Enjoying a cup of tea

[Mike in Seattle]

Tea

Living in Seattle, coffee of course is a big thing, but after my two cups or so of coffee each morning, I break out the tea. During the warmer months, it's iced tea during the day but in all but the hottest months, we're making a pot or two of tea in later in the day and/or evening. One chain that opened an interesting shop near us (in Bellevue Square) is Teavana. They're originally from Atlanta, of all places. Their website (http://www.teavana.com) isn't the most user friendly but their teas are good and they've got some great Chinese cast iron & Japanese pottery tea pots.

For readily available tea, I'm finding Stash has a pretty good line of product. I've become pretty addicted to their black tea with peach (great with a little milk & sugar) but I also like Republic of Tea's Ginger-Peach and their Raspberry-Quince is also great. And when you're shopping and you look at the size of the container of Republic of Tea for about $7 sitting next to a box that's about the same of Stash for about $3.50, compute the per-cup cost. Republic of Tea's little canister doesn't have individually-wrapped bags, so you get a lot more in what appears to be the same space. In fact, on a per-cup basis, the two are about the same.

And if you're ever in Victoria, B.C. - afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel is a must. It's incredible. Eat a really light lunch that day! And you won't need dinner!

 

[Dis]

Earl Grey is my absolute favourite tea. It has be flavoured with real oil of bergamot. There was one major brand I turned my nose up at recently because it was artificially flavoured. I think it was Twinnings which shocked me. I like Bigelow the best.

For me making tea is a science. Like WoeSis I found steeping too long to give it a nasty flavour. Under two minutes is usually the best. The water also has to be boiling when it hits the tea or the taste is off to me. Filtered water too. I'm obsessive compulsive when it comes to tea!

I also do it by the pot. Gotta have the tray with the sugar bowl and the cup with a saucer. I have a really nice tea set in Wilton Armetale. It looks like early American pewter. Really nice stuff!

Drinking tea is serious business for me.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

RE: brewing & steeping too long - Bodum makes a great press pot for tea for around $20-24 called the Assam. At first it doesn't look like any big deal. What isn't readily apparent is that thought went into the insert you put the tea into & then press down when the tea's brewed. It's perforated on the top 2" or so. When you press the plunger down, it traps the spent leave in the bottom section and seals them in the bottom of insert. In other words, when the tea's ready, you press the plunger and push the leaves downward to where they're no longer in contact with the brewed tea. No bitterness from over-brewing and no having to deal with wet teabags or leaves (it works beautifully with both). Starbucks has a slightly different version from Bodum - the difference being the insert is metal with finer perforations, but it's also about $10 more.

And I know what you mean on the full tea set. Years ago, I would make a pot of tea (Constant Comment at that time which seems to have gotten considerably weaker in the last 10 years) and I had a copper set - teapot, tray, creamer, sugar - to which I added an old teacup and of course, a few cookies when I was studying.