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You are here: Home / Open Threads / The Perfect Pot of Tea

The Perfect Pot of Tea

by John Cole|  February 8, 201111:10 am| 93 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I’ve been screwing around with loose tea the last couple of weeks, and I have to admit, it is harder than you would think to get the perfect pot of tea. You really need to have the measurements right or a pleasant tea turns into this bitter nasty pitcher of bile. I’ve also realized that everything I thought about tea the last 40 years was wrong. It really is possible to have a tea with a bold, defining flavor. I’m still having my coffee every morning, but from mid-day on, I’m a fan of tea these days.

I was also still chuckling about an Idiot Abroad- his comments on the M6 compared to the Great Wall just were top-notch. And really, he isn’t just like Homer Simpson, if you ask me. He’s more of a cross between Homer Simpson and Arthur Dent.

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93Comments

  1. 1.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 8, 2011 at 11:12 am

    Do you have your tea with milk and sugar or plain. You can brew tea a lot stronger, if you add a little milk (2 to 3 tsp)
    and 1/2 tsp sugar. I love Assam tea and Darjeeling tea.

  2. 2.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 8, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Halp! I can’t edit my comment, it seems I don’t have the permission to edit my comment.

  3. 3.

    The Dangerman

    February 8, 2011 at 11:18 am

    For the Tea Nazi (NOT Teaparty Nazi) in you:

    The Perfect Steeper

    Deep Morning Thought: If inserting Nazi references is Godwining a thread, is inserting any reference to Palin and her supporters as Dogwinning a thread?

  4. 4.

    DanF

    February 8, 2011 at 11:19 am

    Rule of thumb – One spoonful for each person and one for the pot. I know … doesn’t make any sense to me either. I usually do three rounded spoons for one pot of tea no matter how many people are drinking it. And don’t be a barbarian – server with cream and sugar.

  5. 5.

    Shinobi

    February 8, 2011 at 11:20 am

    If your travels ever bring you to Chicago you should visit Argo Tea, it is like the Starbucks for Tea, they have some AMAZING tea drinks. (I have an intimate and addictive relationship with their Carolina Honey tea.)

    I don’t like fussing with loose leaf when I’m in a hurry or before I’ve had any caffeine, so I’ve started getting boxes of Mighty Leaf bags. They are a little pricey, but so good. Orange Dulce where have you been all my life?

  6. 6.

    parenthetical

    February 8, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Christopher Hitchens has a recent Slate column on how to make tea properly. It barely even mentions that we were right to remove Saddam Hussein.

  7. 7.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    February 8, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Um. Usually, if it’s bitter, it’s because it steeps too long. (Not always.) Measurements are important, too – and you need to recalibrate with each new batch, if you’re fussy. (not a lot… but you might find that *this* batch wants a perfectly level teaspoon, the other wants a bit more, and another wants a bit less. And, again, only matters if you’re fussy. I make my tea so strong, it can wrestle George Foreman for the last porkchop, so I’m not too fussy.)

    *And* – you want a hot teapot, and you want to keep it warm if you can… but you need to time that steep (and if you like it stronger, add more tea, don’t increase how long it steeps.) – 3 to 5 for black tea, never more than 2 for green (and less than a minute is usually better).

  8. 8.

    scav

    February 8, 2011 at 11:24 am

    @Shinobi: Argo’s good but Gschwendner? Learned the vital importance of water temperature to green tea from them. Plus, the teas.

  9. 9.

    Sentient Puddle

    February 8, 2011 at 11:26 am

    I’m trying to figure out a way to work the Infinite Improbability Drive into a comment here…

  10. 10.

    Shinobi

    February 8, 2011 at 11:26 am

    @scav: I haven’t been there! I will have to check it out.

  11. 11.

    scav

    February 8, 2011 at 11:29 am

    @Shinobi: Do so — but fair warning, it’s more for buying teas than having a full selection on hand for drinking. Maybe that’s changed recently. 1160 N. State Street

  12. 12.

    gene108

    February 8, 2011 at 11:30 am

    Arthur Dent’s ability to deal with life altering events is under appreciated.

  13. 13.

    p.a.

    February 8, 2011 at 11:30 am

    john- black, green, or white? maybe i haven’t had a good green tea; the ones i’ve tried (cheap bags and loose leaf) have tasted to me like brewed lawn trimmings. not a big fan of ‘grassy’. I can’t describe the taste of white tea, but i like it.

  14. 14.

    Yutsano

    February 8, 2011 at 11:31 am

    Also: filtered water. Start the water cold (don’t ask me why) and bring it to just below boiling. Some teas don’t do boiling water: for example, jasmine should be at 190 degrees. Otherwise what The Dangerman said.

    And off to work too damn early. I ma be cranky when I get home. Y’all have been warned.

  15. 15.

    Rosalita

    February 8, 2011 at 11:32 am

    I’m a tea lover (as well as coffee) and my friend got me this gift of jasmine/green tea ‘pearls’ that unfurl in the pot/cup and look quite pretty. Yum.

  16. 16.

    Elizabelle

    February 8, 2011 at 11:32 am

    O Tea, but check out Google’s homepage today.

