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The Tea Thread

Being a window cleaner I clean the windows of a lot of shops some owned by foreign people. One I've been cleaning the windows of for years sells bags, carpets, bowls, handbags, rugs, and other stuff is owned by someone from Marrakesh. The shop is like being in a market in Morocco. He has a license to put stuff out on the street and it has that Moroccan feel about it.

Each Friday I clean the shop windows before he opens and every fourth week I collect the money and he always makes me sit down inside the shop on a small rug surrounded by all the market wares and drink mint tea served in a small cup on a tray from a tea pot just as it would be in Morocco and eat a few Moroccan sweets his sister makes. Yummy.

I always look forwards to it. It is so cultural and all about manners and politeness along with the genuine warmth of friendship and somehow so strange. People come into the shop, the two helpers he has serve them, but nothing interrupts the tea drinking or the conversation. Right in the middle of the shop. He always says to me, it's our culture and normal and respected in Morocco.

The mint tea has obviously mint and also lemon and a few spices I can never remember. It's very refreshing.
 
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kesavaross said:
I always look forwards to it. It is so cultural and all about manners and politeness along with the genuine warmth of friendship and somehow so strange. People come into the shop, the two helpers he has serve them, but nothing interrupts the tea drinking or the conversation. Right in the middle of the shop. He always says to me, it's our culture and normal and respected in Morocco.

The mint tea has obviously mint and also lemon and a few spices I can never remember. It's very refreshing.
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People say the way we interact with others has changed (and they're correct as far as the west is concerned) but it's as much a cultural thing as a technological one.

Life is still like this in many parts of the world.
Walk through Cairo and see how often people will invite you for tea/coffee and food, no matter how poor they are.
 
The British claim to know a thing or two when it comes to making a good cup of tea.

The beverage is a cultural institution in the UK, where an estimated 100 million cups are drunk every day.

But now a scientist based more than 3,000 miles away in the US claims to have found the secret to a perfect cuppa that many Brits would initially find absolutely absurd - adding salt.

Prof Michelle Francl's research has caused quite the stir in the UK, and has even drawn a diplomatic intervention from the US Embassy.

"We want to ensure the good people of the UK that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain's national drink is not official United States policy. And never will be," the embassy said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

US scientist recommends adding salt to make perfect cup of tea.

Continued:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68085304
 
Tempest63 said:
The British claim to know a thing or two when it comes to making a good cup of tea.

The beverage is a cultural institution in the UK, where an estimated 100 million cups are drunk every day.

But now a scientist based more than 3,000 miles away in the US claims to have found the secret to a perfect cuppa that many Brits would initially find absolutely absurd - adding salt.

Prof Michelle Francl's research has caused quite the stir in the UK, and has even drawn a diplomatic intervention from the US Embassy.

"We want to ensure the good people of the UK that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain's national drink is not official United States policy. And never will be," the embassy said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

US scientist recommends adding salt to make perfect cup of tea.

Continued:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68085304
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I think this would just make a different-tasting cup of tea. The very slight bitterness is a component of English tea's taste, but it's almost unnoticeable if you brew it at the correct temperature for the correct amount of time.

We all know how disappointing a lukewarm cuppa can be when you've forgotten about it and left it brewing too long; you're always tempted to microwave it or try to squeeze freshly boiled water into the cup, but it's never going to remedy the situation.
 
I actually like the bitterness of stewed tea. A cup of strong, very hot but bitter tea is my favourite thing.

My mate John makes me tea when I go round to his. But he can't have caffeine, so he makes fruit teas. He finds them a bit too weak, so he puts in about ten bags, and then, to add some 'body' he adds those fizzy Vitamin C tablets.

It's a good job I have a strong constitution.
 
catseye said:
My mate John makes me tea when I go round to his. But he can't have caffeine, so he makes fruit teas. He finds them a bit too weak, so he puts in about ten bags, and then, to add some 'body' he adds those fizzy Vitamin C tablets.
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What an odd concoction! At least you're getting vitamin C with it.
 
