Tea!

[osprey_archer]

I can't say that I've learned to like tea; I still think it tastes rather like boiled grass clippings. And I find the process of tea rather intimidating: it comes out in two pots, and I can't figure out how they're meant to be used. Am I supposed to pour from the hot water pot into the teapot, so that I will have a continual supply of steeped tea? Or am I supposed to use the hot water to water down the tea if I think it steeped too long? Assuming I knew if it was steeped too long. It's way too alchemical for me to judge.

And let's not even get into tea lists. One girl vs. fifty varieties of tea...is it any wonder I'm intimidated?

But at the same time...tea comes with biscuits. I'm particularly fond of ginger. Or scones with clotted cream! Why did no one tell me such a wonderful thing existed in the world? (The Jane Austen Center in Bath has a particularly lovely cream tea. I was running out of time so I had to pick between their tour and their Regency Tea Room. I think I made the right choice.)

And...while the two pots are intimidating...still. Two whole pots, plus my own tiny pitcher of milk. I could sit there and read and write all afternoon with such provisions! And it's cheaper than hot chocolate. And better for my health!

It's still a pity about the grass clippings bit. But maybe I've just been drinking the wrong varieties; eenie meanie minie mo will do that for you. What are your favorite types of tea?

Comments

[anait.livejournal.com]

I still think it tastes rather like boiled grass clippings.

LOL. I used to feel that way about green teas, and now I drink 2+ cups a day of jasmine or japanese sencha-type greens, bought looseleaf from specialty tea stores. I used to drink jasmine with honey when I first was introduced to it (This is blashpemy and I'm ashamed in retrospect). Now I like that jasmine tea can have a very slightly bitter taste (or not, if you don't oversteep it). Green teas have a lot of range. Japanese sencha or banchu tea is almost sweet in flavour and very fresh -- yes, a little like grass, but I like that. It's refreshing. I like green tea after dinner, as a palate cleanser. It's also great with dessert or chocolate, to offset the sweetness.

My second favourite kind of tea (mentioned above) is masala chai, which they serve made fresh in Indian restaurants, or that you can brew yourself from looseleaf tea. It's very strong in taste compared to your average black tea-in-a-bag, nearer to hot chocolate or coffee. I love it! I have it just with milk, after letting it steep for a good while. The kind in the restaurants is really excellent, because they steep the tea right in the pot with milk and fresh spices (cardomon, anise, etc.) and then serve it to you in little cups to which most people add sugar. It's a real treat, and nothing at all like the chai lattes in Starbucks, which I personally think are gross.

Yes, I am a huge snob about tea, and a total caffeine addict. Maybe I have convinced you to try some new ones though?

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I've tried regular chai tea (but probably the cheap kind, as someone had left it in the kitchen unprotected). Is all chai tea masala chai, or are there multiple varieties?

I remember reading about Kashmiri tea, I think it was, in a book, and it was described much as you described masala chai, and I thought even then that it sounded delicious. (Except for the part where the locals sometimes added salt. More power to them, but I think it sounds hideous.)

[anait.livejournal.com]

Wikipedia says that chai is the word for 'tea.' Masala chai is tea with spices, milk and sweetner. The tea is usually Assam, which is a very strong black tea, and it's made by boiling the heck out of the leaves in a pot over heat, with milk, sugar and fresh spices. You get a very strong tea flavour with a milder spice flavour. The caffeine content is higher than your regular steeped-tea-in-a-bag, which must be why I like it so much. I drink it in the morning instead of coffee. My approximation is to buy tea packaged as 'Masala chai' from a tea store, which is looseleaf Assam and dried spices. I steep a fair amount of it for 5-10 min. in a pot, to get the strength, then add some milk to my cup.

Chai tea bags, therefore, are too weak for me to like them. They don't taste anything close, since they have a weak tea flavour (boo! hiss!) and too much spice flavour in comparison. I also think that they make most of those tea bags from Darjeeling or generic black tea, not the Assam.

The Kashmiri tea is green, or a green and black tea mix, with milk, sweetner and spices. Maybe it is good made fresh? I've tried the looseleaf + dried spice kind and didn't like it. It had a very delicate tea flavour vs. the spice flavour. I want the tea taste and don't like when the spices take over. However, a lot of people seem to like it, so perhaps I didn't give it enough of a chance. Or need to try it with fresh spices and the stove-pot method.

Tea! It's good stuff.