This is a thread for tea. What is your favourite tea routine? Favourite tea? How much of it do you drink during a day? And the most important question of them all, does it help your writing? My tea routine is to often consume something together with the tea. Either bread, biscuits, or cookies. In Sweden we have Mazariner a type of sweet bread with almond paste in it. They go great with a cup of Earl Grey. Or I eat "drömmar" a vanilla cookie that also goes well with Earl Grey. I drink something like 1-4 cups each day. On the days where I drink more cups, I avoid a side dish for some of the cups. My favourite teas are; Earl Grey, Lady Grey, and Apple and Cinnamon. And yes, I think these cups help me write when I very well write. How about you?
Green tea can be nice, feels fresh to drink. I suppose there's a cultural aspect to drinking it as well. Sweden is more coffee oriented than tea, so I'm in the minority. In a small town near me, there is a tea shop, going to dare myself to set foot there someday when I am slightly wealthier.
I'm not much of a tea drinker, more of a coffee drinker, but if I do drink tea, it's usually peppermint tea. Recently, for one of our girls' lunches out, we went for "High Tea" at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a Victorian gem https://www.vintage-hotels.com/prince-of-wales/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA-Oi7BhA1EiwA2rIu2x1vyowZARY4-olnd2a38MDoNM5aBW1t-pyQNlPyXUYTlofV4LR0wRoCzGIQAvD_BwE It was marvelous, surrounded by the rich Victorian decor, and our choice from a long list of teas. We each got our own China teapot and cup and saucer, and scones, sandwiches, and ample desserts. https://www.vintage-hotels.com/prince-of-wales/the-drawing-room/
Nice place for a cup of tea, Louanne. Your surroundings can definitely enhance the intake of tea. Whether it is a nice Victorian place or out in the wilderness, drinking from the thermos, with a view of nature.
We toured areas of the east coast of Canada last July for three weeks including Niagara Falls, and I am so sorry I missed that Louanne. We had a wonderful time in each and every town and city including Niagara and seems like the Lake is only 15 miles away (according to google.) Our original destination was La Malbaie to visit Les Jardins de Quatre Vents (took three years to finally get tickets) so we created an entire vacation around it. It was awesome. But speaking of tea, I have only recently, in the last year, started substituting more tea over coffee. I like trying different teas, I like various dark tea best so far, but also enjoy pear vanilla, ginger honey, and green tea. I also like to have a cookie with it, but have to restrain myself. I didn't really care for Chai. Speaking of a similar experience to what Louanne described, a couple years ago we visited London and one of our stops was "Mr. Fogg's Tipsy Tea." https://luxlifelondon.com/mr-foggs-festive-tipsy-tea/ OMG, it was marvelous. We had individual china tea pots and matching cups with various tea cakes, cookies, pastries and petit-fours, cucumbers sandwiches etc. But the tea... Gin Tea and Champagne Tea. Right after the visit, we went on the double-decker bus tour (rode on top). You have to do that tipsy. It still makes me giggle thinking about it. But back to tea... How long do y'all let the bag steep in the water if you are just making a cup? I wonder if I am maybe in too much of rush. I just don't want it to cool off.
Coffee at work, tea at home. I'm big on cheap black tea. I used to take it neat but now usually add honey. I worry I'll nuke my GI bacteria if I drink too much, however, so I switch over to whatever herbal is lying around if it's a real go hard tea day (or just stop adding the honey... but I'm addicted to that astringent/honey combo).
3 minutes, but it depends how strong you want the tea. The question, however, is what order you do it in. Water, teabag, milk is the correct way to do it.
No milk for me, thank you. One-and-a-half-sugars, and quite weak (orange, not dark brown) is my preference. I like both Earl Grey and Lady Grey, but green tea with lemon is very good for digestion. I also like some of Twinings' other creations -- e.g. the Strawberry, Raspberry, and Loganberry tea is refreshing and good for sore throats. I used to be a coffee drinker many years ago, but it gave me the shakes, so I gave it up. Speaking of which, here's a parody I wrote back in 2014. Hope you enjoy (?) Everybody Wants to Brew Some Tea (parody of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears) Welcome to the cup; here's some brie to sup. Tea bag comes along with some sugar And along hot water's pouring, better watch out - don't be snoring; everybody wants to brew some tea. Earl Grey, Chai, Souchong - 'tis made before long Green or chamomile Will you have milk with your cup of English Breakfast, bigger than the state of Texas Everybody wants to brew some tea In the market I will be walking, buying Ginger and Lemon or Lapsang and the merchants -- they will be hawking The water's nearly boiling; it's reached a great high roil in- side the kettle, brewing up my tea. Can't stand the anticipation as we're serving this libation! Everybody wants to brew some tea. To wake up, better grab a cuppa and enlist it; One cuppa - why resist it? Everybody wants to brew some tea. Tea's now brewing through the nation, so recapping in summation, everybody wants to brew some tea! [fade]
When I was in hospital, they'd come round every so often with "tea" and "coffee" - the best description for it was "tea-flavoured" and "coffee-flavoured" warm water.
Sounds like our experience! And it seems the three-tier servers are popular on both sides of the pond!
