Tea drinkers stirred by poor state of the cuppa

[tjwmason]

Tea drinkers stirred by poor state of the cuppa
By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent
(Filed: 29/09/2005)

Traditional tea drinkers have reached boiling point over the state of the nation's cuppa, saying the standard of preparation is a disgrace and the taste so poor that the resulting brew often has to be thrown away.

A cup of tea in most public places is a "complete rip off", say the majority of over-50s, with the biggest gripes being paper or plastic cups, poor quality tea, tea bags with "silly little strings attached", plastic stirrers, and "awful little cartons of long-life milk".

But while British cafes and tea rooms are rated poorly, France emerges as the country that makes the worst tea in the world. Spain also gets the thumbs down, as does America - which many think has never learned the art of tea-making - the Greek Islands, and Italy.




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/29/ntea29.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/09/29/ixhome.html

And just in case any passing French, Spanish or American folk are passing they provide the six simple steps on how to make tea properly.

Six steps to a perfect brew
(Filed: 29/09/2005)

1. Use only freshly drawn cold water, ensure that kettles are descaled regularly and that teapots are spotlessly clean

2. Teapots should be warmed with hot water which is then poured away

3. Use the recommended number of tea bags or one teaspoon of loose tea per cup. For one person use a 10oz teapot, for two people a 20oz pot is recommended.

4. Water should always be freshly boiled and boiling when added to tea.

5. Leave to brew for three to five minutes before serving. Stir before serving

6. Pour a little milk into each cup before pouring the tea through a strainer if necessary and sweeten as required

(source: Twinings)


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American DUers - read, mark, learn and inwardly digest. There is no excuse for bad tea.

[LostinVA]

1. Try being a REAL tea drinker in the US of A

Tea bags dipped in tepid water, six ounces of water brought to the table with one Lipton tea bag. People looking at me like I'm nuts and saying, "You put MILK in it?!" *gag* I can only get a good cuppa at home. I LOVE going to Canada for this reason (and many others!)....

I am a native-born American, btw.

[LisaL]

3. Yep, the tea served here in US is hideous.

And when they use coffee pots to heat up water, you can't even say if it's tea or coffee.

[Zuni]

7. I brew good tea

at least I like it :(

[LostinVA]

9. I know -- like when hotels "kindly" have tea bags

Next to the in-room coffee maker... ummm... try an electric kettle, 'cause that tea is gonna taste like coffeee...

[Zuni]

5. I love milk in tea

[LostinVA]

14. Me too.... yummy.....

[billyskank]

2. I find the golden rule is simply: use a pot

The only time you should brew the tea in the cup is when no pot is available. Doing it this way increases the tannin. I don't even know what that is, but it definitely makes an inferior cup of tea.

[bleedingheart]

4. I was once paid the highest compliment by an Aussie...

I had some friend over for dinner and afterwards I served tea with dessert.

I used tea I bought an organic food store and served it to my guests and the husband remarked..."this is the first good cup of tea I have had here in the states in 6 months!"...

[khashka]

6. I have to object....

#4 - freshly boiled or boiling water. What is this insanity? The water should be about to boil but not quite yet. Then you get the flavour, let it boil and all you get is tannin.

Ok the Brits can do tea (hey they really can!) but coffee is a closed book to them. Want to experience really bad coffee? Go to England! And of course no one in Europe can make iced tea....

Khash.

[billyskank]

11. Shee you americans are so competitive

yeah ok there's one thing the Brits can do, but here's something they suck at! :eyes:

[khashka]

27. Would it unruffle your feathers Billy

if I proclaimed loudly and clearly that Americans can't make a decent cuppa to save their lives?

Done.

Khash.

[tjwmason]

12. On coffee - I plead guilty for most of my compatriots.

In my office they only provide instant 'coffee' - a most noxious substance which severely undermines civilisation.

My desk is a small haven of sanity where only decent coffee is drunk.

Not being boastful - but I am the exception to the bad coffee rule.

