Tea Time

Hi guys!

I have been rewatching Avatar (as we all should annually lol), and I have noticed that Iroh is a master of tea. He knows what flavors are best for what occasion, and he also knows how to tell if the brew is good.

For me, my experience with tea has been very mundane, although nice. I mean, I can throw a tea bag in some scalding hot water as much as anybody.

I'm wondering, though, if there is a more subtle art to the making of tea. If you are somebody with good resources on how to really produce a superior quality of tea, would you place resources below? Thanks!

George Orwell (Author of '1984') actually wrote an entire essay on how to make the perfect cup of tea.

I've found a BuzzFeed article if you want to read it.

Ha! That article is hilarious. And informative! I have never had proper "British" tea with milk and everything. I will have to give it a go with these rules in mind.

Connor L. wrote: Hi guys!

I have been rewatching Avatar (as we all should annually lol), and I have noticed that Iroh is a master of tea. He knows what flavors are best for what occasion, and he also knows how to tell if the brew is good.

For me, my experience with tea has been very mundane, although nice. I mean, I can throw a tea bag in some scalding hot water as much as anybody.

I'm wondering, though, if there is a more subtle art to the making of tea. If you are somebody with good resources on how to really produce a superior quality of tea, would you place resources below? Thanks!

Oo.. I like tea!! :blush: 'Some' tea out of tea bags contains junk like sugar and well.. things that are not so healthy for the body like addiction sugar and stuff like that. I brew my tea using dried leaves from Germany. Loose tea should be filtered by hand filter of with a tea egg. Depending on how many kilograms you buy, it is way cheaper than loose tea bags from Lipton and Pickwick with sugar and addiction stuff added. :blink:

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http://voedzo.nl/geen-suiker/verborgen-suiker-in-je-thee/
http://pers.kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/kros-keuringsdienst-van-waarde-groene-en-zwarte-thee-van-lipton-bevat-suiker/
http://keuringsdienstvanwaarde.kro.nl/seizoenen/2014/30-118552-23-01-2014

Connor L. wrote: Ha! That article is hilarious. And informative! I have never had proper "British" tea with milk and everything. I will have to give it a go with these rules in mind.

I'm not a proper historian, but I have heard that the milk actually helped keep porcelain teacups from shattering due to the heat of the tea. That said, it could be just as likely a variation on masala chai.
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What I'll say on my own is this:

• Do not use boiling water. It's too hot for most teas.
• Do not reheat water. It strips some of the oxygenation out of it and doesn't really give it the best flavor.
• Whenever possible, use loose leaf tea. If you don't have a place to get it locally, I can hook you up with my favorite online store, but loose leaf tea is higher quality and (unlike teabags) can be steeped more than once, saving a little money, too. Bagged tea is (if I recall correctly) "dust" or "fannings", which is the dust of the tea that's left over after processing. It's very low quality and lacks a lot of the flavor of loose leaf.

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In addition, I'll share a few tidbits about tea.

• All tea comes from the same plant. All actual, real, proper tea comes from Camellia sinensis, of which there are four varieties of this species: sinensis, used for Chinese tea; assamica, for India's Assam teas; and two lesser known variants called pubilimba and dehungensis . It's an evergreen with really lovely flowers. All the differences between white, green, black, pur-eh, oolong, etc. are based on the manner of processing. Some are aged, some are fermented, some are aged and fermented, some are neither. The other variations in tea flavors come from blending C. sinensis with other plants (like cornflower and Bergamot oil to make Earl Grey).
• Some things we call "tea" aren't! The process of making a "tea" of any kind is, in herbal medicine, called an infusion. And herbal "teas" (infusions made without C. sinensis in them) are properly called tisanes.
• The Origins of Tea. There are many legends of the origins of tea. One states that Shennong, ancient ruler of mythical China, invented tea just as much as he taught the Chinese herbal medicine. It is said that a wind blew a single leaf through Shennong's window, into a cup of boiling water, and he noticed the effect the beverage had on him.
  
