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Taking Tea in the USA

I have never been much of a coffee drinker. And if I am I take it Turkish style. But I love teas. Here is my problem though. I only ever drink it in tea bags. I hear though that loose leaf teas are far supperior. I do not know how loose leaf teas are intended to be served. How does one make this type of tea? Do you take the solids out? Chew them? In a cup or in a tea pot? Can someone give me a play by play of how they make good tea? And maybe some of your favorites too.
 
I have never been much of a coffee drinker. And if I am I take it Turkish style. But I love teas. Here is my problem though. I only ever drink it in tea bags. I hear though that loose leaf teas are far supperior. I do not know how loose leaf teas are intended to be served. How does one make this type of tea? Do you take the solids out? Chew them? In a cup or in a tea pot? Can someone give me a play by play of how they make good tea? And maybe some of your favorites too.
Hard to beat tea made in a teapot! Warm the pot first. Serve with lemon or milk. Perfect with scones and jam :thumbup:
 
My favorite method for brewing loose tea (ever since having tried it, will only use tea in a bag if there is no other option present):

1. Heat water just to the point where it barely starts to boil
2. While heating water place appropriate amount of tea into a french press
e.g. 1 tsp of loose leaf for 1 cup of tea
3. Pour heated water into french press
4. Let steep for appropriate amount of time
e.g. most black teas, 3-4 minutes, most green teas 1-3 depending on tea
5. Slowly press press plunder down and pour into cup

Example of a french press


Alternate method:
1. Heat water in a kettle same as above
2. Place loose tea into a tea pot
3. Pour water into tea pot
4. Let tea steep
5. Place sieve over mug to catch leaves and pour your tea

Example of a good, spacious sieve

Things to stay away from: tea infuser balls, tea infuser spoons. They're too small to allow the leaves to fully expand and give up their luscious nectar.
 
My favorite method for brewing loose tea (ever since having tried it, will only use tea in a bag if there is no other option present):

1. Heat water just to the point where it barely starts to boil
2. While heating water place appropriate amount of tea into a french press
e.g. 1 tsp of loose leaf for 1 cup of tea
3. Pour heated water into french press
4. Let steep for appropriate amount of time
e.g. most black teas, 3-4 minutes, most green teas 1-3 depending on tea
5. Slowly press press plunder down and pour into cup

Example of a french press


Alternate method:
1. Heat water in a kettle same as above
2. Place loose tea into a tea pot
3. Pour water into tea pot
4. Let tea steep
5. Place sieve over mug to catch leaves and pour your tea

Example of a good, spacious sieve

Things to stay away from: tea infuser balls, tea infuser spoons. They're too small to allow the leaves to fully expand and give up their luscious nectar.

John that was EXACTLY the advice I needed. I was a little confused about wether to use the tea infuser because I thought that maybe I needed to leave the solids in the cup. I watched that scene in Harry Potter about reading tea leaves and thought maybe that was just how folks did it... I know, dumb. But I think that french dohicky is for me. I'm going to go find one. Thanks for the help. And I really like this local brand of earl grey. Tillys I think?? And also a black/jasmin blend I found locally too.
-Mike
 
Solemnsaint, the holiday acquisition of an electric kettle put me in the exact same boat you're in a couple of weeks ago. I ended up placing an order with adagio, including one of their "Ingenuitea" pots. I have been very impressed by the difference between bagged tea and loose leaf, and have quite enjoyed a number of the samples I purchased from the site. I don't see myself going back to tea bags. :smile:
 
No problem Mike.

I absolutely love the french press I have (the one I provided the link for) because the rubber base is easily removable and the whole thing is dishwasher safe. My wife has another one, on the other hand, which has a plastic sleeve that the glass is pushed down into and it's an absolute chore to try and get the sleeve off the glass to thoroughly wash it.

As for leaves in the cup like in that tea reading scene in Harry Potter, since most of the leaves will settle to the bottom of a tea pot during steeping, some folks do without a sieve, pour gently, and sip around any leaves that might have made it into the cup.

Whichever route you do go, be careful - once you try some good loose tea you'll never want to go back to bags :)

Enjoy!
 

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Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Whatever you do, don't read any posts with the word pu'er in it.

You have been warned.
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
One can find pre-made empty tea bags that you can load yourself. Tea strainers that you put over your cup when pouring are what my crazy great aunts (tea leave readers all) always used. You can find these in some pretty festive designs.
 
Whatever you do, don't read any posts with the word pu'er in it.

You have been warned.

Ya someone said that to me about straight razing, and I now have a full compliment od Straight scars:blink: So all I can say is that I'll try and stay away from it until I finish my soap collection. Thanks for good advice...
 
