rascal
Forum GOD!
We have 2 types of tea in our house. Earl grey for me and English breakfast for butcher. That seems to cover most blends for us. My son drinks green tea and others chamomile???
Russ
Russ
The tea thread
- Thread starter TastyReuben
- Start date
For the folks (like myself) who let their tea leaves/bags steep in a teapot (as opposed to in a mug or cup), do you ever wash your teapot with soapy water, or do you just give it a little rinse and set it aside for the next day?
I never wash mine, nor the pots I use to hold brewed coffee, because I like to let it sort of season the pot over time.
I never wash mine, nor the pots I use to hold brewed coffee, because I like to let it sort of season the pot over time.
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
I think Mr Twining needs a teapot around the ear'ole. We were there only last year:
It takes all sorts, of course...
Curiously enough, I was in the Indian Embassy today, serving lunch for some of the diplomats, and I made something I'd never done before/ Masala Chai. Tea, slices of ginger, a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, milk, a touch of sugar. They loved it!
I’d gladly drink a gallon of that!
I also steep my tea in a pot -- a stainless steel pot I bought in England 25 years ago. I just rinse it out after every use, and let it dry. It has a very nice patina inside that I am told makes better tasting tea.
CD
rascal
Forum GOD!
Ours goes in the dishwasher. No staining.
I normally seep for the time I have a leak. Then squeeze with teaspoon.
My nana always put a teaspoon of tea in the pot for each person and 1 for extra for the pot.
I'm a heathen and use tea bags.
Russ
I normally seep for the time I have a leak. Then squeeze with teaspoon.
My nana always put a teaspoon of tea in the pot for each person and 1 for extra for the pot.
I'm a heathen and use tea bags.
Russ
karadekoolaid
Legendary Member
I buy " Tea of Assam" loose leaf tea from an Indian online grocery. I like it because it's a strong brew. There are several reasons for my preferring it to ratbags. Firstly - it's cheaper. Loads cheaper. All that shiny packaging and marketing and cute little boxes; that just puts the cost up. 100 Twinings Breakfast Ratbags cost £4.99 in the UK. ($6.40), for 250 gms (8.8 ounces). 397 gms (14 ounces) of Tea of Assam costs me £3.91 ($4.99) .
Secondly, my son drinks tea like an Irish mammie. Probably 10 cups a day which, if it were ratbags, would mean I'd have to buy a new packet every 10 days. My Assam tea lasts more than a month.
Thirdly, it tastes better, and I can confirm this because we've got ratbags at home and sometimes, they're useful. Sometimes.
Finally, I can chuck out the loose leaves on to the garden and they're good for compost. Ratbags - need to be broken up!
Secondly, my son drinks tea like an Irish mammie. Probably 10 cups a day which, if it were ratbags, would mean I'd have to buy a new packet every 10 days. My Assam tea lasts more than a month.
Thirdly, it tastes better, and I can confirm this because we've got ratbags at home and sometimes, they're useful. Sometimes.
Finally, I can chuck out the loose leaves on to the garden and they're good for compost. Ratbags - need to be broken up!
I use "ratbags" because they are easy. I don't drink a lot of tea, so I don't have to buy a lot of bags.
CD
SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Über Member
I do use bags because they’re convenient but they are not as good as loose tea. However my lot struggle to make tea without putting tea slops everywhere even with tea bags, then there’s the issue of complexity in making good loose tea and I‘ve been on the receiving end of some god awful well meaning tea making - so bags it is!
I have several teapots but am currently favouring two, one is a chunky le creuset workhorse that is dishwashered. The other a fragile looking glass one with a glass tea light heater I use for delicate or pretty tea’s that I hand wash.
The tea patina is the tea scum clinging, I’m not a fan. I like my tea as scumless as possible so use filtered water.
The problem with teabags is most contain plastic and shed an enormous amount of that into your cup, the environment and your body when you drink it. Not great for someone like me that drinks about 6-10 cups a day
Here’s a softly said version of it -
Plastic-free tea bags: The brands that don't contain plastic and the brands that still do
I have several teapots but am currently favouring two, one is a chunky le creuset workhorse that is dishwashered. The other a fragile looking glass one with a glass tea light heater I use for delicate or pretty tea’s that I hand wash.
The tea patina is the tea scum clinging, I’m not a fan. I like my tea as scumless as possible so use filtered water.
The problem with teabags is most contain plastic and shed an enormous amount of that into your cup, the environment and your body when you drink it. Not great for someone like me that drinks about 6-10 cups a day
Here’s a softly said version of it -
Plastic-free tea bags: The brands that don't contain plastic and the brands that still do
Last edited:
I got this as a Christmas gift, a tea calendar! The calendar is lovely, it looks so pretty, and each window had a tea bag and a nice quote behind it, but...out of the 24 tea bags, I only like 3 lol I usually don't like Christmas teas since they often have spices
But I absolutely adore Twinning's shop in London. Once when I went to London I did a previous research on the best tea shops, and spent a good amount of time visiting them and buying tea. I went to Fortnum's, Twinnings, The East India Company, Whittard, Postcard Teas, Drury Coffee and Tea, and The Tea House. Bought enough tea to last me a lifetime lol
But I absolutely adore Twinning's shop in London. Once when I went to London I did a previous research on the best tea shops, and spent a good amount of time visiting them and buying tea. I went to Fortnum's, Twinnings, The East India Company, Whittard, Postcard Teas, Drury Coffee and Tea, and The Tea House. Bought enough tea to last me a lifetime lol
My ex wife and I really liked Taylor's of Harrowgate. I still buy some from time to time.
CD
Is it the Yorkshire tea, or does tea caddies that look a bit more fancy?
SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Über Member
I favour Fortnums on flavour but not price followed by Whittards. But like wine I can almost any tea in the UK and enjoy it.
Spanish tea however is an abomination!
OH yeah Fortnum is expensive. Still love it though.
Do you have Lipton in Spain? I quite like Lipton Yellow Label. And the portuguese Gorreana tea from the Azores is also good.
But overall my favorite tea of all time is Twinnings Irish breakfast.
I'm no tea connoisseur though. And I often commit the cardinal sin of heating tea water in the microwave.