Doesn't that need yak butter? I'm not sure they sell that in Tesco.
 
At work I am entitled to free hot and cold drinks. Used to ask for lattes which are very nice, but I switched to tea a while back.
I'm now sleeping better and not craving the caffeine. Techy is also drinking tea, as previously mentioned, and is also feeling the benefits.
 
escargot said:
At work I am entitled to free hot and cold drinks. Used to ask for lattes which are very nice, but I switched to tea a while back.
I'm now sleeping better and not craving the caffeine. Techy is also drinking tea, as previously mentioned, and is also feeling the benefits.
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I stopped drinking coffee a while back and I feel...................................no better whatsoever.
 
Min Bannister said:
I found a recipe for "Tibetan Butter Tea" in a book and tried it. It includes butter, salt and milk. It isn't half bad.
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I told Miss Yith and she now has her baby books off the old shelf.

(I taught her to read with these).

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I haven't a clue how to make decent tea, so maybe this (from food writer Felicity Cloake) will help ~

'Here’s my counterattack for a perfect British (or Irish) cuppa:

*Warm the pot (or mug, but you get second helpings out of a pot) by filling with hot water.
*Boil the kettle again.
*Meanwhile put a heaped teaspoon of loose leaf (I like Scottish or Irish breakfast blends for their high Assam content) or one teabag per person into the pot or mug, adding an extra spoonful of loose leaf to the pot (but no extra bag) and place this nearby.
*Fill with boiling water and leave to brew for four to five minutes, then remove the leaves or bag, pour if necessary.
*Add milk (preferably whole) to taste; I like it the colour of wet sand.
 
Tempest63 said:
Are you going to share the recipe so we can all give it a try?
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Okay, the recipe is from Beyond Riverside Drive* by Chris Royal and is American. I had to greatly reduce the amounts (8 cups??) and figure out what the heck "half and half" was but here it is.

8 cups water
4tbs loose black tea
1tsp salt
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of half and half**.

Add tea and water to a saucepan and boil for 5 mins. Turn off the heat and steep for 5 mins more.
Strain the tea and put it back into the pan. Bring it back to the boil and then simmer. Add the butter and milk and stir until dissolved. It then says to blend for 3 minutes in a food processor but I am not sure that is necessary.
Erinaceus said:
Doesn't that need yak butter? I'm not sure they sell that in Tesco.
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It says you can add a tsp of goat cheese to achieve the gamey taste of Yak butter. Yuck!

*It is a recipe book created by a fan of the Pendergast novels by Preston and Child. I am a huge fan so of course had to buy it.

** apparently this is half whole milk and half cream. It is unlikely I bothered with this and would just have used milk.
 
I spotted that Twinings are - or were - selling tea-bags of "Distinctively Smoky Tea" - "inspired by Lapsang Souchong" they assert on the pack. Since Twinings's recent form on LS was very poor, this is unlikely to be an improvement. I resisted the offer. Maybe the reduction to half-price was a sign the product had bombed, deservedly*.

Time was when their leaf-tea LS was fine! Mind you, I am talking about half a century ago! :omr:

* Edit, confirmation of that here. I see the Spectator tore into it last year, though most of the article is behind a pay-wall.
 
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JamesWhitehead said:
I spotted that Twinings are - or were - selling tea-bags of "Distinctively Smoky Tea" - "inspired by Lapsang Souchong" they assert on the pack. Since Twinings's recent form on LS was very poor, this is unlikely to be an improvement. I resisted the offer. Maybe the reduction to half-price was a sign the product had bombed, deservedly*.

Time was when their leaf-tea LS was fine! Mind you, I am talking about half a century ago! :omr:

* Edit, confirmation of that here. I see the Spectator tore into it last year, though most of the article is behind a pay-wall.
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This sounds like a substance that is almost, but not quite - entirely unlike Lapsang Souchong. I buy mine from the farmers market as I am lucky enough to have a local tea blender. :cool:
 
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