[aslyfox]

yes he did

George Orwell: A Nice Cup of Tea

If you look up ‘tea’ in the first cookery book that comes to hand you will probably find that it is unmentioned; or at most you will find a few lines of sketchy instructions which give no ruling on several of the most important points.

This is curious, not only because tea is one of the main stays of civilization in this country, as well as in Eire, Australia and New Zealand, but because the best manner of making it is the subject of violent disputes.

When I look through my own recipe for the perfect cup of tea, I find no fewer than eleven outstanding points. On perhaps two of them there would be pretty general agreement, but at least four others are acutely controversial. Here are my own eleven rules, every one of which I regard as golden:

First of all, one should use Indian or Ceylonese tea. China tea has virtues which are not to be despised nowadays — it is economical, and one can drink it without milk — but there is not much stimulation in it. One does not feel wiser, braver or more optimistic after drinking it. Anyone who has used that comforting phrase ‘a nice cup of tea’ invariably means Indian tea. Secondly, tea should be made in small quantities — that is, in a teapot. Tea out of an urn is always tasteless, while army tea, made in a cauldron, tastes of grease and whitewash. The teapot should be made of china or earthenware. Silver or Britanniaware teapots produce inferior tea and enamel pots are worse; though curiously enough a pewter teapot (a rarity nowadays) is not so bad. Thirdly, the pot should be warmed beforehand. This is better done by placing it on the hob than by the usual method of swilling it outwith hot water. Fourthly, the tea should be strong. For a pot holding a quart, if you are going to fill it nearly to the brim, six heaped teaspoons would be about right. In a time of rationing, this is not an idea that can be realized on every day of the week, but I maintain that one strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones. All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes — a fact which is recognized in the extra ration issued to old-age pensioners. Fifthly, the tea should be put straight into the pot. No strainers, muslin bags or other devices to imprison the tea. In some countries teapots are fitted with little dangling baskets under the spout to catch the stray leaves, which are supposed to be harmful. Actually one can swallow tea-leaves in considerable quantities without ill effect, and if the tea is not loose in the potit never infuses properly. Sixthly, one should take the teapot to the kettle and not the other way about. The water should be actually boiling at the moment of impact, which means that one should keep it on the flame while one pours. Some people add that one should only use water that has been freshly brought to the boil, but I have never noticed that it makes any difference. Seventhly, after making the tea, one should stir it, or better, give the pot a good shake, afterwards allowing the leaves to settle. Eighthly, one should drink out of a good breakfast cup — that is,the cylindrical type of cup, not the flat, shallow type. The breakfast cup holds more, and with the other kind one’s tea is always half cold before one has well started on it. Ninthly, one should pour the cream off the milk before using itf or tea. Milk that is too creamy always gives tea a sickly taste. Tenthly, one should pour tea into the cup first. This is one ofthe most controversial points of all; indeed in every family in Britain there are probably two schools of thought on the subject. The milk-first school can bring forward some fairly strong arguments, butI maintain that my own argument is unanswerable. This is that, by putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round. Lastly, tea — unless one is drinking it in the Russian style — should be drunk without sugar. I know very well that I am in a minority here. But still, how can you call yourself a true tea-lover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt. Tea is meant to bebitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter. If you sweeten it, you are no longer tasting the tea, you are merely tasting the sugar; you could make a very similar drink by dissolving sugar in plain hot water.

Some people would answer that they don’t like tea in itself, that they only drink it in order to be warmed and stimulated, and they need sugar to take the taste away. To those misguided people I would say: Try drinking tea without sugar for, say, a fortnight and it is very unlikely that you will ever want to ruin your tea by sweetening it again.

These are not the only controversial points to arise in connexion with tea drinking, but they are sufficient to show how subtilized the whole business has become. There is also the mysterious social etiquette surrounding the teapot (why is it considered vulgar to drink out of your saucer, for instance?) and much might be written about the subsidiary uses of tea leaves, such as telling fortunes, predicting the arrival of visitors, feeding rabbits, healing burns and sweeping the carpet. It is worth paying attention to such details as warming the pot and using water that is really boiling, so as to make quite sure of wringing out of one’s ration the twenty good, strong cups of that two ounces, properly handled, ought to represent.

1946

THE END

---

Last edited by aslyfox; 03-24-2020 at 02:53 PM.

[Astro-Baby]

Anhhh Earl Grey......did you know that the bergamot was added as a filler during a poor harvest. When they restored the Cutty Sark, an original tea clipper, we took a tour and it was fascinating to see how it was loaded. Wooden boxes with tea were packed by loaders and the boxes had to fit the holds precisely so bigger boxes to the centre, smaller ones to the edge, teeny ones to the gaps. Loading these was a precision job and took days.

