tea

Whickwithy

Believe me, I tried finding the 'tea' thread. Try searching on 'tea'.

Anyways, I've been experimenting, once again, with tea. I just couldn't get past the bitter taste. I will not put sugar/substitute or cream in my coffee so I am damn well not going to put it in tea. Then, I remembered. If I use something like cold drip coffee or a French press, it was always bitter.

I had a thought. I steeped the tea for three minutes, then poured it through a coffee filter and, voila!, no bitterness!

Of course, I realize that I am talking to people that, mostly, have drank tea ll their lives, so you probably don't care.

cookiee_munster

This is absolutely endearing and rather sweet (excuse the pun) lol

I absolutely cannibalise my tea, I think any tea enthusiast would absolutely gasp at what I drink. :p

Occasionally I get a hankering for some Yorkshire tea or English breakfast. But my go-to tea is twinings chai. Which I drink like your run-of-the-mill builders' tea (milk & 2 sugars) what i like about it is it's not super strong. Whenever family make it for me, they always ask "is that ok?" referring to its paler colour compared to that dark orange colour you'd get with your run-of-the-mill tea.

Whickwithy

Love the pun. Thanks for pointing it out (I can be a bit slow).

So, from what you say, you can tell the difference between teas (e.g. Yorkshire/English breakfast). That is something I always dreamed of. All of the, ummm, black teas taste the same to me. I am hoping, now that I've gotten beyond that awful bitter taste, I can explore more thoroughly. One thing I am already noticing is that the difference in that initial 'rush' of caffeine (or whatever it is) is very different from coffee. It's intense with tea. Maybe that's just because I've drank coffee all my life in great quantities.

I really just can't get into all of the weird tasting teas, like Oolong or Earl Grey. I guess I should retry them without the bitterness (definitely always felt that Earl Grey was way bitter). Maybe I should try chai. From what I just read, it is sugared and creamed ... I think I'll skip it.

cookiee_munster

Whickwithy said:
Love the pun. Thanks for pointing it out (I can be a bit slow).

So, from what you say, you can tell the difference between teas (e.g. Yorkshire/English breakfast). That is something I always dreamed of. All of the, ummm, black teas taste the same to me. I am hoping, now that I've gotten beyond that awful bitter taste, I can explore more thoroughly. One thing I am already noticing is that the difference in that initial 'rush' of caffeine (or whatever it is) is very different from coffee. It's intense with tea. Maybe that's just because I've drank coffee all my life in great quantities.

I really just can't get into all of the weird tasting teas, like Oolong or Earl Grey. I guess I should retry them without the bitterness (definitely always felt that Earl Grey was way bitter). Maybe I should try chai. From what I just read, it is sugared and creamed ... I think I'll skip it.

I always find it interesting how people take their tea and coffee. As a kid I think myself and my family were milk and two sugars I don't think anyone drunk it any differently and that's how I thought everyone else had their tea, too! :p

Whickwithy

I guess I still think that way when it comes to tea. Does anyone in the UK drink tea black?

Urban_Tribesman

Lisa used to drink it black but she has problems with kidney stones, which tea can contribute to, & was advised by the dietician that taking it with a little milk can help offset that problem, (& increasing her fluid intake per day overall) so she’s gone back to drinking it with milk & always has a cup of hot water with a slice of lemon in it with it & throughout the day.

Whickwithy

I guess I had it all wrong about tea. I would have thought it was always with sugar.

Tea is just fascinating to me. It seems so much more flavorful than coffee and, yet, I became so used to coffee over a lifetime that, try as hard as I might, I could never switch over to tea.

cookiee_munster

The biggest question is... how is the tea made... say if you were to make me a cup of tea, what are the steps you'd do? :p

Whickwithy

I think my biggest unknown is how much tea to put. Somehow, the tea caffeine sets me off like a rocket, even with a single spoonful.

Have you hear of "Operation Cookie Monster"? I had to laugh. Cookie Munster, the international spy!!

Operation Cookie Monster

I guess it's a real thing.

cookiee_munster

Whickwithy said:
I think my biggest unknown is how much tea to put. Somehow, the tea caffeine sets me off like a rocket, even with a single spoonful.

Have you hear of "Operation Cookie Monster"? I had to laugh. Cookie Munster, the international spy!!

Operation Cookie Monster

I guess it's a real thing.

