Tea, the Refreshing Beverage.
I've been a tea drinker for most of my life. It has been the beverage of choice for mornings. Sorry folks, but coffee, no matter how good it may be, does not have the same refreshment for me. Cold or iced coffee is vile liquid.
My mother made a pot of Lipton's for us every morning before school, but I long ago graduated to better tea bags and then to loose teas. Bags can have a good tea in them, but loose is a better method as the tea leaves do not have to be crushed or cut as small to fit in the bag.
Brewing is simple. Start with good water. If you have any tastes in your household water, get a filter. Either an in-line or table top will do. Bring the water to a boil and pour over the tea leaves. I put the tea leaves in one of those French press coffee pots; .. Steep about four minutes, then pour into a cup Many infusers are available so you can brew a cup or a pot at a time depending on your needs.
To make tea stronger, add more tea leaf, not more time as time will bring out the tannins and add bitterness. Keeping the time constant you can vary the tea if you want to experiment. About a teaspoon per cup is going to give a good flavor. Small leaf fine teas need less than the fluffier big leaf teas.
My favorite tea? Silver Needle Ceylon from the Tea Trader.
A Little History
From MS Encarta:
The tea plant itself is a native of Southeast Asia. The tea brewed from the dried leaves of this plant has been drunk in China since perhaps the 28th century BC and certainly since the 10th century BC, from which time written records of its use survive. It was first brought to Europe by the Dutch in the early 17th century AD. After the introduction of tea there in 1657, England became the only European country of tea drinkers rather than coffee drinkers. Tea was introduced into North America by early settlers but was heavily taxed by the British, eventually resulting in the well-known Boston Tea Party of 1773, and it has never competed successfully with coffee as the staple beverage. Tea is drunk by about half of the world's population; China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Japan are the main producers.
Leaf buds and young leaves are used in making tea, the age of the leaves
determining the taste and name of the particular commercial variety. Thus,
orange pekoe is made from the youngest leaves, and souchong from the fourth
leaves. After picking, the leaves either are dried immediately and completely to
produce green teas—such as pan-fired, basket-fired, hyson, and gunpowder—or
are partially dried and then allowed to ferment to produce various kinds of
black teas, such as orange pekoe, pekoe, congou, and souchong. Oolong tea is
partially fired and then steamed, thus being intermediate between green and
black teas. After being sorted, all grades of tea are packed in foil-lined
chests to prevent the absorption of unpleasant odors or the loss of aroma during
shipment. In China, tea is sometimes allowed to absorb the scent from various
flowers; jasmine is a particular favorite.
Tea is an aromatic stimulant, containing various polyphenols, essential oils, and caffeine. The concentration of caffeine in tea ranges from 2.5 to 4.5 percent, as contrasted to an average concentration of about 1.5 percent in coffee.
The American businessmen George F. Gilman and George Huntington Hartford are credited with the development of chain-store retailing; in 1859 they founded what was to become the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in New York City. Although chain-store systems existed before this time, and one is said to have been operating in China as early as 200BC, the multiunit system as understood today was developed as recently as the middle of the 19th century.
Tea was brought to Britain by ship. The Tea Clippers were some of the fastest sailing ships ever built; sleek hulls allowed them to move through the water easil. They were built to carry tea from China to England during the mid 19th century. The demand for each new season's crop of tea meant that the first ship into port could get a very high price for its cargo.
There were annual races between the ships. In 1866, five ships, the Fiery Cross, Ariel, Taeping, Serica, and Taitsing left China between May 29 and 31. The Taeping arrived first, but the first three ships arrived home within three hours of each other. This was after a 16,000 mile voyage.
Tea Terminology
So what am I getting when I order a BOP or FOP?
Here's a brief explanation (courtesy of Karen
Routledge, Betjeman and Barton - Tea Merchants):
The basic leaf is known as Pekoe (P) the other terms Orange (O), Broken (B),
Golden, Flowery etc describe the leaf. A Broken leaf tea is stronger than
a whole leaf tea as the surface area is larger and the leaf infuses faster.
Flowery Pekoes (FP) are generally stronger than FOP's due to the lack of O.
The 'orange' in most leaf grades gives a subtlety to the flavor which is not
present in FP's. The result is a stronger tea with a darker liqueur.
Pet Peeve
Coffee is king in restaurants. Some serve wonderful coffees, brag about how it is fresh ground, fresh roasted. Then I order a cup of tea. They bring me a container of tepid water and a bag of whatever their food supplier happens to sell. Tea drinkers unite! We deserve better treatment! Tea drinkers UNITE! Ask for a fresh and properly brewed pot of tea.
Good tea is made with boiled water. If you see a cup going into the microwave for heating. stop them immediately. It just won't be the same. It is not difficult to put a small pot on the burner for a couple of minutes for it to come to a full boil.
Where to buy tea:
My favorite source for tea is the Tea Trader
There are many specialty food shops that will have thirty varieties of coffee and three varieties of tea. Look around as there are a few gems that have a good selection and know something about tea. The Tea Trader is in Calgary Canada. Right now the US dollar exchange rate makes it an even better buy.