Posted on 05/24/2012 6:09:33 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Tea should also be made differently depending on its type.
Tea comes from the Camellia sinensis shrub, which is native to China and India. Green, black, white and oolong tea all come from the same plant. The difference is in how much the leaves are processed.
According to Chris Brown, who conducts tastings and classes at the British Tea Garden and Rooftop Cafe in Tecumseh, Mich., it’s all about oxidation, which can be thought of as similar to what happens to a banana when it’s exposed to air. Black tea is highly oxidized, while green tea is less processed, and white tea, which uses only the newest leaves, is even less so.
Brown said that a general rule to get the best cup of tea is to steep black tea for three to five minutes, green tea for one to three minutes, and white tea for as long as eight minutes. And there are tricks to brewing the perfect tea.
“You should start with filtered, fresh water every time — don’t reboil water,” she said.
Tea should also be made differently depending on its type.
“People brew green tea like they do black tea and wonder why it tastes awful,” said Brown. Black tea should use water that’s been brought to a full boil but not for long, because over-boiling takes the oxygen out of the water. On the other hand, green and white tea should use water that’s only been brought to a “preboil,” which means that it’s steaming or, at most, that bubbles have just formed at the bottom of the pot.
Herbal teas and rooibos tea, a South African tea that is quickly becoming popular, are, like with black tea, generally best with boiling water, according to Brown. Incidentally, herbal and rooibos teas aren’t really tea at all because they don’t use actual tea leaves. Herbal teas consist of whatever the herb or fruit happens to be — peppermint, for example — while rooibos tea, also called red tea, comes from the rooibos bush.
Here’s another helpful hint from Brown: If you’re brewing
tea in a pot, warm the pot up first by putting warm water in it. Then dump that water out and make your tea. And, said Phyllis Wilkerson, co-owner of the new Governor Croswell Tea Room in Adrian, Mich., the secret to stronger tea isn’t what you might think.
“Don’t brew longer to get stronger,” she said. “It will get bitter. If you want stronger tea, add more tea.”
Both the British Tea Garden and the Governor Croswell Tea Room can lend a hand to novice tea drinkers. Among the questions the staffs at both restaurants would ask are: caffeinated, decaf or don’t you care? What flavors do you like — spicy, fruity, minty or just plain tea? How strong do you like your tea?
Wilkerson said people who don’t know the first thing about tea often like her shop’s cinnamon orange spice variety.
“Even people that don’t like tea like it,” she said, and so it would be one of the first suggestions she would make to a tea newcomer.
What foods you’re going to pair your tea with can also make a difference.
“Different food brings out different flavors (in the tea),” said Brown. “Teas can taste different after you eat versus before. It’s a lot like with wine.”
Finally, there’s the question of bagged vs. loose. Buying loose tea, rather than teabags, allows for “a higher quality and a fuller taste,” said Brown. “And there’s a lot more variety in loose tea. You can mix and match.” Sometimes, that mixing and matching even includes adding flavors like chocolate or caramel, which allows a tea drinker to indulge in a sweet treat without the calories of a dessert.
My busy person tea.
Put 2 cups H2O in a pyrex pour-able measuring glass.
Micro for 2.5 minutes.
Take out of micro.
Put in tea bag.
Brew.
Drink.
In summer, pour it over large glass of ice.
Voila! Tea in 3 minutes.
It ain’t classy, but it works.
Well,,,,, I’m a Green Tea nut! I get my tea here;
http://generationtea.com/
Pu Erh is great. But the Organic Gunpowder Green Tea is stunning!
The Brits didn't set out to build an Empire, they acquired it first to further their trade of spices and other exotica back to Europe, and then to protect their sea trade routes.
Philistine!! :p
Great article, NC. I drink Earl Gray during the Winter and iced tea with lemon all Summer long. Love tea....
Ever the rebel I eschew the devil sweetener and only squeeze the juice of two quartered lemon wedges.
WOW. I give up.
Actually the tea plant is native to India (Assam region) and even to Thailand. The problem was the plants were not nearly as robust as those cultivated for centuries in the mountain of China. Just finished reading For All The Tea In China about Robert Fortune who traveled in China disguised as a mandarin, picking up tea plants to send back to India to see if they could grow them in the mountains of India.
I like green tea as well (especially from Emei Mountain where we lived for three years) and I also like Puerh but the tea I have in my hands right now is my favorite, a Yunnan Golden Tips Red (we call it black) tea I picked up in Kunming a couple of years back. Lots of tea blogs have sprung up since I started one back in 2007. A fascinating subject - tea.
Here in hot Tx I put my green or black tea in a bottle and sit it outside several hours for the sun to heat it up. Then I squeeze in a slice of lime and stick it in the fridge for iced green tea. No fuss, less muss.
Boiling does not break the H2O molecule. There is oxygen in suspension in water. This allows fish to breath. Without oxygenation nothing could live in water.
LOL I think they deep fry just about everything these days.
Well I do too! But I like weak tea so within 45 minutes to an hour it’s plenty strong enough for me.
Well I do too! But I like weak tea so within 45 minutes to an hour it’s plenty strong enough for me.
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