Tease
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve got a tea problem. See, the thing is that I like tea, but at the same time, am fussy. First, it’s got to be tea. You know, from the tea plant? No herbal tisanes or infusions–they are perfectly fine to drink, I suppose, but they’re not TEA. (Mini rant) Seriously, the correct name for a beverage brewed from flowers, herbs, mint, whatever is “tisane” or “infusion.” It drives me nuts when someone offers me tea and then says, “We have chamomile, spearmint, and a rosehip-cinnamon….” Because, you see, that’s not tea–and if you’ve got my tastebuds thinking about that strong, acrid tang of black tea, well . . . pleasant though your vanilla-scented infusion of citrus peel and berries may be, it’s not going to be what my mouth is expecting…. (min-rant over) So, I guess the first thing is, I don’t like herbal teas. Nor do I like flavored teas–I like my tea to taste like, well, tea.
But, the problem is that I grew up drinking Lipton. And while we’ve “upgraded” our usual cup to Tetley’s British Blend (the best supermarket tea out there, in my opinion), I still like that black-tea-blend-in-a-bag convenience best. I grab for a handy tea bag before I ever go for the higher-quality loose-leaf teas. (The saving on clean-up alone explains a lot, even with the handy tea-filters you can get these days.) And yet . . . I WANT to drink the better stuff. And so, periodically, I buy samples of different kinds of tea, which get put in the cabinet and then . . . well . . . sit there.
Because, you know, the most frustrating thing about going from “generic” kinds of supermarket teas to the “good” stuff? The teabags in the grocery store are blends–maybe uninspired, but they’re mixes of different kinds of tea. So that when you look at tea retailers and they’re offering things like Darjeeling, Assam, Lapsong Souchong . . . it’s hard to know what to buy. (Ditto for going out to tea–they give tea menus which always throw Mom off. “Do you have something like Lipton?”) There are plenty of sites to give definitions of “Indian tea is this, Chinese tea is that, this tea is strong, this one light….” but there’s still a certain amount of inevitable experimentation, because if what you really want is a high-quality version of, say, Lipton, how do you know what to buy? Hence a number of those tins in that picture–many from “black tea samplers.” I’ll try one periodically, like it, or not like it, but will put it back . . . and then forget. “Is that the one I liked?” It gets confusing. And the cupboard just gets crowded with things that aren’t being drunk. (This also explains why English Breakfast is my “default” tea.)
So, what’s a girl to do?
Have a tea-tasting, of course!
I put a little of each tea into a cup (sometimes more than I should have), added boiling water. . . and tasted each one.
Mom “played” too, and as we tasted each one, I moved the corresponding tin to one side or the other for “Yes” or “My God, No, what was I thinking?”
Not surprisingly, all–every, single one–of the flavored teas ended up in the “Ick” pile.
Cleaning up was fun. I poured all the tea through a strainer into a bowl (so as not to stain the sink) . . . I also resisted the temptation to sample the resulting mix of tea . . . although no doubt it would have tasted . . . interesting! It was nice getting all the cups out, too . . . some of them haven’t seen the light of day in years. The collection of tea in the back of the picture is the reject-pile . . . I just haven’t been able to bring myself to toss them yet (grin).
So now the cupboard looks like this–with room to “grow.” Clearly, though, I need to restrain myself from the temptation of buying flavored teas. Ever. The only ones to survive the purge is a light Christmas blend with citrus and spice notes, and a Ginger-Peach from the Republic of Tea. All the others with flavors are GONE. Or on their way, anyway.
But maybe now that I’ve weeded out the ones I hated, I’ll make the effort to try the “survivors” a little more often. After all, the paper tea filter bags are almost as easy as a tea bag. Sure, you have to spoon the tea in yourself, but the clean-up is a breeze. Much easier than those little mesh tea balls. And just as easy to make in a mug, so no need for an extra pot to clean.
Tea-ing isn’t the only thing we did today, though. Mom and I went to the bookstore this morning and used the gift card I got from a friend at Christmas. A nice selection, I think. The massive “Postwar” has gotten rave reviews, even if it’s size (well, weight, really) is daunting. Patricia McKillip is always a treat, and the Lian Hearn book comes highly recommended.
Tonight, we’re taking Dad to his favorite restaurant, the Triangle Hofbrau in Pequannick, so he can get some German food for his birthday. And he says that Mom and I stretch our birthdays out . . . this is a full week of celebrations for him! Not that he’s not worth it. He’ll be getting the Sauerbraten, and Mom will be getting the Goulash as she always does (by far her favorite–especially the spaetzle). I, however, don’t have a “favorite” and always have the hardest time deciding what to have. It seems a waste not to have something German, since it’s such a rare opportunity, and yet . . . I’m always a little jealous that they don’t even have to look at the menu!