    It’s a beautiful tribute to Jules Verne, and you can interactively steer.

    http://www.google.com

    Do keep the tea away from the laptop, especially if you like cream and sugar.

  17. 17.

    p mac

    February 8, 2011 at 11:33 am

    LHW has it right: don’t let it steep to long. A couple minutes is enough. Now for some Lapsang Souchang. Don’t need coffee if you have lapsang.

    And you can use it for cooking chicken too…

    PS:Bird in the Oven is a great cookbook!
    PPS: Pan roasting is great, but remember not to grab the handle with bare hands.

  18. 18.

    Comrade Javamanphil

    February 8, 2011 at 11:33 am

    @Sentient Puddle: A puddle has achieved sentience at a probability of three million, five hundred and seven to one against.

    And at John, I only drink tea from 9am on, green, earl grey, tulsi, whatever. Don’t have adequate facilities at work to deal with loose leaf though.

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    February 8, 2011 at 11:34 am

    Did you notice your post on tea brought us an ad at top from the Tea Party Patriots?

    Wonder what a post on lunacy would draw.

  20. 20.

    Shinobi

    February 8, 2011 at 11:34 am

    @scav: Similar to Teavanna? That’s cool.

  21. 21.

    p.a.

    February 8, 2011 at 11:35 am

    also, asian restaurants are a good source. if they serve a tea you like, ask for the name and supplier. alton brown did a tea show.

  22. 22.

    artem1s

    February 8, 2011 at 11:36 am

    @Elizabelle:

    In opposition to the worship of St. Ronnie maybe how ’bout an open thread a day honoring someone’s 100th anniversary birth that should be honored?

  23. 23.

    Kathi

    February 8, 2011 at 11:36 am

    I’ve made tea in my automatic, drip coffepot for years. Two heaping scoops of loose-leaf for a whole pot and cut the warmer off when it’s through brewing. Since I like tea at any temperature, this works out well for me.

  24. 24.

    Alain

    February 8, 2011 at 11:39 am

    John,
    Check out specialteas.com. Beyond great tea, they have much educational material so you can learn about all the glory that is great tea, whether green, black, white, red, or oolong.

    My current fave is East Frisian Broken Blend. It is incredible, and I brew it strong, serve with a bit of sugar and milk. It powers me all day long!

    I also use these “tea bags” that you fill yourself, so I take it when I travel to hotels or friend’s houses because no one has good tea no matter what they may say.

    Cheers!

  25. 25.

    scav

    February 8, 2011 at 11:40 am

    ah, and in fairness to my uncle who’s more than entirely solid on food, here’s his tea purveyor of choice Upton Tea, which is online for non-Chicagoites.

  26. 26.

    slag

    February 8, 2011 at 11:42 am

    @p.a.: Yes. White tea is where it’s at. I was never a tea person until I tried white. Ever since then I’ve been converting everyone I know to the cult of white tea. It’s been a surprisingly easy task and hopefully coffee shops will catch up to the white tea craze.

    Also, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was quite possibly the worst book I’ve ever read. Though some of the concepts were interesting.

  27. 27.

    Citizen_X

    February 8, 2011 at 11:42 am

    @Elizabelle:

    Wonder what a post on lunacy would draw.

    An ad at top from the Tea Party Patriots.

  28. 28.

    Maude

    February 8, 2011 at 11:43 am

    You can make a tea concentrate and heat it up with hot water. I use tea bags, sugar and half and half.
    I did all the fancy teas and coffees a long time ago. It was a lot of fun.

  29. 29.

    Mike in NC

    February 8, 2011 at 11:44 am

    Not a big tea drinker but it’s likely you can’t find the really good stuff in common American supermarkets. I’ve heard it said that we import what nobody else wants. Might have to try an Asian grocery or other specialty store.

    Many years ago on shore leave in Karachi, Pakistan we visited a restaurant that didn’t offer coffee with breakfast but had amazing varieties of tea. It almost turned a group of coffee-swilling sailors into tea addicts.

  30. 30.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 8, 2011 at 11:44 am

    Screw all this. Use the flow-through bag and be done with it.

  31. 31.

    Karmakin

    February 8, 2011 at 11:44 am

    I like Karl. It’s not so much that he’s an idiot, as much as he breaks everything down to their most basic elements, sometimes with hilarious results, as that is where his entire comfort zone lies, and he really doesn’t like being out of his zone.

  32. 32.

    Rick Massimo

    February 8, 2011 at 11:45 am

    We had an Anglophile at work who made tea every day at 3. She got laid off, and I was so outraged that I, who had never made a pot of tea, bagged or loose, in my life, volunteered to take it over. She gave me a couple of lessons before she left, and I think it’s going OK.

    My motivation was less the tea itself than to force the people who laid her off to walk past a visual reminder of her every day.

    Anyway, yeah – a bitter pitcher of bile means you steeped it too long. Three minutes tops is what I learned. If you like it really strong, don’t steep it longer – use more tea.

  33. 33.

    The Dangerman

    February 8, 2011 at 11:46 am

    This thread is starting to remind me of the Neti Pot thread from ages ago. Bunch of tea drinking, sinus rinsing lefties here.

