastes like an overbrewed normal cuppa - oh well was on offer, i'll just dip half the tea bag in the cup from now on....

Post by **Joose** » November 16th, 2006, 14:22

spoodie wrote:Something I've been told and practice now is not pouring the boiled water in right away, especially important for green tea. Wait a few seconds and then pour the water in, just below the boil.

ERRORZ!

Water should not be boiling for green tea, true. This is because green tea is delicate, and boiling water buggers it up.

However, black tea (ie, PG tips etc) should be made as close to the moment of boiling as possible. It should be boiling, as it gets more flavour from the tea, but you dont want it to boil for too long, as this lowers the oxygen content of the water, giving the tea a slightly flat taste.

Coffee should definately not be made with boiling water, as it relies on oils in the coffee to give it taste, and these evaporate if the water is too hot. Course, if your making it from instant rather than beans, you'll be lucky to tell the difference.

Milk should be put in after, as, like someone else said, it goes a bit wrong if you put boiling water in it. However (again), there is a bit of controversy over this. The "traditional" way was to put the milk in first, but this has nowt to do with taste. Its because silly posh people had very delicate china cups, and they worried that the hot tea would break them. By putting the milk in first, the cup doesnt recieve such a shock

We actually had a discussion in A level physics once about the temperature of tea changing when you add milk (both us and the teacher pissed around a *lot*). We concluded that if you put the milk in first, then the hot water, it got cold quicker but doesnt get stone cold as fast. If you put the milk in after, it gets cold slower initially, but will reach stone cold faster overall. I would explain why, but that would probably require diagrams, and I cant be arsed.