Loose leaf tea is way too much faff for me! tea bag, bam. in goes the water. bam. mash the bag. remove bag. in goes the sugar. stir. in goes the milk. stir. voila! bish bash bosh, done! :p

Oh gosh, i've not heard of that operation cookie monster.

:( :-/

Whickwithy

cookiee_munster said:

Whickwithy said:
Oh gosh, i've not heard of that operation cookie monster.
:( :-/

Of course, you haven't (wink wink; an international spy! right here! don't worry, we won't tell)

So, I figured, since I had removed that bitter taste from my tea with the paper filter rather than sugar, I could try three spoons of tea. I might as well have strapped a rocket to my back.

Which reminds me of the movie, Darwin Awards, which had some pretty funny skits, like the guy that strapped a rocket to his car.

Darwin awards was a movie with Winona Rider. She's pretty amazing. She is the only other celebrity that I have ever run across that has more than one or two expressions on Google images. She has, maybe four or five. She might actually be alive. I finally get the point of all of those zombie fans.

Urban_Tribesman

Here at Chey UT, we only use teabags for our getting up/still in bed cuppa as that early, our taste buds haven’t kicked in, but all other cuppas are made using leaf tea & a stainless steel pot. Lisa and I usually have two cups each from a full pot & we only use two spoonfuls of tea in the pot, (it’s one of those with an internal filter compartment), then boiling water & leave for 5 minutes. We both take it white so a splash of milk in each mug, (cups and saucers are an anachronistic faff at home) and then pour the tea in, no sugar or sweetners for either of us. We use English Breakfast & sometimes I make my own blend using black teas Ceylon (4 parts), Assam (4 parts) & Kenyan (2 parts).

cookiee_munster

Urban_Tribesman said:
Here at Chey UT, we only use teabags for our getting up/still in bed cuppa as that early, our taste buds haven’t kicked in, but all other cuppas are made using leaf tea & a stainless steel pot. Lisa and I usually have two cups each from a full pot & we only use two spoonfuls of tea in the pot, (it’s one of those with an internal filter compartment), then boiling water & leave for 5 minutes. We both take it white so a splash of milk in each mug, (cups and saucers are an anachronistic faff at home) and then pour the tea in, no sugar or sweetners for either of us. We use English Breakfast & sometimes I make my own blend using black teas Ceylon (4 parts), Assam (4 parts) & Kenyan (2 parts).

That all sounds like a really delicious pre-get up bedtime treat! :)

Whickwithy · Post edited by Whickwithy at 2023-05-10 10:12:06

I think that may explain a problem of mine with tea, UT. I was putting too much. I'm so used to coffee that I make crazy strong (ruined one ex-wife's stomach). I've scaled back to a tiny amount of tea. It still comes out dark. I think that will work better.

I got all kinds of teas last time I was in England. I can't tell the difference between any of them. Except Earl Grey and Oolong. Can't stand either.

Urban_Tribesman

English Breakfast is just a blend of Black Teas. It was blended to be refreshing as a morning brew. You can also get an English Afternoon Tea blend which is not so ‘perky’. We drink English Breakfast all the time but if you want something similar, but not as ‘full’ then just try a pure Ceylon Black Tea. Lisa & I have been to Sri Lanka a couple of times & if you get up in the hills where it’s cooler, the fields are full of estates all growing tea & the aroma of tea is really strong in the air.

As for quantity, in a pot of say a litre (a pint & 3/4’s) you only need 2 reasonably sized teaspoons full, definitely not dessert spoon sized. The beauty of the pot with the removable internal filter is that, after 5 -6 minutes, you can remove it & the brewing process stops & then every cup out is the same strength. Nothing more unpalatable than stewed tea!

Whickwithy · Post edited by Whickwithy at 2023-05-11 07:03:28

Right. Like I said, I cut back like crazy and it's made a big difference. I think I might, finally, be enjoying tea!

I have English Breakfast and it's very good. But, also, is the Assam, Royal Blend, Queen Anne, and about four others. I even have a Welsh brand of tea. I cannot tell the difference. I am certain it has to do with familiarity with tea. Unless It's something awful, like Earl Grey or Oolong. Afternoon tea seems almost indistinguishable from water.

Like I said, I like using that paper filter. It's nice also that I can use the same filter over and over, again.

That's a good insight. Stewed tea is a no-no. I guess I kinda figured that, though.

I have to say I find the caffeine buzz from tea very, very different from the coffee buzz. It's very nice.

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