Tea drinking

[french frank]

Lovely. I wonder what the French make of 'S'il vous plaît, faites' and 'Sûr, vous pouvez'.

[Dave2002]

Un nuage de lait dans mon eau chaude is a taunt I've heard many times from the unrulier element of the French side of the family, when I'm over there and request tea (not often, all they seem to have over there is that Lipton Yellow Label which is to tea what Starbucks is to coffee: weasel pee )

Since you mention weasels, have you tried weasel coffee? OT I know.

I agree about Lipton Yellow Label - diabolical stuff, and if you go to the US they'll top it up with lukewarm water. C'est abominable! There are also parts of Europe where for some unfathomable reason they use that.

[cloughie]

Un nuage de lait dans mon eau chaude is a taunt I've heard many times from the unrulier element of the French side of the family, when I'm over there and request tea (not often, all they seem to have over there is that Lipton Yellow Label which is to tea what Starbucks is to coffee: weasel pee )

And in France they haven't a clue about the temperature required to mash tea.

[Dave2002]

In China it's quite common to see people walking around with what looks like a jam jar hanging round their neck with tea leaves of some sort in. I think they might top up with hot water from time to time. This is not drunk with milk - though there may be different types of tea. Also I think green tea is more common there than in the UK. It's a great change from the way we drink tea in the UK.

In India I had some tea with what might have been yak milk. It might just have been evap, though. I was ill for days after that! However, it might not have been the cause.

If we consider other hot beverages, mint tea (you can buy mint tea teabags) makes a refreshing change, and in Morocco they serve up what they call mint tea with real mint, and an incredible amount of suger. Pleasant for a short while - but perhaps not good for extendeded periods.

[Beef Oven!]

Quite by coincidence, a friend gave me a jar of Ukrainian organic honey this evening. I’ve just used it to sweeten my final cuppa of the day. Very nice too. It’s sort of three-quarters set and quite sweet. Better than sugar or sweeteners, IMV.

[teamsaint]

Quite by coincidence, a friend gave me a jar of Ukrainian organic honey this evening. I’ve just used it to sweeten my final cuppa of the day. Very nice too. It’s sort of three-quarters set and quite sweet. Better than sugar or sweeteners, IMV.

sounds nice.

Talking of Ukranian, does anybody else get endless recommendations for Ukranian Choral and folk music on amazon?

very odd.

[nersner]

Earl grey tea was blended to suit a barrel of water sent from his home which was Howick Hall, Northumberland.
I've holidayed round there and the water is quite hard.
The best way to drink Earl Grey is Betty's Earl Grey loose brewed in hard water like builder's tea with no milk, sugar or lemon.
A seasonal tea is Betty's Christmas tea which I'm finishing off now.
The main thing to remember is only drink Earl Grey with hard water.

[kernelbogey]

In India I had some tea with what might have been yak milk. It might just have been evap, though.

This is pretty much what Tibetan Tea is. A fellow trekker in Nepal tried it at a lodge but I didn't fancy it. (For the method see TS's no 34.) I think yak milk and also salt is added.

I was ill for days after that! However, it might not have been the cause.

More likely just poor kitchen hygiene. In Nepal I drank only black tea in the lodges: partly for hygiene reasons, partly because the bottled beer, Sprite, canned coke etc was lugged up the mountain on the backs of old men carrying up to 60kg; and the containers just stayed on the mountain. Probably for ever

[Dave2002]

Quite by coincidence, a friend gave me a jar of Ukrainian organic honey this evening. I’ve just used it to sweeten my final cuppa of the day. Very nice too. It’s sort of three-quarters set and quite sweet. Better than sugar or sweeteners, IMV.

Are you in the "no-milk" brigade? This idea sounds good for tea without milk - might give it a try, though I'm guessing that any honey would do. Probably not appropriate for every cuppa during the day, though. Perhaps the honey flavours and sweetness could swamp the tea flavours - might have to experiment.

[Beef Oven!]

Are you in the "no-milk" brigade? This idea sounds good for tea without milk - might give it a try, though I'm guessing that any honey would do. Probably not appropriate for every cuppa during the day, though. Perhaps the honey flavours and sweetness could swampt the tea flavours - might have to experiment.

I use milk. Milk and honey, yoghurt and honey etc really hits the spot for me. I’ve used honey to sweeten my tea often, but usually with a cheap clear version. You are right about the swamping effect, you must be light-handed with it. And yes, if you are drinking tea throughout the day, you need to mind how much honey you are consuming - it could at least give you a sweet tooth.

[ahinton]

Earl grey tea was blended to suit a barrel of water sent from his home which was Howick Hall, Northumberland.
I've holidayed round there and the water is quite hard.
The best way to drink Earl Grey is Betty's Earl Grey loose brewed in hard water like builder's tea with no milk, sugar or lemon.
A seasonal tea is Betty's Christmas tea which I'm finishing off now.
The main thing to remember is only drink Earl Grey with hard water.

Provided that you don't mind having to replace your kettle every so often or descaling it even more often. The water round where I am is so hard it's barely legal, so how rapidly the various appliances dependent upon it and the pipes that carry it will fur up while my water softener awaits repair I have no idea. That said, I do also use a reverse osmosis water filter for all drinking and cooking water. I'd struggle to imagine why any tea would taste better when made with hard water when you can ruin a fine Scotch malt (or a Penderyn, indeed!) by polluting it with up to the same quantity of hard water.

As to "milk", well, sterilised, condensed, evaporated, homogenised, UHTea'd and other such Cravendalliances don't do a thing for me and probably do even less for tea. Admittedly, I don't drink much milk but, when I do, it's always fresh (or as fresh as I can get it), full cream and organic. I drink very little tea either, but bone china and Earl Grey or Lapsang does it for me on the rare occasions when I do indulge, so the prospect of Lipton's, "Yorkshire"(?!) or PG Tips with one "p" out of a mug is one from which I'd steer as clear as possible; as Richard Barrett recently observed here in an altogether different context, if that makes me élitist or snobbish, so be it!

[ahinton]

I use milk. Milk and honey, yoghurt and honey etc really hits the spot for me. I’ve used honey to sweeten my tea often, but usually with a cheap clear version. You are right about the swamping effect, you must be light-handed with it. And yes, if you are drinking tea throughout the day, you need to mind how much honey you are consuming - it could at least give you a sweet tooth.

No beef tea for you, then?(!)...

[Beef Oven!]

No beef tea for you, then?(!)...

Now and again!

[Beef Oven!]

I have just discovered that Yorkshire Gold without milk is delicious!

[cloughie]

I have just discovered that Yorkshire Gold without milk is delicious!

There you are Beefy, the wisdom of Uncle Cloughie. Should use loose leaf tea not tea bags for preference.