There was a small tragedy here today, though. The violet, star and model of yesterday’s photo shoot? Tragically cut down in her prime today . . . literally. I was plucking away the dead leaves from her stem (African violets grow out of a central stem, you know) and . . . the entire thing came off in my hand. One second I was tenderly pruning, the next, the entire plant was in my hand. The stem just broke–it wasn’t even a snap, just . . . broken! Poor thing. I have no idea if it can be saved . . . I stuck the end back down into the soil and added some water with some Miracle Gro . . . we’ll see if it lives up to its name. If anyone has tips for emergency care of African Violets, though, please, speak up!
And, oh yes, the sky has been gray gray gray today . . . not worth the boring photo it would take . . . Please refer to Wednesday’s post for some beautiful sky….
Edited to add:
Mom and Dad really enjoyed their meals. As you can see!
So did Chappy! He got the second piece of smoked pork loin that I had. The illustration was courtesy of his grandma, my Mom.
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I like Republic’s Ginger-Peach tea too, and for what it’s worth, it’s tasty as iced tea as well as hot tea.
African violet leaves themselves usually root very easily. I usually used rooting soil from the garden center. I’m not sure if rooting hormone would be helpful in this case but it’s fairly inexpensive so might be worth a try.
Just want to let you know that I love my little teapot.
I found these pictures, but I know I didn’t pay that much for them. http://www.beehouseteapot.com/1518beehouse.htm
It has a little basket for the tea leaves. I let the leaves dry in the basket and then sprinkle them in the yard or garden. And I agree with all the silly flavors that people offer as ‘tea’. They just don’t understand ;-D
I enjoy many, many teas. Perhaps too many
I love black and green and flavored. DH is more knowledgable about the types. I think you should share with us the types that made the cut though!
We use a form of paper infuser bags. The ones we get have two different sizes so we can use them for individual cups if DH and I don’t agree on the type of tea we want or we can make a whole pot with the large bags. The bags are unbleached so we can put the whole shebang out in the compost bin too! I also have a small Beehouse pot whose strainer I use and try to use more often in the winter when our compost bin isn’t cooking as well.
For strong strong black tea, try Barry’s or any Irish tea. Barry’s is availabe at most Irish import stores. Trader Joe’s also carries a really excellent irish tea. To me, it seems stronger that English Breakfast.
Too bad about the African violet! Sounds like a case of over-watering.
Happily, African violets are pretty tough. Individual leaves root readily and the roots in the pot may be viable, too. Just go easy on the water – soil should be evenly moist, not wet.
My default tea is Stash Irish Breakfast. I like strong, malty Assam and blends, like Tazo Awake. I have a lot of tea that just sits, though. I got a Bodum Cafe Mug that has its own infuser that make using loose tea a little easier.
Sorry to hear about the violet. The crown may root yet, as leaves root pretty easily.
A tea tasting! I love it! What teas DO taste like Lipton? Down here, it’s iced tea mostly and our favorite is Red Diamond (grocery store brand). For hot tea, I’m a Twinings junkie.
If I find teas in my bag, Debbie, I’ll know they were the from the “Ick” pile! Love you!!
ohhhhh what a great post! I love my tea too!
I totally agree british blend is the best. I didn’t discover that one until last year when I was in the states and bought a box of it. Now I buy several when I’m down and stock up. I live by tetley but they only have orange pekoe here and it tastes nothing like tetley at home but then I found british blend and fell in love
Here’s a tip for cleaning your sink from tea stains, just pour a wee splash of javex down the sink, turn the water on and give it a quick wipe and the stains are gone
Interesting lesson in teas. I’m curious as to what managed to make it to the keep pile. I usually drink Earl Grey but haven’t been too terribly happy with it lately. I’ll have to give the English Breakfast a try.
Small world too. My ex-FIL’s favorite restaurant was Casa Hofbrau in the New Milford area. We had a few birthday dinners for him there. Makes sense though, he was born in Berlin and came to the States after the war.
i like tisanes and teas. depends on my mood. i have to admit, for orange pekoe, i go with liptons. i’m just odd that way. and have you tried rooiboos (i’m not sure of the spelling). it tastes very much like black tea, but without the caffeine. and it comes out RED. quite interesting.
did you toss the teas out? seems a shame. maybe you could put them up on freecycle or something (i’m not volunteering cuz i don’t know waht you rejected, lol)
deb, i read a lot of your blog to nat tonight and he was like IS THIS YOU? because i too was a hardcore Lipton girl. I didn’t branch out until 3 years ago actually because nat harped on me about it.
