board77

High mountain Oolong is nice. Very smoky flavour.

As for when to drink tea? I drink tea when I get up, I drink tea after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner, before going to bed, while I'm watching telly, right now...

It could be a heatwave, and I would sit there with a scaldingly hot pot, supping to my hearts content.

It's good ALL the time.

I too could drink it all day long if I had a kettle on hand! When I was 12ish my Grandpa got me Ms. Teapot (the tea version of Mr. Coffee) and I was the happiest kid alive!!! Whole pots of tea instead of drinking it by the glass. Heaven!

Whoa, three of us have mentioned and linked The Republic of Tea. Maybe we should get paid for the advertising.

Eru,

I have the same tea infuser.

I didn't link it because I'm lazy but I could spend hours on the website

I love my teapot, and its set of four nice ceramic mugs that match. They only get used for tea. On the other hand, I have sets of cups and saucers that go with my regular dishes and my fine china, and I do not know if we ever used those...

Tea is comfort.

Although I will not be drinking scaldingly hot tea on a sweltering day, then it will be the sun tea! :D

TheMary wrote:

I didn't link it because I'm lazy but I could spend hours on the website

me too.

Didja notice they have tea pots on sale?

*goes there straight away*

Tibetan tea (with salt and yak's butter, and a few other icky things IIRC) is DELICIOUS. But then I'm odd and prefer salted to sweet lassi too...

I love tea, it's my caffeinated drink of choice since long before I moved to the UK and now I can't travel anywhere (except Japan, where they know tea too) without a supply of English breakfast teabags. What I've drunk elsewhere in Europe (Italy, Spain, Greece and France) might have been called tea but tasted like stewed kitchen towels.

Freshly boiled water, a teabag (I'm lazy), half a teaspoonful of sugar, and after a couple of minutes, quite a bit of milk = instant comfort in a mug. I try not to drink too much tea though, usually it's only a morning cup, and decaf in the evening.

Tea is very comforting I wish I had some real Sleepy Time right about now

I have tried two Sleepy Time teas so far, one was loose and the other was in teabags. The latter always gave me very weird dreams. I don't wanna know what was really in it.

Ber wins the most exotic tea award with Tibetan tea, salt and yak's butter!

I prefer salted lassi too BTW, not too thick.

If the full-on bitterness of the Assam teas that the Brits drink most is too strong, try the Ceylonese teas, they are far more delicate.

So, after all this time and much experimenting I finally discover the right way to do it. Behold ISO 3103

* The pot must be white porcelain or glazed earthenware and have a partly serrated edge. It must have a lid that fits loosely inside the pot.
* If a large pot is used, it must hold a maximum of 310 ml (±8 ml) and must weigh 200g (±10g).
* If a small pot is used, it must hold a maximum of 150 ml (±4 ml) and must weigh 118g (±10g).
* 2 grams of tea (measured to ±2% accuracy) per 100ml boiling water is placed into the pot.
* Freshly boiled water is poured into the pot to within 4-6mm of the brim.
* The water must not be hard.
* Brewing time is six minutes.
* The brewed tea is then poured into a white porcelain or glazed earthenware bowl.
* If a large bowl is used, it must have a capacity of 380ml and weigh 200g (±20g)
* If a small bowl is used, it must have a capacity of 200ml and weigh 105g (±20g)
* If the test involves milk, then it can be added before or after pouring the infused tea.
* Milk added after the pouring of tea is best tasted when the liquid is between 65 - 80°C.
* 5ml of milk for the large bowl, or 2.5ml for the small bowl, is used.

To get the best tea get money, go to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, take a cab to East Brady Street and visit a tea and coffee house called Rochambo - their tea menu.

When I went there, they kept three different water heaters at three different temps to use depending on the tea requested. Purists should be happy to note that they don't actually call their herbal teas "tea."

I know I go on about how many great things/places/etc are in Milwaukee, but I don't think it is the best city in the world, really I don't....

New York City might be better

I have tried some white teas since this thread started. They are quite good! They are nicer later in the afternoon or at night. I still prefer my stronger Irish Breakfast or English Breakfast in the morning (with sugar and cream).

Salted lassi?

If I ever get to Milwaukee, Estel, I'll look that place up!

Lali

Estel wrote:

To get the best tea get money, go to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, take a cab to East Brady Street and visit a tea and coffee house called Rochambo - their tea menu.

When I went there, they kept three different water heaters at three different temps to use depending on the tea requested. Purists should be happy to note that they don't actually call their herbal teas "tea."

I know I go on about how many great things/places/etc are in Milwaukee, but I don't think it is the best city in the world, really I don't....

New York City might be better

Hey, I am here!! That should count for sumptin, maybe like avoid it like all heck!!

Estel - I will remember to try and look that place up. I very rarely get down into the city proper, they have 794 all torn up to heck, and the resulting mess leaves much to be desired driving wise.

Lassi is a drink we get in Indian restaurants. It can take different forms but it is made with yoghourt and it can be thick and sweet and fruity with mango or, much much better, thin and watered down with ice and salt and perhaps mint or powdered cumin. Its the best thing to drink with a hot curry. I sometimes serve it at home, roughly half plain natural yoghourt, half water, a pinch of salt to taste and some ice cubes. It might work with buttermilk too.

Intriguing. I despise most Indian food, though I like mild curry. I would try this drink, however. No buttermilk, though. Buttermilk is awful, although buttermilk-flavored things are good. And buttermilk in mashed potatoes is yummy. I just can't stomach it by itself.


Lali

If we all manage to go to Chicago, we should seek out a tea shop...

I know a great one in Kilkenny... An Ireland m00t perhaps...

Quote:

I know a great one in Kilkenny... An Ireland m00t perhaps...

You just had one, it's OUR turn!

I do agree we seek out a tea shop in Chicago.

Btw, lovely thread, this one. I love tea, but am far from being proper. But I am getting wonderful ideas and learning some very good techniques.

From theteahousetimes.com :

• Following are our Readers' Choice Top Tea Rooms For CHICAGO, ILLINOIS:
  
  The Ritz-Carlton, Russian Tea Time, Four Seasons Hotel, Seasons of Long Grove, Hotel Drake

The Four Seasons
120 East Delaware Place
900 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
312-280-8800

The Ritz-Carlton Chicago
160 E. Peason Street
Chicago, IL
312-266-1000

Seasons of Long Grove
314 Old McHenry Road
Chicago, IL
708-634-9150



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