Solemnsaint, the holiday acquisition of an electric kettle put me in the exact same boat you're in a couple of weeks ago. I ended up placing an order with adagio, including one of their "Ingenuitea" pots. I have been very impressed by the difference between bagged tea and loose leaf, and have quite enjoyed a number of the samples I purchased from the site. I don't see myself going back to tea bags. :smile:

I use the "Ingenuitea" pot as well and I love it. Quick and easy to use, easy to clean up. :thumbup1:
 
Maladoca's instructions are very good*. Two points though - you should warm the pot between steps one and two using hot water, poured out, before adding tea/water. Warm pot helps "loosen" the leaves up and reduces thermal shock when you add boiling water. More flavour comes out. This is especially important for green/white teas.

Second point is a bit more personal. For me - I don't like tea made in a press. The action of the press knocks extra tannin (bitter taste) out of the leaves. Some people like that though. Swings and roundabouts.

If you want to leave tea in a pot without it brewing further, in my opinion you need a pot where you can remove the leaves - something like this Bodum Assam Tea Pot I don't use the press bit of mine, I just lift the whole assembly out and put another lid on. For just one cup, incup infusers are excellent.

Leaf tea is to teabags what wetshaving is to an electric razor. I buy my tea from a proper tea merchant, although finding one of those in the US might be a challenge! Wilkinsons may well ship internationally if you ask them nicely though. [edit: I notice now, looking at their page, Wilkinsons actually have a US branch. I go their shop, not their website, is my excuse for not knowing that!]. Some good info on that site as well, worth a look around.

Green and white teas have one very important caveat - never, ever, ever, ever pour (near)boiling water onto green/white tea. Water should be - at maximum - 80C. The difference in taste is night and day. Green tea made with boiling/near boiling water can be very bitter. Made with water of the correct temperature, it's sweet and floral and delicious. Quality green/white tea leaves can be re-used in a single drinking session up to eight or nine times, each brew (or "flush") exposes different parts of the tea's flavour. The difference between the first and last flushes can be quite marked. Black/red teas should be replaced for each brew.

But - again like shaving - tea is very personal. Experiment, you'll find out what you like.

Some teas I like include (all should be available from Wilkinsons above):

Kenyan - very strong, astringent flavour. Often works best blended with something softer, like Ceylon. A good "English Breakfast" blend will include a little Kenyan for extra body.

Assam - beautiful, coppery tea from India. Superb colour, strong but subtle flavour. Again, important part of traditional English blends.

Morrocan mint - not just mint leaves. Also black tea. I serve it in tall glasses without milk and with a spoonful of sugar and a slice of lemon.

Norwich Blend - specially blended for where I live. Works well with the hard water we have here. My "go-to" tea. A classical English blend with kenyan, assam and ceylon teas.

Sencha Dawn - Japanese green tea. Floral, light, refreshing. Less bitter than most Japanese teas.

White teas - the champagne of teas. Subtle, light, delicate. Usually expensive, but worth it. Needs time to prepare, but I'm sure we're all aware of the value of spending some time going through a good ritual.


* not quite up to ISO 3103 Standard though :thumbup1:
 
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I suggest you pick up a swiss gold tea infuser. i've had mine for years. it doesn't affect the flavor of the tea and i never have go buy t-sacs. It works for anything from a mug to an 8 cup pot.
 
One thing no one has mentioned is that leaving the leaves in the pot after the normal steeping can result in a very bitter cup. For my best tea I use a two pot method.


A large kettle is put to a boil, or a simmer for green/white tea, a bit of hot water is added to each pot.

Water is dumped from the steeping pot and the desired amount of tea is added.

Water from the kettle is added.

Tea is left to steep for the desired amount of time.

Water is dumped from the serving pot.

The steeped tea is poured through a strainer into serving pot and wrapped with a towel.

The serving pot can be substituted with a carafe or thermos.

A great online shop for tea in the U.S. is here. They have good advise on brewing and a customer review of their products that I have found helpful, as well as very affordable tea brewing kit.
 
After checking out that USA tea site I have decided to fully swing into a tea kit and some fresh Irish Breakfast tea. That would be a Ceylon tea. I cant wait to start brewing. Is that the right term? Brewing?
-Mike
 
Brewing works for me:001_smile. BTW Irish breakfast is typically an Assam, as is Scottish, I like both when I'm in the mood for a strong cup. English breakfast is often a blend of Assam and Ceylon. There is a lot to learn about the different growing regions and the teas that grow there. It's every bit as diverse as wine IMHO. Don't let it throw you, or let others tell you that just because your not sipping Phoenix Eyebrow or ancient Pu'er you're not really a tea drinker. Find what you like, and and have a good cup.
 
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In quite a lot of the UK, 'brew' can be used as a noun as well as a verb.

"Fancy a brew?"

I understand that in the US, that would mean "Would you like a beer?" Here, it would usually be a cuppa.

There's also the fantastic world of tea grading terms to have fun with. The highest grade, SFTGFOP, can be easily remembered as:

Simply Far Too Good For Ordinary People. I'll leave you to look up the real meaning. :lol:
 
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