    Also, not sugar; stevia.

  34. 34.

    catclub

    February 8, 2011 at 11:49 am

    Surprise, surprise, all that effort those Zen monks put into the tea ceremony is definitely NOT just for show.

    At the grocery store teabag level – which is mine – I found that Tetley British Blend, which became no longer available locally, is far superior to the cheapest stuff I used to pick. I now mail order it.

  35. 35.

    mofo

    February 8, 2011 at 11:50 am

    I love Ricky Gervais, but am I the only one put off by the way he treats poor Karl P?

    For instance—the trip to India—they purposefully put him into situations where he was guaranteed to become ill, then they press him to his physical limits, including sleep deprivation, etc. But he gets the telephone call where he’s scolded by RG because Steve Merchant, as opposed to poor Karl, simply loved HIS trip to India—but I’ll betcha Merchant stayed at 5-star hotels & etc.

    I sure hope Karl is being properly paid by those two sadists (Ricky & Merchant).

    Carry on, Karl! You’re my favorite Idiot.

  36. 36.

    catclub

    February 8, 2011 at 11:51 am

    @slag: “Also, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was quite possibly the worst book I’ve ever read. Though some of the concepts were interesting.”

    Someone has not read the Left Behind series.

  37. 37.

    Tom Levenson

    February 8, 2011 at 11:53 am

    George Orwell on “A Nice Cup of Tea.”(Hitch’s source/foil, IIRC.)

    As I’ve learned it at the feet of my English mum and her relatives: warm the pot. (By preference, a stoneware pot with a handsome, dull colour.) (sp. in honour of my mum, of course.) Black tea should be hit with water still on the boil. Two heaping teaspoons of China or India/Ceylon black tea for an average quart or a bit more pot. Steep for five minutes. Consume with milk, skim or 2% (creaminess in tea was an anathema in my mother’s view, perhaps an artifact of rationing-era raising. But in any event, I’m now conditioned to agree). Sugar to taste,(pace Orwell).

    There: tea nazi enough for you?

    PS — there is a book with the awful, but subject appropriate name of The Agony of the Leaves by a tea historian and the tea-tyrant at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse. Much background to tea culture there, in what is in part a memoir of a life in tea.

  38. 38.

    Teri

    February 8, 2011 at 11:54 am

    @The Dangerman: I stopped in for a look at lunch and you made me spray my green tea all over my keyboard. Luckily it is one of those sealed roll up ones but geez…has anyone tried tea in a neti pot?

  39. 39.

    Maude

    February 8, 2011 at 11:57 am

    @catclub:
    Why did they get rid of the British Blend? I have a box of the regular tea.

  40. 40.

    RossInDetroit

    February 8, 2011 at 11:58 am

    I just got a pound of Lapsang Souchong delivered. It’s crude and unrefined but I love that campfire aroma.

    Use cold water to boil because it has more oxygen and extracts the flavo(u)rs from the leaves better. Water that’s been hot too long has the free oxygen reduced and makes an insipid and tasteless cup.

  41. 41.

    The Dangerman

    February 8, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    @Teri:

    …has anyone tried tea in a neti pot?

    Ewwww.

    There was a neti pot thread years ago that I was referencing (back before neti’s were available at the neighborhood drug store).

  42. 42.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 8, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    Consume with milk, skim or 2% (creaminess in tea was an anathema in my mother’s view, perhaps an artifact of rationing-era raising. But in any event, I’m now conditioned to agree). Sugar to taste,(pace Orwell).

    I have to agree with your mum, cream is too much for tea, I personally prefer skim milk.

    @Rick Massimo: What do you serve with your afternoon tea? Sandwiches or crumpets or samosas?

  43. 43.

    catclub

    February 8, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    @Maude: Most likely it did not sell. Most of the things I end up really liking, not enough other people do, so they stop producing them:

    Remember Bata Bullets tennis shoes? ugly as sin, but very light and I loved them.
    Touring bike with narrow tires, randonneur handlebars, bar end shifters – replaced by sit up and beg pseudo-mountain bikes with wide tires. Or a racing frame that is only suitable for … racers who want extra sensitive steering rather than stable touring frame that can fit fenders.

    I could go on. But I seem to be a fairly accurate counter indicator of commercially successful products.

  44. 44.

    p.a.

    February 8, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    This thread is starting to remind me of the Neti Pot thread from ages ago. Bunch of tea drinking, sinus rinsing lefties here.

    Ah, I remember the neti pot threads. dis-turb-ing. I was pretty new to this blog at the time, but I stuck around anyway (to whose loss and whose gain I will leave up to you humble commenters).

    Teri:

    has anyone tried tea in a neti pot?

    If this is humor I like it. If not…

  45. 45.

    Ken J.

    February 8, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    I’ve been a tea obsessive since the cold weather arrived. I think I’m guzzling about two liters of hot tea per day. Glug, glug. I make two travel mugs for each direction of my Very Long Commute, and then I drink a few more mugs at the office.