I keep meaning to tell you i finished that entire box of tetley bags last week! i have to agree with you, better than say lipton and pretty good for a grab a bag variety.
i really should send you a small sampler of tea gschwendner’s east friesian black tea.
http://www.teagschwendner.com/US/en/Shop_Start.TG
i think it tastes like a smoother “classier” lipton, just like lipton but a smidge more full bodied. And it’s loose leaf so you can feel all classy as you use the ingenutea thing.
(nat just gave me a gift card as one of my b-day presents! to tea gschwendner!)
My regular is Twinings English Breakfast tea, but Tetley’s is good also (I once bought a 100-ct. box of their tea “rounds” for something like 4 bucks!). I’m like you, I really don’t like tisanes AT ALL. My mom, though, she likes flavored stuff. I don’t even like the taste of chai, unless it is traditional chai my Indian friend’s mum makes for me, which as you know is tooth-acheningly sweet and really milky.
I always thought I didn’t like tea, but it was because all my mom had in the house was spiced tea or tisanes, like Constant Comment, “chai” or camomile. But, when I vacationed in London this past Spring, I grew to love black tea with sugar and milk (my mom drinks her tisanes with sugar and lemon). I hauled back about a pound of loose tea from Harrod’s food hall and drank it all in a month. Now, I drink about three or four cups of tea a day, but the bagged Twinings. It’s easy and delish! Great post, Deb. Now, if only I could get my mom to bin the 27,000 varieties of shite she has laying ’round the house…
Tea.
I love tea. I almost always drink loose-leaf tea. And I use one of those mesh tea balls that you don’t like. We’ve come to terms. It’s been worth the effort (for me). I’ve been drinking loose-leaf tea for, oh, probably close to 20 years now, and love it. I too recently did a tea purge, and tossed all the medicinal teas that I didn’t remember what they were for, and almost all of the herbals. I’m down to just a few favorites. Earl Gray, 5 O’Clock Blend, Peet’s Holiday Blend (not flavored), and a Darjeeling. No Lipton. Not ever. Well, unless I’m in a restaurant and that’s all they have. Then it’s a quick dunk, a little lemon, and I can stomach it. LOL Oh, and I always drink my black teas without milk or sugar.
Oooh. Love German food. There’s a fabulous German deli really close to my house, and a good German restaurant on the other side of town. Glad your dad got to have his annual fix of German food. Yum.
The violet.
I’ve done that. Keep the plant pushed down into the ground (gently, but be sure it is in constant contact with damp soil), and it’ll be fine. The leaves may wilt a little. But if you keep it on damp dirt, it’ll grow new roots, and the leaves will spring up again. All will be fine. Don’t panic.
Klaus would love what you did- a tea tasting! hah! You should chat with him sometime about teas… My favorite is the one that is deep, rich and smokey flavored (I think it is something like Lapsoong? Honestly, I don’t recall the name, because we keep it loose in tins that seal, and K just knows what it is by smell)
The violet – she’ll bounce back – just follow Laura’s advice above. In fact, it’s how you start new ones as well.
I know what you mean by the “tea vs tisane” rant. I have the same problem with medical shows. They will say something completely wrong and it drives me bananas! I just can’t watch the “medical” dramas that are so popular. I guess the differences inus all is what makes the world interesting. Right?
Ha! My husband and I are tea fiends too… for a few years we lived quite close to a fancy tea shop(pe) and as a result we have as much cupboard space dedicated to tea as we do to pasta, canned goods, etc. It is a sickness. We like both teas and herbals… I am a sucker for balled jasmine.
I was a cook in a restaurant which specialized in German food. No one ever wanted to try the spaetzel, but if they did they were glad of it!
My favorite tea is Tealuxe’s Creme de la Earl Grey. It’s an Earl Grey with a touch of creaminess. Their Irish Breakfast is also really good. Lately, I’ve been drinking Republic of Tea’s British Breakfast.
Deb,
Have you been to the tea shop in Martha’s Vineyard? Last June I had a wonderful tea there that I have not seen available anywhere else, Buckingham Palace. I only use it once in a while, to save it. The Cottage gift shop in Oak Bluffs also sold a limited selection of black teas in bags. We bought the cranberry orange black tea which isn’t a favorite, but something to experiment with.
I agree with you that the green and herbal teas aren’t the same. I’ve never developed the taste for them as I have for what I call a “good, stiff tea.” Now I must investigate those paper filters you mentioned. The only bad thing about loose tea are the leaves floating in it. Some people don’t mind, but I do. Great post!
You should have a give-away! I bet there are lots of people who only like the flavored teas.
wow
its very unconventional point of view.
Nice post.
realy gj
thx
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