1Tanneitha
This is a first-time post... hello! :) I do not know if there is a welcome thread in this group; didn't see one. I've been a tea drinker for as long as I can remember, and I love it - drinking tea can be just what the doctor ordered.
3jspegues
Hi Tea Pals,
I love Harney & Sons Fine Teas. Darjeeling is my absolute favorite. Check them out at
https://www.harney.com/
You will discover a wide selection of wonderful tea.
I love Harney & Sons Fine Teas. Darjeeling is my absolute favorite. Check them out at
https://www.harney.com/
You will discover a wide selection of wonderful tea.
4gmathis
H&S was one of my "gateway" companies that addicted me to very good tea. We can get a few varieties locally via Target's grocery aisle.
5staffordcastle
Hi, Tanneitha, welcome aboard!
62wonderY
Just a reminder that this group needs an administrator. Shouldn’t be much in the way of duties; just a figurehead. There is a crown that comes with the title, though👑
See
https://www.librarything.com/topic/328882#
See
https://www.librarything.com/topic/328882#
7WeeTurtle
This reminds me, I'm steeping tea in the kitchen.
I started when I was 12 ish I think, with Celestial Seasonings. I have an image of my head where I got a cup as well, at a cafe sort of thing near the herbalist and alternative medicine doc I was seeing at the time. Pretty sure it was mint, (not peppermint. Mint.) and then Sleepytime.
In the kitchen (and oversteeped by now) is Tazo Chai.
I started when I was 12 ish I think, with Celestial Seasonings. I have an image of my head where I got a cup as well, at a cafe sort of thing near the herbalist and alternative medicine doc I was seeing at the time. Pretty sure it was mint, (not peppermint. Mint.) and then Sleepytime.
In the kitchen (and oversteeped by now) is Tazo Chai.
8John5918
>1 Tanneitha: I've been a tea drinker for as long as I can remember
I think that would be the normal British and Irish experience, at least for people of my generation. The kettle was on the boil all day; tea was made regularly from early morning until late evening; any visitor was given a cup of tea automatically without being asked; hot sweet tea was the remedy for any ailment, shock, depression, whatever; in offices, factories and greasy spoon cafes, or at weddings, funerals and other events, tea was served in huge two handled teapots; workers thrived on "builder's tea"; coffee was rare and was usually instant (and indeed in those post-war austerity years it was often ersatz coffee such as Camp Coffee, which was chicory-based); tea was bog standard black tea leaves, none of the fancy flavours and certainly not herbal tisanes. Ah, those were the days!
I think that would be the normal British and Irish experience, at least for people of my generation. The kettle was on the boil all day; tea was made regularly from early morning until late evening; any visitor was given a cup of tea automatically without being asked; hot sweet tea was the remedy for any ailment, shock, depression, whatever; in offices, factories and greasy spoon cafes, or at weddings, funerals and other events, tea was served in huge two handled teapots; workers thrived on "builder's tea"; coffee was rare and was usually instant (and indeed in those post-war austerity years it was often ersatz coffee such as Camp Coffee, which was chicory-based); tea was bog standard black tea leaves, none of the fancy flavours and certainly not herbal tisanes. Ah, those were the days!
9genesisdiem
Hi all! I grew up in the American South on sweet tea. My nanny made it with 2 cups of sugar to the gallon and it was like syrup that we drank with fresh handmade biscuits. I admit that I couldn't stomach that as an adult and stick to about 3-4 cups a day of something warm from whatever brand I happen to have in the tea chest. I love trying new flavors!
10John5918
>9 genesisdiem: 2 cups of sugar to the gallon and it was like syrup
Sounds very much like Sudanese tea, which is served hot and black, flavoured with various spices which can include cardamom, cloves, mint or the small fresh shoots from a lemon tree, in small glasses with about six spoons of sugar. When you're travelling across the desert in the back of an open lorry with the temperature in the high forties (that's around 120 on the other side of the Pond) and you stop at a small tea shack it's amazing how refreshing this drink is.
The idea of serving tea without sugar is completely alien to Sudanese culture. I would often find myself having to accompany foreign visitors and translate for them, and it was aways a drama when tea was served. I would tell the tea lady that the visitor doesn't want any sugar. "She doesn't want any sugar? Oh, OK, I'll just give her two spoons". "No, no sugar at all". "No sugar at all? Well, I'll just put in one spoon..."
Sounds very much like Sudanese tea, which is served hot and black, flavoured with various spices which can include cardamom, cloves, mint or the small fresh shoots from a lemon tree, in small glasses with about six spoons of sugar. When you're travelling across the desert in the back of an open lorry with the temperature in the high forties (that's around 120 on the other side of the Pond) and you stop at a small tea shack it's amazing how refreshing this drink is.
The idea of serving tea without sugar is completely alien to Sudanese culture. I would often find myself having to accompany foreign visitors and translate for them, and it was aways a drama when tea was served. I would tell the tea lady that the visitor doesn't want any sugar. "She doesn't want any sugar? Oh, OK, I'll just give her two spoons". "No, no sugar at all". "No sugar at all? Well, I'll just put in one spoon..."
11genesisdiem
>10 John5918: I admit to having a secret stash of sugar cubes... some teas I buy samples of are so bitter I have to add either cubes or honey. I haven't gotten around to adding milk or cream though. That just seems so odd to me.
I think the best thing I learned about tea was knowing what temperature to steep it. A lot of what I thought was terrible really just needed a different warming temp.
And thanks for the story!! I'm going to see if I can make some and try it. :)
I think the best thing I learned about tea was knowing what temperature to steep it. A lot of what I thought was terrible really just needed a different warming temp.
And thanks for the story!! I'm going to see if I can make some and try it. :)
12gmathis
My gateway tea was Bigelow's Constant Comment; my mom loved it. I started the tea habit in high school when I needed a boost to get out the door for 5:30 a.m. bus runs to speech tournaments and music contests. Also popular around that time in our neck of the woods was what was called "friendship tea" ... a rather nasty blend (always in a decorative jar around Christmastime) of instant tea, powdered orange drink, and what we'd now call chai spices.