    The JoeMoXL thermal mug (16oz) has been excellent for car use, travel use, and even to leave on the front steps for a quick warmup while shovelling snow. (Don’t lose it in the snow though!) Keeps the tea at a good temperature for 5-6 hours, so you can sip and return. I really hesitated at the $25 price, but I have used it nearly every day for three months. Caution: cleaning the complex push-button drinking top may become a serious issue if you put dairy in your tea, which I do not.

    The Peoples’ Food Coop stocks Frontier brand looseleaf tea. About $20 per pound. But a pound is a LOT. This stuff is almost free. I am mostly using the Jasmine Green, also lots of Darjeeling and Assam.

    The fancy tea store comes in at about $40-50 per pound.
    I think Teavana comes in at about twice that, grump.

    In tea bags, I mostly use Twinings or St. Dalfour’s Darjeeling; Twinings Ceylon; Yamamotoyama’s roasted green tea. After five boxes of the roasted green, though, I started to burn out on it. :-)

    Tea forever!! We should have a tea party — oh wait —

  46. 46.

    Maude

    February 8, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    @catclub:
    I thought it was only me that liked a product and then, whoosh! it was gone. Dial made a small bar of basic soap. Cheap and nice. It’s gone.
    I ued a heavy bike to commute at one time. It had the English Racer type tires, wider than racer tires. It was stable and had regular hanle bars and a normal saddle. Mountain bikes look difficult to handle on streets.
    That old bike went down a long hill the day after a true blizzard. People were looking at me. I waved.
    The trick was not to be heavy with the handle bars.
    Rain and bike brakes don’t mix well.

  47. 47.

    RossInDetroit

    February 8, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    I usually don’t drink flavored teas but bergamot is a nice change once in a while, and occasionally Constant Comment. We drank Constant Comment by the gallon when I was a kid.
    I grew up drinking tea and only switched to coffee as an adult because it was widely available.

    As for prep, a press pot and an electric kettle for boiling the water does a good job for loose tea.

  48. 48.

    A Farmer

    February 8, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    In honor of the original tea partiers, and because of the current tea partiers, I am boycotting tea. Plus, oftentimes when we baled hay, the beverage choices were iced tea and lemonade, and lemonade really hit the spot. Only one place gave me Goebel, the fine French lager.

  49. 49.

    Billy K

    February 8, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    John, I went through the same “Tea Journey” a couple years ago, and like you, I now start the morning with coffee, but sip tea during the day. Fewer jitters, no crash. And as an ex-smoker who loved the rituals and “gear” more than the nicotine, I find tea appeals to that part of me (as well as the obsessive, “gotta try every variety” nature that makes me drink too much beer).

  50. 50.

    Benjamin Cisco

    February 8, 2011 at 12:21 pm

    Thread about tea, huh?
    __
    Needs some Michael Franks…
    __

  51. 51.

    freelancer

    February 8, 2011 at 12:21 pm

    Someone linked Gervais’ XFM podcasts in last night’s thread, so I think the rest of the week is gonna be about that.

    Also, I found these two clips from the HBO show last night. Pretty much the best thing ever.

    Karl’s Diary

    More from Karl’s Diary.

  52. 52.

    Paul in KY

    February 8, 2011 at 12:22 pm

    Very important (for good old black tea), the water must be boiling when it hits the tea.

  53. 53.

    Violet

    February 8, 2011 at 12:31 pm

    @Alain:

    no one has good tea no matter what they may say.

    My household has excellent tea, but then my household is a bit tea connoisseur-ish.

    Don’t forget to warm the pot before filling, John. Put in some of the boiling water, swirl around, dump, then add loose tea and fill with boiling water. The pot doesn’t stay at the right temp if you put boiling water into a cold pot.

    Also, tea cosies rock.

  54. 54.

    trollhattan

    February 8, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    @ John Cole

    “Nothing is funnier than Karl Pilkington in a corner, being poked with a stick. I am that stick.”

    Yup, hilarious yet somehow I come away impressed by Karl’s ability to soldier on. Now, the cameraman who harvested that needle in his arm gets my complete sympathy.

    Also, too, new “Top Gear” season began with a two-episode bang yesterday, making me a happy man. Did you know you can get drive-by shooting training in Virginia?

  55. 55.

    whetstone

    February 8, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    I got my wife some tea from a Chicago place called Chicago Tea Garden (which I think is mail-only), and it was a hit. They’ve got some handy advice on their Web site for how to deal with loose tea. I came across them because the guy who runs it wrote a good guide to tea for Lifehacker.

    Two suggestions for devices: an electric kettle that has temperature settings for different types of tea (don’t have one yet, but will soon), and a mug that has a built-in strainer. I got my wife one that has a top and a strainer–you steep the tea, put the top on the table, and then put the strainer on the top like a coaster.

    You might also check out the online tea community Steepster.

    And if you think tea is fun to fool around with, John, you should try pour-over coffee, the new (yet old) trend with coffee geeks.

  56. 56.

    srv

    February 8, 2011 at 12:36 pm

    It’s not the measurements, it’s the tea. We get the scrappings of the bottom of the barrels here in the US.

    Green tea fan, have tried the exotics we can get in CA from US imports, Japan, China and Chinatown. Keep coming back to Choice Teas, and something I found in Chinatown for a white tea.