[Elidor]

29. Funny, I've always heard it's FOOD the brits mess up

Everyone I know who's ever been to England has said the food was horrible. Bland and cold and lumpy.

[chknltl]

8. May I recommend:

Barnes and Watson Fine Teas
www.BarnesandWatson.com
Peruse their site, their education page is fairly informative, their teas are exquisite and if I am not mistaken they ship anywhere.
Chilled Tahitian blend, uncorrupted by sweeteners is nectar of the gods, 4 Star stuff.

[LostinVA]

10. And Murchie's in Victoria, BC

I get it mailed to me...

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

13. Ahem - you have obviously not been to our home!

My husband brags on my alleged tea-making abilities to anyone who will listen. He's Pakistani and would drink 100 cups a day if it wouldn't keep him in the bathroom constantly!

[tjwmason]

15. Then it's a non-American making the tea.

I'd love to come around and have some of his tea though. :D

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

16. No - I make the tea!

He can do it of course, but it's become my responsibility now. Our friends are always shocked that I love hot tea with milk; they seem to think Americans only drink iced tea.

And we'd love to have you visit our home - come on over! Then we'll return to London with you - we love it there.

[LostinVA]

20. I'm American and make GREAT tea!

[Lady Freedom]

17. What just a cup? And what is this about milk? And where is the ice?

[redqueen]

18. Thanks!

Appreciate the tips. :)

Though I rarely make it, cooler weather is here and it's the perfect time to practice.

[Lady Freedom]

19. But they don't even say how long to leave it in the sun!

It don't sound like any tip to me! Adding milk to tea? You need to save the milk for lattes!

[tjwmason]

22. Wrong way around.

You don't add milk to tea - you add tea to milk.

Pre-lactation vs. post-lactation has been known to cause fisticuffs in England.

Plus who needs lattes - they're just milk pretending to be grown-up and coffee. If you want to drink milk, drink milk - if you want to drink coffee, drink real (i.e. black) coffee.

If you want to put ice in tea - then find a very tall building an jump off it. :P

[Lady Freedom]

23. :P Back at you

Ice! Ice! Ice!

[swimboy]

21. My father spent part of the 1950s in England so we grew up putting

milk in our tea. We later lived next door to an English family who insisted on "a proper brown teapot" and the finer points like warming the pot with boiling water so you didn't shock the tea.

I'm enjoying tea this morning, albeit bagged tea steeped in bubbler-heated water (not boiled) in a styrofoam cup. That's what I have to settle for at work. But at home I can make a proper pot.

[renate]

24. what's the verdict on tea balls (or whatever they're called)

... you know, those mesh things you put the tea in so you don't have to glop wet loose tea leaves out of the teapot when you clean it. Can you tea conoisseurs tell a difference between loose tea and tea in a thingy? (I could try it for myself but my palate is as acute and discerning as *, so my opinion would be meaningless.)

Also, I read that someone's English aunt said the secret to great tea is to rinse, but never wash, the teapot. I thought that would lead to a big buildup of tannin-y brown crud, but I was wondering whether that was an Ancient British Secret that anybody else had heard.

[tjwmason]

26. I have a tea-ball

I only ever use it in situations that a tea-pot is unavailable and I have to make tea in a mug.

I know lots of folk who never wash their teapots. One of the great differences over here is in the strength of tea prefered (I have southern - i.e., comparatively weak - tea), it seems to be those who like a strong dark tea that don't wash the teapot.

[miss_kitty]

25. I love making tea

I brew correctly. My English friends laud my tea making capabilities!

But I am not a MIF person. I like adding milk after I pour.

i never order tea in a restaurant here. They look at you like you're some sort of arsehole when you ask them to pour the boiling water on the bag, instead of bringing it out for assembly (cup, bag, hottish water in a pot)

[populistdriven]

28. Call me a psychopath, but I put Indian Red label tea in my expresso maker

and than add boiled milk, cardamom & something sweet.

Keeps me going for at least 6 hours