Hot and refreshing and not a tea bag in sight

Hi All.  When I was working on a Sunday, there was a good chance that some Circle Line work would be on the shift? Not always though. And after going around in circles it took some concentration to remember where one was, and when one was going to make the tea. But after the Guards were made redundant it got worse, and a good cuppa would really wake one up. But today even a good cuppa made with “Loose Tea”  doesn’t have the wide awake effect anymore. What have they done with the Tea ???  It is just as well that I am not working now.  Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Kevin,

Reduced the caffeine content (shorter fermentation when the sun turns the picked leaves and buds from green to black, and more leaves not tips) and the amount in the bag. Go for Irish breakfast. It used to be one heaped teaspoon per person and one for the pot and a teacup, now it's a small bag with less than a teaspoon and a mug, and water less than boiling. Brown betty teapots kept the heat in.

Camellia sinensis needs to be treated with respect.


Nigel

Hi Nigel. Thank you. I have discovered a 50/50 blend of Earl Grey and PG Tips ( or equivalent regular tea).    Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Kevin,

Scented tea? PG tips? 

Nigel

Hi Nigel. Thank you. Yes exactly that, but with a difference, the PG Ips makes it more appealing.. Best wishes Kevin 

[user=1632]BCDR[/user] wrote:

Camellia sinensis needs to be treated with respect.

Camellia sinensis needs to be av oided at all costs !!   (IMHO)

 Other than by coffee, good old Yorkshire Tea can't be beaten ………………………. :cheers

"1 for each person and 1 for the pot" in tea spoons - now it's 1 teabag in the mug and leave it brewing for around 4 to 5 minutes.   :thumbs

Haven't  seen any tea  plantations in Yorkshire Peter!

Hi Petermac.  Thank you. I was unable to purchase my favourite PG Tips Loose Tea recently, so I grabbed a bag of Yorkshire Loose tea instead, I am sorry say, but I wasn’t that impressed with it. Best wishes Kevin 

There is one in Cornwall though. Tregothnan Tea.

Black, oolong,  green, white, my local tea purveyor has about 75 different ones, and not a trace of scent. 


Yorkshire Gold is a decent breakfast tea, much better loose leaf than bagged (as are all teas). The amount of tea in a bag varies considerably, more tea = more cost. Earl Grey is usually made with cheaper (bitter) leaves not buds and synthetic oil of bergamot. Not my cuppa


Tea is serious stuff. Much more subtle than coffee. But then I am unashamedly  biased.


Nigel

Hi Nigel. Thank you again. In 1993 I had a holiday in Russia 🇷🇺. And the train went from Saint Petersburg to Tashkent stopping at Samarkand, and the like . On the way we called into a very hot market and one of the group insisted that we should try the Green Tea, with the tradition that the first cup is poison? and has to be poured back into the pot. I don’t know about the tradition, but, the tea wasn’t bad.    Best wishes Kevin 

Yep, tea's a good drink and sets you up for the day  :)
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Although, my brain tends to be non-reactive to most everything in the morning before at least one mug of ground coffee, Arabica, 90degC infusion  :thumbs

Then tea all day long!

Bill

[user=364]Super D[/user] wrote:

Haven't  seen any tea  plantations in Yorkshire Peter!

Unless you know where to look Derek, they can be difficult to find, particularly since they built the M62.  You can now zoom past them and, before you know it, you're over the top and in Lancashire …………………..

The plantations are tucked in between Golcar and Bolster Moor where they catch the early morning fog and, more importantly, the summer sun which only happens on August 27th…………………….. :cheers

Coffee is also very complex Nigel and whilst not as subtle as tea, it has a huge variety of underlying flavours.

Some takes from the caffeine front (all true).

My dad, a tea drinker all his life, worked for General Foods in Banbury. One day he took part in a contest at work to see who could taste the various batches of coffee (take a mouthful, roll it around the mouth, spit it out) and come up with the Gold B!end flavor. Turned out he was the man. The coffee came from wherever the price was right, and was often of dubious quality, so keeping the brand taste could be a challenge. Instant promotion to the tasting room and a white coat. My dad always maintained he single mouthedly changed the ability of the UK to appreciate coffee.

Fast forward to a trip to Nashville a few years ago. Kicking our heels waiting for a regional jet to get us back to civilization, the CEO expressed a desire for a cup of tea. Off we go to what passes for a snack bar, and after getting through the language barrier (he's Oz, I'm Brit/Canuck, this is the South), we're presented with a cup of hotish instant sweet tea and some half and half (think gold top if you  remember milk in  bottles). Whereupon we both dive into our bags and bring out the emergency teabags, and teach the young lady how tea is made.

One evening in Milan after some grub and vino the same urge for a cuppa came over us. Finding an open establishment  we asked for a hot black tea, splash of milk. So the barista shows off and presents us with a tea cappuccino. There must have been a good two centimeters of foam. No teabags on our persons, so in we dived.  Not too bad, but that could have been the result of the vino. I do remember we then tried a limoncella tea. Or three.


Nigel

Hi Nigel. On a trip tu New York in 2000 for St Patrics Day , there was a muddle with the reservation and my 83year Old Mum was on a different floor, I told the reception that this wouldn’t do. Any way they booked us into a suite on the top floor, with a kitchen, cups and saucers. No Tea or Milk, say no more, go shopping. The regular brand of Tea wasn’t quite up to standard. Question, what do they call Tea, Answer Gnats( I will let you work out that one???
Best wishes Kevin