    Anyone have opinions on La Pavoni espresso home equipment? Trying to enter the snooty world of espresso.

  57. 57.

    Maude

    February 8, 2011 at 12:45 pm

    @srv:
    I have the expresso pot you use on the stove. It’s easy and the coffee is good. If you are unsure if you are going to have expresso a lot, try that. The machines can be expensive. Have fun with it.

  58. 58.

    trollhattan

    February 8, 2011 at 12:45 pm

    I haz a sad, Gary Moore has died.

    [Space added in link due to new FYWP requirements]

    http://www.huf fingtonpost.com/2011/02/07/gary-moore-dead-thin-lizzy-guitarist-passes-at-58_n_819395.html

    His later stuff has some gems, my favorite being “Blues for Greeny.”

  59. 59.

    Aardvark Cheeselog

    February 8, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    My favorite tea source – Upton Tea Imports. They have a large selection, much of which is first-rate (especially if you’re interested in Darjeelings) at prices a lot lower than what you’ll find at, e.g. Teavana.

    Not so good with the Japanese teas, but you can’t have everything.

  60. 60.

    El Cid

    February 8, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    Asian markets have teas like Sri Lankan grown whole leaf and organic etc., and I just do an easy cheat in making it. [The part about the Asian markets being that the teas are great and cost far less than the eco-yuppie stores around Atlanta. At least whenever I’ve seen them.]

    I pour the boiling (or just before boiling for white teas, so I’m told) filtered water (one of those faucet gadgets) into a warmed measuring cup, time its brewing, and then pour it into a cup through a fine strainer.

    Easy as pie, quick, needs no special equipment or attention, ridiculously easy to clean, gets rid of bags, and I only drink a cup anyway.

  61. 61.

    cckids

    February 8, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    @catclub: This. Also Atlas Shrugged.

  62. 62.

    John W. Plummer

    February 8, 2011 at 12:58 pm

    I’ve had some great teas in bags just from shopping Asian grocers. Lipton Yellow Label Tea, and Foojoy Dim Sum Herb Tea [herb tea being deceptive, from our perspective, it’s Black tea with Chrysanthemum blossoms] Both can be made bold and dark, or neglected for some time after the minute and a half microwave boil, and they taste fantastic w/out adding sugar or milk.

  63. 63.

    trollhattan

    February 8, 2011 at 12:59 pm

    @srv:

    First question: do you want strong coffee or espresso, because most consumer “espresso” makers can’t make espresso.

    Anyhoo, La Pavoni is decent but extremely picky as to technique and not terribly consistent from pull to pull. Also, too, it’s a long wait to refill when the water runs low, as it has to cool down before you can open the top.

    They’re beautiful to look at and impressive to your guests. We still have ours, but it’s been replaced by an Isomac pump machine for daily use. This is relatively low-tech but a heavy duty consumer machine that has soldiered on for many years, requiring one rebuild a couple years ago (department store espresso machines, even the expen$ive everything-in-one models are generally throwaway appliances when something breaks).

    Also, also, too, budget for a very good grinder or plan on buying your ground coffee daily. Good espresso cannot be made from coffee ground days earlier, while few consumer grinders are consistent and fine enough to allow you to pull good espresso shots. Our grinder is a Mazzer Mini, which only looks mini compared to the commercial models. Got at the same time as the Isomac it’s as good as the day we opened the box.

    It’s a snooty world, yes, but what’s needed is a level of nerdiness to master technique and climb a steep leaning curve. But once there, “coffee” is never again just coffee.

  64. 64.

    Kirk Spencer

    February 8, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    @srv: Not so much bottom of the barrel. It’s that we get the dust. Dust, having such a huge surface area to volume compared to whole leaves, brews differently.

    As in: see all those notes above about not steeping too long? It’s almost impossible to avoid with dust.

    I have taken to making cold-brew tea from bags and then heating that. It’s still got some of the bitter but it’s a lot less (relatively) as the lack of heat doesn’t curdle the oils. Put the bag(s) into the water, put the water on the counter, and go to work/school. 8 to12 hours later take out the bags and heat the tea – stove, percolator, microwave, whatever works for you. Don’t try to save it for the next day as the oils are there and they still curdle, even if put in the refrigerator.

  65. 65.

    Keith G

    February 8, 2011 at 1:03 pm

    My morning/daytime fix is usually Lapsang Souchong (sometimes Russian Caravan or Jasmine Peal). I use 2 grams in 12 oz of full boiling water, steeped for 3 min.

    Those leaves can then be used again: Usually 8-10 oz of water.

    I use sugar but no cream as I find it dampens the smokey flavor too much. I do use cream/milk for other teas.

    Coffee is still the go-to on mornings of days that I know will suck.

  66. 66.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    February 8, 2011 at 1:05 pm

    @srv:

    It’s not the measurements, it’s the tea. We get the scrappings of the bottom of the barrels here in the US.

    In your local Safeway/Krugers/etc, yes. But it is surprising how many good speciality tea importers have sprung up, both brick-and-mortar retail stores and online (I’m partial to teaspring.com and shanshuiteas.com), over the last decade.

