Tea

MrsT's tea routine:

1. Two PG Tips pyramid teabags into a 5-cup Mr. Coffee automatic drip coffeemaker
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2. Wait 5-10 minutes (I don't actually know) while it brews:
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3. Into an appropriate mug:
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4. Add half-n-half and enjoy!
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This morning, I tried sencha tea for the first time (outside of a Japanese restaurant).

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Sencha tea has a very mild and agreeable taste and flavor. It is unadulterated with any oils or spices. I used raw sencha tea which is rough cut leaves. The leaves are long and thin.

I went Japanese with this and used my recently acquired Japanese tea set.

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Note the strainer in this set. Sencha tea is available in tea bags, if preferred that way. The rough sencha tea could have been brewed in a coffee maker, I suppose.

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Not sure how I missed this thread, as I consume up to 9 mugs of tea day. A habit I grew up with, being raised bilingual by my parents and our many British friends who lived with us at times. I also lived in England for a while, and that certainly fortified the habit. However, I don't drink my tea like most Brits I know of. I drink it 'weak' without milk or sugar. That aside, my favorites are:

1) Darjeeling, preferably Twinings or loose leaf tea. I'm currently drinking this every morning.
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2) For a real strong wake up cuppa, I like the Assam variety.
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3) Smoked lapsang souchon . A very aromatic green tea.
4) Chinese gunpowder based mint tea, as you get served in Morroco and the Arab world. It's very sweet.
5) Lady grey, because it's a little more gentle than Earl grey.
 
This morning, I made matcha tea.

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Making traditional Japanese ceremonial matcha tea takes a little bit of work.

First, you need to get set up.

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Then, you need to sift the tea. That strainer is used for this purpose and it is necessary to prevent the tea from clumping in the water. I used about 2 teaspoons of matcha powder for about 1 half cup of hot water. I started with 1/2 cup to prevent splashing out of the bowl when whisking.

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Then, you add the hot water and whisk the tea in to form a froth on top. It turns out to be more difficult than it sounds. The whisking must be done in rapid zig-zag or back and forth strokes. It should not be stirred around. I didn't get the froth effect desired, on my first try.

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Finally, you get to drink the tea.

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My day is not normal unless I have two mugs of tea to start with. My favourite brew is something called Mamri Tea, from Assam, which I buy on an Indian Grocery website. I´m not a fan of teabags, although will use them at a pinch. When I can get hold of it, I buy some Lapsang Souchong and mix a tsp in with the Assam. When in the UK, Yorkshire Tea is what hits the spot - a proper mug of builder´s tea!
Can´t say I´m a great fan of China teas, but it may just be that I haven´t got to know them properly.
 
Iced Honey Lemon Earl Grey Tea

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I brewed hot, 4 tea bags with 5 cups of water in my coffee machine to get a rich dark brew. Then I poured it off into a sealable plastic bowl and added 3 tablespoons of honey, stirred till dissolved and then, added 2 tblspns. of lemon juice. I let this chill to room temperature and then refrigerated it over night.

In the morning, I filled a glass with ice cubes and poured in the tea mix from the bowl.
 
Resurrecting an old thread, as I’m putting together a tea advent calendar kind of thing for my niece, and so I’ve assembled all my teas:

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The only one missing is my daily cuppa, PG Tips, and my niece won’t be getting any of the loose leaf.
 
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