  Other legends suggest that either the Buddha or Bodhidharma "created" tea while meditating, both in the same way. The Bodhidharma version is my favorite; the Buddhist monk who brought martial arts and Chan Buddhism to China, Bodhidharma found himself (through other misfortunes) meditating in a cave for nine years without ceasing. At one point, his eyes closed due to fatigue and exhaustion, and he cut off his eyelids out of frustration that he could not stay awake. Where his eyelids hit the ground, the tea plant sprang up (whose leaves are shaped similarly), and the tea plant invigorates the body and keeps the mind sharp so that it does not repeat the mistakes of the eyelids from which it sprang.
  
  Yet another origin story credits Kwan Yin, bodhisattva of compassion and Chinese goddess of mercy, with the creation of tea. A poor, aging farmer worked very hard to keep up a run-down temple belonging to the deity. It contained a black iron statue of the goddess that came alive and told the farmer to look outside for her gift to him for his years of service. "Nurse this gift with tenderness and care," she said, "and it will support your family for ages to come." Finding a scraggly bush, he took care of it and it regained health. He tossed a few leaves into a stone wok to dry one day, and it turned black as the iron statue. He took this as a sign and tested it, discovering it had gained a beautiful fragrance and flavor. This is said to be the origin of Ti Kwan Yin
• Tea Words! There are many words for tea the world over, but most fall into two basic origins: cha and tey. Westerners were introduced to tea through the Amoy (today Xiamen) harbor in the Fujian province, who said "tey", from whence most Western countries get the word "tea." Most other nations were introduced to tea through land routes along the Silk Road, exposing them to the more popular Chinese word "cha", from which many Eastern European and Asian countries get their words for this delicious infusion.

Sorry that wasn't more help, but I find it fascinating.

steamboat28 wrote: I'm not a proper historian, but I have heard that the milk actually helped keep porcelain teacups from shattering due to the heat of the tea. That said, it could be just as likely a variation on masala chai.

That is correct. Which, ironically, is why the article says you should put the tea in last. It was a 'status symbol' if you could pour the water in first as it showed off to all your friends that you could afford real, good quality china.

Because of this, some people (originally from poorer families) were taught milk first and others (originally from wealthier families) were taught water first. Because 'everyone is middle-class nowadays' (pfft, yeah right) you get some really heated debates about whether it should be milk/water first :laugh:

Funnily enough though, all my family are from a working class (poorer) background, and yet I was always taught water first? Weird.

Brick wrote: Because of this, some people (originally from poorer families) were taught milk first and others (originally from wealthier families) were taught water first.

I had no idea. That's fascinating. I, personally, was taught "milk first," but this is genuinely fascinating to me.

Thank you all for your insights. Very interesting!

Steam, we do have a Teavana here. I realize it's "chain", but perhaps it would be better than buying herbal infusions from a can at Kroger. lol.

I shall check it out.

Connor L. wrote: Steam, we do have a Teavana here. I realize it's "chain", but perhaps it would be better than buying herbal infusions from a can at Kroger. lol.

I shall check it out.

Teavana has gotten miles better since they were bought out by Starbucks. They used to be complete upscale garbage (poorly-trained and deceitful sales staff, harsh working conditions, substandard tea), but once Starbucks bought them out they cleaned up their act amazingly, and now they're only slightly overpriced, if that. Some of their blends are gorgeous, and I'm a fan of their cast iron teaware.

That said, I shop at Adagio because I fell in love with their Earl Grey Bravo and Masala Chai, and I stay with them because they have good deals, a wide variety, a frequent-buyers kind of club (you can earn "points" by handing out free $5 gift certificates to new customers), and a section for fandom-inspired tea blends, including about 23 blends based on Avatar: the Last Airbender.

steamboat28 wrote: I had no idea. That's fascinating. I, personally, was taught "milk first," but this is genuinely fascinating to me.

It does actually make a difference to the taste of the tea.

Putting the milk in first, like you do, means that the fat in the milk emulsifies in a different way when the tea is poured, which gives it a creamier flavour.

That being said, if you are drinking an unfamiliar tea (like Connor may be doing) I would always recommend milk last. It is easier to judge the correct amount of milk to add once you have seen the strength and colour of the tea.