    The problem is that good quality loose leaf tea is fussier about how it is brewed than is the crappy stuff, so you do have to learn through trial and error how to do it right or you can spend a lot of money on expensive tea and get a brew that is no better than something from a Lipton bag.

    My general rule is that the strength of your brew is a function of time, temperature and leaf-to-water ratio. Increase any of those variables and you get a stronger brew. But each type of tea has an ideal time (usually no more than 1-2 minutes and sometimes less) and temperature (at or near boiling for black teas, 170-190 degrees for most oolongs, 160-180 degrees for green teas) which it prefers. So the trick is to experiment until you find the best time/temp, and then adjust the leaf to water ratio to your taste for strength of brew. And once you get it right, good loose leaf tea can be rebrewed multiple times. I usually get 5-10 steepings per batch, which cuts down the cost a great deal.

    When I was learning how to do it I experimented with the time of brewing by setting up a dozen shot glasses and then pouring off some tea into one every 20-30 seconds, and then taste testing them to see which time-batch I liked the best.

    For experimenting with the temperature either listen very carefully to the sounds your kettle is making as it heats up (most kettles make different sounds as the water approachs boiling), or if you want to go hi-tech get a thermostatically controlled water kettle. If you don’t want to or can’t be that precise about it, then as a general rule green tea should be brewed at low enough of a temp that you can pour it into a ceramic teacup and immediately drink it without burning your lips. If the water is hot enough to burn you then it is also hot enough to burn the tea. Brewed at the right time and temp, green tea tastes semi-sweet, not bitter. If it comes out bitter, decrease the time and temp.

    And yes, I am a tea geek. Why do you ask?

  67. 67.

    jhaygood

    February 8, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    main thing – don’t steep too long. for me it’s about a minute or so. with a bit of milk – i use 2%. i used to drink coffee religiously but was on a movie set in england and the grips and drivers and all those ruffians would break for tea in the afternoon – definitely playing against type. that was 15 years ago – i got hooked…

  68. 68.

    Marc

    February 8, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    I’ve been a tea drinker for many years, using loose leaf black tea, boiling water, and brewing for four minutes (more or less). It’s too bad that most cafes and restaurants are clueless about the fragility of tea, as they often brew it forever before serving it to you.

    For a quirky look at tea production, check out “All in This Tea,” a 2007 film from Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht that follows legendary importer David Lee Hoffman on his trips to China to buy top quality tea and around his Marin County permaculture house.

    For those interested in getting the most or least caffeine from their tea, check out these two posts that I wrote in 2009 on my blog: Afternoon Tea in the Laboratory: a Scientific Paper about Brewing Tea, and Afternoon Tea in the Laboratory: Part 2. Short story: for the most potent cup of tea without brewing for so long that unpleasant flavors are extracted, use the hottest water possible and minimize heat losses during brewing.

  69. 69.

    asiangrrlMN

    February 8, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    There are these things called tea bags (not of the Lipton variety)? They work pretty damn well. Or else, just throw a buncha leaves in a pot and call it a day (I like my tea strong and bitter. Go figure).

  70. 70.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    February 8, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    @gene108:

    Arthur Dent’s ability to deal with life altering events is under appreciated.

    Agreed. I liked how Douglas Adams himself explained Arthur. “He’s not stupid, he’s actually quite bright, but he’s the kind of person who tends to need things explained, slowly, sometimes two or three times.”

    I’m not sure I could deal with the destruction of the earth and the need for a fish in *my* ear, either – to give just one example.

    Then again, I’m not the kind of person to viciously call into existence a pot of petunias, either, so what would I know?

  71. 71.

    Rick Massimo

    February 8, 2011 at 1:12 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: Whatever cookies people bring in. Not particular on that score.

  72. 72.

    vtr

    February 8, 2011 at 1:19 pm

    I drink my tea strong – steeped at least five minutes in a pre-heated pot. 1/2 teaspoon sugar, no milk. It’s the color of coffee.

    Earl Grey is a good bergamot tea. If the bergamot is too strong, go with half E. G. and half anything else.

    DO NOT listen to my wife. Don’t put the tea into the pot to soak (break in) while the water is heating. It will turn into something that smells like feet.

    If you mis-measure and put too much tea in, and it’s too strong, have a pot of boiling water standing by to dilute it with.

  73. 73.

    dr. luba

    February 8, 2011 at 1:30 pm

    I used to use loose tea, proper pot, pre-heat, etc. And then I realized my tea-drinking friends in tea-drinking countries (UK, Australia) all used tea bags in a mug. So I do, too.

    Tetley is a reasonable tea in bags, as are some of the organic bagged teas at Trader Joe’s. I usually stock up when I’m visitng a tea-dringking country (UK, Oz, Canada), buying several boxes.

    I do use an electric kettle–gives nice hot water quickly, better than heating water on the stove. And I like mine steeped for three minutes, with milk.

    Indian tea (chai, they call it) is brewed with milk and heavily sweetened. It’s usually flavored with a bit of cardomom and other spices. I always loved watching the chai-wallah toss it from cup to cup to cool it before serving, but they’re getting away from that. Now you’re more likely to get a tea bag steeping in a cup of sweet, watery milk. Not good.