[PDL]

• Market Spice Cinnamon Orange. I thought I was running out (one bag left out of the last 24) so I ordered on-line yesterday and I had two boxes show up (long story - TMI). The tea is shipped in aluminum foil bags. I have a sealed jar that I transfer the tea into and keep frozen. No sweetener, reminds me of tea my Grandmother used to give me as a child.
• Tazo "Zen" Green tea. Something hot to drink. No sweetener.
• Lipton's instant unsweetened Ice tea. Used as a plain old water substitute, juiced with one package of Spenda.
• We have several types of Tazo brand teas, a box of British Breakfast Tea and a 100 odd box of Earl Grey - why I do not know - I do not care for Earl Grey. Guess I am not Capt. Picard. (PS: Patrick Stewart is not a fan either, so don't send him a case of the stuff)

Now as to making the tea's.
We have a in-sink filtered water heater that starts the water at 182 degrees F. Put the cup into the microwave for 55 seconds which will boil the water. Insert tea bag and wait, sometimes it is three minutes, usually more depending on what I am doing.
The Iced Tea is put in a 12 oz glass and filled with filtered water from the refrigerator, Splenda added while dry.

[bertwert]

In my (obviously correct) opinion, sugar should not be added to tea. Just a wee splash of milk.

As far as how to make it, loose leaf is best. Four heaped teaspoons or so into a big pot, then add boiling water direct from the whistling kettle. When it is suitably brewed (I pour out a wee splash first to make sure it's strong enough, and to clear leaves in the spout), pour it into a good sized mug that already has a splash of milk in it. If you get the last mug, remember to drink the last bit through your teeth to filter out the leaves.

The only loose leaf tea that can be found easily is Brooke Bond's Red Label, which thankfully is pretty decent.

Remember, a cup of tea can be microwaved as many times as you like...

[bertwert]

one of my favourite teas is actually "PG Tips"

Very nice. Lovely stuff that, whenever we're over we always bring back lots of teabags (for when we're lazy, or decaf). You can't get it here, but you can get Typhoo which is okay, and Typhoo decaf is decent.

I just found out that PG Tips was made by Brooke Bond (the loose leaf tea we drink here), which is probably why they taste so similar.

[mkgd1]

Tetley round bags are available at Walmart. Make it in a teapot. Repeat several times a day.

I only use loose tea. For single cups, a bit of Pu-Errh or Lapsoung Souchong. As-is. For gulping, I use CTC from Assam to make 2.5 qts. for myself and 1 qt. for my wife in separate thermal carafes, basically one day's consumption. Strong stuff. Having been raised by Anglophiles, I used to put milk & sugar in it, but gave up on both white sugar and dairy products a few years ago. Now it's a half-spoon of local raw honey to twelve ounces of tea (reheated in the m'wave as necessary). Occasional evening tea: oolong when eating Chinese food, sometimes a good green tea ("sen-cha").

---

Last edited by Unregistered User; 03-25-2020 at 02:11 AM.

[luftfluss]

Cup. Tea bag. Boiling water.

[aslyfox]

“It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.”

― Paulo Coelho

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/566.Paulo_Coelho

[Dartmoor Dave]

This thread has brought back a memory that I haven't thought about for years. When I was a kid we moved around a lot because of my Dad's job, and in those days (1960s to early 70s) removals companies here in the UK used old tea chests instead of cardboard boxes. They still held the aroma of tea leaves, and for a couple of weeks after moving house the fragrance would persist in everything we owned.

I think it was only when we moved to the USA in 1978 that we packed everything in cardboard boxes rather than tea chests.

[Wasp]

Somebody once told me that he gave up drinking tea while he lived in the USA for a year or so. In South Africa the mains supply is 230V and we use electric kettles. These boil the water pretty quickly, compared to what you get from a gas stove. The word is that 110V can't support electric kettles. As the water bubbles before finally boiling, oxygen is released from the water. When it takes longer to boil, more oxygen is lost. My friend said that it made a big difference to the taste of the tea and he just couldn't get used to it, so he switched to coffee. That's what I've been told, anyway. Feel free to comment on any experiences that you have had in this regard.

BTW, with the country going into lockdown, I can say that I will not run out of tea. We have over 200 tea bags, five kilograms of sugar anf forty litres of long life milk stocked up. Just in case. If the electricity staus on, I am set. I do have a gas barbeque with a plate on the side, so there is that.

[slartibartfast01]

In South Africa the mains supply is 230V and we use electric kettles. These boil the water pretty quickly, compared to what you get from a gas stove. The word is that 110V can't support electric kettles.

Hmm I can see the water taking a long time to heat up if you try to use a 230V kettle on 110V but of course you wouldn't do that.

[35mmfilmfan]

Forgot to mention in my previous that the tea-bag MUST be removed before adding the milk.

George Orwell wrote about tea - Jack Buchanan sang about it :

You Tube

You Tube

[aslyfox]

who remembers " The Kinks "

You Tube

You Tube

[bertwert]

who remembers " The Kinks "

I much prefer this tea song by The Kinks:

You Tube

You Tube