We always joke about Constant Comet being called Constant Vomit, but it's actually pretty good stuff. Like the others, I prefer coffee, but CV is pretty nice too. I'm from the US, so I like my tea iced, with just a hint of sugar, brewed southern style.
i love tea! Favorites are green tea and Irish Black Tea. all of the light teas (green, oolong, etc), i take with honey OR lemon and sugar. the black teas (the "Greys," English/Irish/Scottish), i take with milk/cream and sugar. i love Chai ... but cant stomach it. there is a spice in there that doesnt sit well with me. -sigh- but that doesnt stop me from drinking it! I've found that some Chai is heavy on the spice (which upsets my stomach) and others dont upset my stomach as much. Thai tea is also really great. Different spices, so it doesnt upset my stomach. My sister and I exchange teas all the time. she likes the floral ones (rose, jasmine, cherry blossom, etc.) which are white teas. I like more of the dessert kinds, which are all black teas. I had one once (and it was my favorite!) that had notes of caramel, almond, and vanilla. Kinda had a crème brulee taste to it. I cant remember off the top of my head the tea place i typically order from. There are also 2 local tea places I go when I want to get tea, one of them conveniently is around the corner from my job so i've walked there on my lunch break before for some matcha powder. The other is across town, but they have really great dessert teas. (I feel like i'm going on and on like Bubba!)
Seems as if you may already have partaken? Being English, I have tea on a daily basis, but I sometimes question my ancestry as I only have one cup (and that's a mug) and even then made with a teabag and milk. The best brand is Twinings. I like their "English breakfast" blend, and have recently discovered that they do a "strong" version, which is what god would drink if he wanted a brew. Tea - water (boiling not boiled) - milk. I leave it for a while and then agitate the teabag with a spoon until the colour is a pleasing deep amber. I'd like to think that leaf-tea is better, but, sadly, I am too lazy. Does it help my writing? Only in that I am not alive "BT" (before tea). If I ever have a second cup, it's red-bush (rooibos) because age/caffeine. I grew up with a grandmother who had a tea-caddy in her dining room. A beautiful thing, the Britishness of which seemed to upset a few ex-pats over the pond in the late 1700s when they tried to make a massive pot of tea somewhere called Boston.
Had to look up tea-caddy, and now I want one. I've been wanting to use more loose leaf tea and their utensils. I would like a tea infuser that's an orb to contain the leaves, with a chain attached to withdraw it from the water.
As an American, I wanted to throw this thread in the harbor. But, I do like Hibiscus iced tea, and southern sweet tea. I don't really drink tea unless I am sick, but on occasion enjoy warm herbal peach tea.
Bet your ass and everybody else in the world who has an ass. Year end Financials, so my ass goes into the bunker on January 1st and doesn't come out until the 15th or so. Only the strong survive!
Damn right! /s (Sounds like a beautiful tea caddy and must have created many beautiful memories. Do you ever want to get one yourself? Even though you don't drink as much tea? And do you happen to do biscuits with your tea?)
Those little orb things are the best invention since the strainer. I must confess that this thread has got me enthused about my tea-use. When I bought the Twinings extra-strong English Breakfast I dithered over the price - five times more than my usual brew! (still only worked out at about 5 pence per cup and worth every penny!) The last time I used my tea-strainer was on Christmas day to make espresso martinis...
Her tea-caddy was one of the ancient, lockable ones made of polished wood. It was a thing of beauty, and I have just set-to wondering whatever happened to it... I know where her beautiful baize-covered, folding card-table and grandmother clock are (my brother's house), I know where the dining table, chairs, and Welsh dresser are because I can see them from where I am sitting... will check with my brother about the tea-caddy...
Tax return time here too. Probably not as frenzied as yours, so less caffeine required. I could have done mine anytime after 6th April last year, deadline is 31st of this month but I have jury service, so deadline is this week... Java. Black. No sugar. If a spoon won't stand in it, it's too weak.
What has your donkey done that's so bad? *pictures the donkey from Warner Brothers asking "What'd I do, what'd I do???"* Seriously, good luck, Homer. It's Year End for us too, and I've been stuck processing the Xmas-to-New-Year's bank statements nonstop for the past two days. Deadline's COB tomorrow, but since I've done almost everything to the end of the 30th, I reckon I can beat it. Anyway, back to tea ... and I agree with Hammer - Twinings are the best brand. Here's another song. The Tea Song (parody of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", by the Eurythmics) Sweet dreams are made of teas; Brew am I to disagree? I travel and look for the perfect tea, everybody's drinking Darjeeling! Some of them want to brew you; Some of them want to be brewed by you. Some of them want to consume you; Some of them want to be consumed. OOOOooOoOooooOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!! Steep your tea bag (brewin' on) Hold your tea cup (brewin' on) Don't spill any (brewin' on) Want some milk now? (brewin' on) Here's some sugar! (brewin' on) Have some sugar! (brewin' on) Don't want sugar? (brewin' on) Right - no sugar... Some of them want to brew you, some of them want to be brewed by you; Souchong them want to infuse you... Souchong them want to be infused. Some teas are made of leaves -- if you use a bag, they're not happy. I'm brewing the leaf -- now I have my tea, everybody's looking for Ceylon. Sweet teas are made of these -- nurture the plants, collect the leaves. I travel the aisle, buying seven teas; everybody's drinking up something. Sweet dreams are made of teas; Chamomile, Chai, peppermint or green. I travel the world and I plant the leaves, drink even if you're not twentysomething! Sweet dreams are made of teas, who am I to sip Tetley? I travel the world while a-sippin' tea, Everybody's looking for tea cups. Sweet teas are Twinings teas, who am I to diss a brie? You drank all the tea? Then you'll pay a fee; You'll be stuck a-washing the tea cups! [fade]