  74. 74.

    srv

    February 8, 2011 at 1:30 pm

    @trollhattan: Thanks. Have never really been a coffee drinker, but started drinking espresso when I was in Italy and loved it and richer (I guess chocolately) cappuccinos. Also want a steamer for milk/hot chocolate. I only remember the name of La Pavoni on the equipment I saw there, have not really researched what is reliable/decent in the states.

  75. 75.

    Angry Black Lady

    February 8, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    Karl Pilkington is an inadvertent genius. If you listen to the podcasts, a lot of what he says actually makes sense.

    I subscribe to his newsletter.

  76. 76.

    cleek

    February 8, 2011 at 1:32 pm

    no cream, sugar or lemon for me. straight up, only.

    really digging the Darjeeling, lately. black dragon pearl, too.

  77. 77.

    Janus Daniels

    February 8, 2011 at 1:36 pm

    We have the good fortune to live by a clear spring. (Tea lovers traditionally regard water from favored clear springs and mountain rivers as the best water for tea.) In the absence of the ideal, and given usual US tapwater, use filtered water. The tradition of heating water from cold minimizes solutes other than the tea itself, and may even preserve some of the dissolved oxygen; regardless, it improves the flavor. Heat the water to at least 150F or more, and steep it from a few seconds to a minute, depending on the type of tea; even a few seconds at 200F damages all but low grade tea, and boiling does worse. Steep successive pots longer and at higher temperatures. An exceptionally good tea may yield several steepings, each revealing new flavors. If you have bad tea, or a chai, you can ignore this, and you may want to add milk or whatever, but good tea doesn’t cost much; buy some. Once you begin to taste it, you can explore the major varieties (black, red, yellow, green, white, and the puerhs).
    http://www.thefragrantleaf.com/brewingtips.html
    Tisanes (the “teas” made from other herbs, roots, spices, and anything else other than tea leaves) can usually stand up to, or even need, a full boil, possibly for several minutes.
    You can read whole books on tea, but this gives you enough to start with.

  78. 78.

    Lawnguylander

    February 8, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    Serendipitea is a company that is as green and progressive as you’ll find and sells great green teas. Kokeicha is my favorite but they have many others that are organic, fair trade and/or biodynamic. They aren’t cheap but not that expensive and all their teas are hand mixed and packed. It’s kind of astounding to find successful companies that choose not to automate people out of jobs in return for higher profit margins and that’s enough for me to promote them. That and the great tea. Some of it is in fact glorious.

  79. 79.

    elmo

    February 8, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    Second the recommendation for specialteas.com. They have every kind of tea imaginable, plus all the accessories. For tea in the office, I have one of their in-the-cup filters.

    And nothing beats their Key Largo flavored tea for iced tea in the summertime. Divine!

  80. 80.

    trollhattan

    February 8, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    @srv:

    My pleasure. I’d say you were indoctrinated in the best way imaginable! While I drank designer coffee I wasn’t a coffee lover until that first perfect espresso (in the States, but we do what we must) which flipped a switch in my lizard brain. I’ve been trying to recreate it ever since. A silly passion, but a passion nevertheless.

    Here’s a pretty good place to get started:

    http://coffeegeek.com/

  81. 81.

    trollhattan

    February 8, 2011 at 2:04 pm

    Coda to the above: huh, that link posted without any tricks. WTF? FYWP.

    Also, too, the LaPavoni I was discussing earlier is the Europiccola 8, which is a hundred-year-old design powered by steam. They may also have consumer pump models, I haven’t been keeping up.

  82. 82.

    Comrade Mary

    February 8, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    So, tea people: someone said in an earlier thread that Brooks Bond was essentially PG Tips. I have a question:

    DOES BROOKS BOND PUT THE TEA BAGS INSIDE A FOIL PACKET (PRESERVING THE FLAVOUR) OR DO THEY RATTLE ABOUT NAKEDLY IN THE BOX AND GIVE UP THEIR ESSENCE WAY TOO SOON?

    Thank you.

  83. 83.

    jinxtigr

    February 8, 2011 at 2:08 pm

    Randomly made tea today, as I got up unusually late and was finishing my coffee almost at noon… how nice to see Balloon Juice covering all such things :)
    I learned that I had sometimes done pour-over tea just by instinct, without understanding it. I’d drown a bunch of coffee in a cone filter- and then come around shortly thereafter to rinse it down the sides. I had the roughest of the rough ideas but didn’t get the whole concept. Now I’m like ‘aha!’. Brought out my cone filter- which I’d modified, years ago, with a larger hole, just because I thought it seemed like a better idea :)
    Pour-over next time. Let’s see if it’s better than the french press :)

  84. 84.

    Tom Betz

    February 8, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    My secret for a great, no-fuss pot of tea is a good electric kettle (like Breville’s 1.7 liter Ikon) and a Bodum Assam pot.

    The Assam uses Bodum’s press mechanism and lets you seal the leaves into a bottom compartment after steeping so you don’t need to deal with them until later, after you have enjoyed the tea.

    I like browsing Amazon’s loose tea offerings. You can find some of the best values in loose tea here when they have kilo bags of Taylors of Harrogate in stock. They used to offer a superb single-estate Assam (not to be confused with the “Pure Assam”, but the Scottish Breakfast is a fairly good substitute.

