By that evening, I realized that I had caught a flu bug. Thankfully, flu bugs tend to make their departure as mercifully swift as their arrival, and I only had to wallow in misery for 36 hours.
Two things comforted me during those foggy hours. A creamy cup of tea, and the warm sound of This American Life, which never ran out of things to say, and never asked for a response.
Did you know that This American Life now has an iPhone app? Sweet.
But, more importantly, do you know how to make a proper cup of tea? Very important in my life.
I know that I live in Seattle, and that this is the coffee capital, the home of the original Starbucks, and a thousand reincarnations. But tea is the King Cuppa in my life. If I lived on a desert island for the rest of my life and could only have 10 things with me, tea, milk and sugar would be three of them. If my calculations are correct, I have sipped at least 12,000 cups of tea. Blame my obsession on my English heritage.
In case you are not a tea drinker, but would like to make a habit of it, here are a few suggestions, and a little information. I won't get as detailed as the 5,000 word description for a proper cup from The British Standard 6008.
To begin, "tea" is a drink made from tea leaves, which comes from type of Camellia shrub. "Tea" that does not have "tea" in it ("herbal teas" such as peppermint or chamomile), are actually just an herbal infusion. For this article, when I say "tea," I mean a drink made from tea leaves.
Green, Oolong, and Black tea are all made from the same tea plant. Green tea is unfermented, Oolong is lightly fermented, and Black tea is fully fermented.
I drink black tea. Specifically, Tetley British Blend. I think it has a fuller flavor than other mass market brands.
To make a cup of tea, bring fresh water to a boil. They say that re-boiled water has less oxygen in it and will make a flat tasting tea.
Stir in sugar if you wish. I like one teaspoon of sugar. George Orwell disagreed that sugar should be added to tea, but, well, I am not George Orwell.
Stir in the milk. I use 2% or whole milk, between 1/8 and 1/4 cup, depending on the strength of the tea. Milk will reduce the bitterness that the tannins in the tea produce. You can ignore anything you may have heard about milk cancelling out the health benefits of drinking tea, for two reasons. For one, I don't believe it. For another, tea with milk is a beverage, to be enjoyed, not a medicine to be tolerated.
Repeat. Twelve thousand times.
5 comments:
great write up - I love the ritual of making tea too
I love your blog. Nice read. Makes me want to drink tea 12,000 times in rapid succession. Hope you are feeling much better.
Very cute Lara! Yes tea is in my life too but I have an electric tea pot so therefore I have re-boiled water, oh dear! What to do! I also am a honey fanatic and can change the taste of tea with different types of honey....Honey!
Just found your blog! And am also a Seattlite that loves everything about tea (I have never had a cup of coffee in my life, in fact!). I drink looseleaf Irish or English breakfast from Adiago.com, mostly, but I will definitely check out your kind because I like having a backup bagged tea from the grocery store too.
I steep mine a lot longer, not sure why (more caffeine? More bite? Just lazy?) and put in sugar and but less milk. I like milk, though, and might try more like you suggest. I think the milk canceling out the benefits thing is bunk too, or at least not worthy of sacrificing the joy of tea for.
Happy tea drinking! Hope you feel better soon.
My uncle is English, so this process (slightly altered) is repeated in his home at least a dozen times daily.
And if the tea has been sitting for more than a few minutes, my aunt will insist on making a fresh pot. It's insanity! Delightful insanity!
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