    A bit pricier is Harney & Sons English Breakfast, which has a hint of lapsang souchang earthiness in it that most Assam blends lack.

  85. 85.

    PurpleGirl

    February 8, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    @catclub: He doesn’t need to read the Left Behind books; he just needs to visit Slacktivist and read Fred Clark’s deconstruction. Currently doing deconstruction to book 2 (Tribulation Force) a couple of pages at a time.

  86. 86.

    Tim in SF

    February 8, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    Hey John Cole,

    I think Taylors of Harrogate have the best tea. I buy their English Breakfast by the kilo. It’s easy to fuck up, though; takes a lot of practice to get just right. But once you’re there, it’s just the best stuff ever.

    Also, this:
    http://blog.hisnameistimmy.com/tea.jpg
    and this:
    http://blog.hisnameistimmy.com/tea_at_desk.jpg

  87. 87.

    David

    February 8, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    I know people who have studied/practiced making tea for decades.

  88. 88.

    Waratah

    February 8, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    John this is my first post here but I have to bragg on my Mum’s tea.
    I was raised in Australia and she made perfect tea every time. She
    Used Bushells lose leaf tea, advertised from Ceylon. She measured
    A pile of leaves in her hand and threw it in a cold teapot and poured boiling water over it filling the teapot. Gold top milk was delivered to the our home (unhomogenised) the kind that the cream floats to the top.
    My parents like to shake it up, but if I opened it first I used the cream for my cereal. I do not know if Bushells is available here, I have not found any. The tea would get stronger if it sat long but never bitter. I try to find tea from Ceylon or Sri Lanka as it is called now and come close to hers.

  89. 89.

    JerseyJeffersonian

    February 8, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    Many good ideas from other posters. I drink predominantly black teas, and prefer them strong, currently taking them with whole milk (often hitting it with just a smidge of half and half) which sweetens the tea with the milk sugars. I generally steep with freshly boiling water for 4 minutes. Some, like Darjeeling, I will steep for a shorter time, lest it become bitter. Chai, on the other hand, I prefer to steep for a longer time in order to infuse more of the spice into the liquor. When brewing by the pot, I agree with another poster who commends the use of a tea cozy to maintain the heat, and I also sit the pot on a potholder, as the heat loss from the bottom of the pot is quite significant (move the pot and feel where it was standing if you don’t believe me). Straight oolongs in particular, and oolong blends perhaps, should not be steeped for this long. This advice applies even more so for straight green teas, and yet more for white teas, both of which may benefit from being steeped with water below a boil, for sure.

    I share with you my favored ice tea. I brew two quarts at a time, using 6 Red Rose tea bags (or use some other strong black tea, loose if you prefer), and 2 bags of Twinings Chai, but only the “Direct from England” variety (available at their US website) because these bags contain 125 g of tea and spices, more than found in the usual bag. This chai is middle of the road in its spicing selection; but this can be a virtue as one gets a spicing that is non-confrontational which may be more widely acceptable to less adventurous palates. I steep the Red Rose bags for 4 minutes, and allow the Twinings bags to steep for two more minutes. Then, while the tea is still hot, I sweeten it liberally with turbinado sugar (has that nice molasses-light flavor), generally using about 16 teaspoons for the two quarts. This gets close to the Southern “sweet tea” style, but a good bit mellower due to the usage of turbinado as opposed to refined sugar. After cooling a bit, refrigerate the container. This obviates the problem of watery, weak-ass tea that one gets with tea brewed, and then immediately cooled by a slew of ice cubes. I like it with milk and one or two ice cubes to keep it cool, but straight up is good, too. At least it seems to be okay, judging by the incredible consumption of this tea by my 6′ 3″ mechanic stepson. In fact, I think that visiting his mom and me is a mere pretext for drinking up all of my tea. You’re welcome, son. Try this when you come in from laboring in your garden, or when you’re all sweaty from chasing Jack Russell terriers around. It’ll make a believer of you.

  90. 90.

    gelfling545

    February 8, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    Having recently learned that “rapidly boiling water” is supposedly not, as I had always heard, the best for making tea I am finding that I enjoy more teas than I did previously. Water just about to boil is what you want. With whatever water, I love The People’s Daily Green Tea from the Republic of Tea.

  91. 91.

    Zuzu's Petals

    February 8, 2011 at 11:36 pm

    Best tea EVER.

    Da Cha Teas

    I’m addicted to their Citrus Chamomile, but all are truly excellent.

  92. 92.

    wes

    February 9, 2011 at 12:52 am

    water temp and steeping time is also very important!

  93. 93.

    alwhite

    February 9, 2011 at 6:23 am

    I’m a coffee junkie But I have several teas I enjoy for variety. My favorite is a Japanese tea that includes roasted rice. I’ll have to look up to name but the flavor is very nutty with a hint of smoke; very enjoyable.

    I have not gotten into all the paraphernalia with tea like I have for 30 years of coffee, press pot, actual espresso machine, counter top bean roaster but how you treat the creation of coffee or tea is critical to getting the best out of it.

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