The tea thread

Morning Glory said:
... how-to-make-tea-science-milk-first

An amusing article...
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I’m a tea-firster, MrsT(ea) is a milk-firster.

My reason is that I go to the trouble of warming the mugs while the kettle’s on, so there’s water in the mugs at that point, and her reason is simple efficiency - put the milk in while the kettle’s and you’ve just multitasked and saved some (very few seconds) of time (but “every little helps).
 
Regular breakfast tea is dairy, no sugar, or sometimes just black.

Christmas teas (black tea flavored with things like cinnamon and orange peel) do get a little sugar.

Earl Grey, it just depends, but usually at least lemon, sometimes with honey added, and sometimes with dairy but no lemon.
 
I always drink my tea black, no sugar, no milk. My favorites are Ceylon and Darjeeling, sometimes exchanged for Lapsang souchon or Morrocan mint tea. I drink 2 litres of tea day . One big pot in the morning, and a smaller one in the afternoon. I need to drink more due to having no colon, and I drink that amount entirely in tea.

Sometimes when ill with a sore throat I add some honey to my tea to soothe. But otherwise I don't sweeten it.
 
caseydog said:
Gluten Free is a hot trend in the US. Even people who have no problems with gluten are going Gluten Free because it's "healthy." It's not hard to find here at all.

CD
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Same here, its common place now but once you've munched your way through the truly awful gluten free substitutes and found something that doesn't taste like brick dust or the like you'll seek out the place that sells it rather than endure the one awful brand a smaller shop stocks without any though to whether its actually any good 😂
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Same here, its common place now but once you've munched your way through the truly awful gluten free substitutes and found something that doesn't taste like brick dust or the like you'll seek out the place that sells it rather than endure the one awful brand a smaller shop stocks without any though to whether its actually any good 😂
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You should get to know Mexican food and cooking. It is mostly gluten free naturally. Corn tortillas (not to be confused with the Spanish tortilla that I love so much) can easily replace a lot of bread. Like a lot of people grab a sandwich for a quick lunch, Mexicans (and a lot of us Texans) grab a taco or three. If I have some tortillas, some leftover meat, and some hot sauce, I have lunch -- or a great late night snack.

It is funny, since gluten free became such a big deal, packages of corn tortillas often say "Gluten Free" on them. They are made of corn. Real corn tortillas have always been gluten free! :laugh:

CD
 
Back to tea.

TLDR Tea fixes things.

I genuinely think the world would be a much better place if people drank more tea, no-one can start a war while having a cup of tea 😆 but to the tea story -

I remember the being offended to the point of speaking up in defence of tea on a training day once, you know the sort of training day where you remain completely silent, try not to make eye contact because its boring as hell and you just want to get it over with.

It was about dealing with violence and aggression, what they called 'De-escalation training' the lecturer was American ex secret service, he lost half his foot and been 'retired' Ironically he seemed rather angry about it.

It wasn't too bad if you were green about the gills however he started attacking the British response in some difficult situations to offer tea. In a squeaky high pitched voice he repeatedly said "Tea? Would you like some tea?" mocking us for thinking tea can fix things.

Well this rather annoyed me and obviously some of the more experienced staff sitting there on their millionth annual de-escalation training update already far more knowledgeable in real world situations than the lecturers educating us.
Having taken umbrage to his attitude and him having lost the room into a silent stare I decided I should assist his cultural acclimatisation, he definitely be better off knowing about the power of tea 😆

At first he refuse to accept that offering someone who is distressed a cup of tea in a timely manner is incredibly effective and does so many things including stopping things escalating in the first place.

Offering tea (in the UK at least) in an institutional setting where its rarely offered shows you understand someone is unhappy, tea is a balm and the recipient knows this. If something bad (or good or indifferent 😆) has happened we make tea.

If the distressed person accepts tea you are on safe ground, they are not going to kick off while drinking tea, this also allows you to sit down next to them while they are drinking it and tell you why they are angry or upset. It gives you the opportunity to try and fix things. And thats it, simple as that situation diffused.
If a person refuses tea then basically you misread the situation, failed to correctly anticipate and intervene before it got to that stage and things will need to move to a different level but a skilled person does notice and does offer tea in time if it's appropriate.

My colleagues were nodding in agreement about the diligent use of tea and eventually while not exactly conceding he did stop mocking and saying offering tea doesn't work.
I guess if you're in the secret service you're tuned into noticing a much higher level of aggression rather than the subtle micro gestures that let you 'that person needs a cup of tea'!!
 
caseydog said:
You should get to know Mexican food and cooking. It is mostly gluten free naturally. Corn tortillas (not to be confused with the Spanish tortilla that I love so much) can easily replace a lot of bread. Like a lot of people grab a sandwich for a quick lunch, Mexicans (and a lot of us Texans) grab a taco or three. If I have some tortillas, some leftover meat, and some hot sauce, I have lunch -- or a great late night snack.

It is funny, since gluten free became such a big deal, packages of corn tortillas often say "Gluten Free" on them. They are made of corn. Real corn tortillas have always been gluten free! :laugh:

CD
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I'm well versed in the world of tortillas. Survived on tortillas and rice for three weeks whilst away once. Really rather had enough of them by the end of that 😆
But they are my go to travel food, so useful, unlike bread they don't take up much space and don't crush. I actually have some arriving today ready for a ride back to the UK from Spain as they can withstand the heat and are generally packaged in a way that makes them long life too.

Unfortunately as an avid label reader you soon discover they are very rarely made with just corn. Wheat is nearly always in there as well.
Gluten free becoming a big deal is a double edge sword for me. On one hand its caused an explosion of foods that are gluten free and actually taste good, 20 years ago it was absolutely woeful so for that I'm grateful.

On the other it's associated with fuss makers and fad dieting so you have (mostly older) people automatically saying "your one of those are you?" while eyeing you with some distain and you feeling the need to justify why you're "not one of those" 😆
Can't hide it so just have to grin and bear it. Heyho.
 
Another use of an offer of tea comes with the UK ambulance service. When paramedics attend an elderly person at home who has had a fall or a medical issue, when appropriate they will offer the granny a cup of tea. This of course normalises the situation and relaxes their patient, but it give the paramedic a chance to check out the kitchen, to make sure the shelves and fridge are properly stocked and the washing up is done. This helps them decide if their patient is able to care for themselves and will be a factor in deciding what long term support they need.
What a nice little trick and so very useful.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
If something bad (or good or indifferent 😆) has happened we make tea.
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MrsT and I watch a lot of British television (more than American, really), and one of our favorite things is to anticipate when someone is about to be offered a cup of tea.

Scene where woman’s husband has run off with the secretary? Here comes the neighbor, “Oh dear…let me make us a nice cuppa…,” scene where they’ve just planted a nice rose bush in the back garden, and they’re breathy and tired, “How about a cup of tea, then?…” scene where they’re scattering ashes of a loved off in a windy meadow somewhere, “Right. I could do with a cup of tea right about now,” and out comes the thermos.

And to be clear, that’s not poking fun at the British was of solving every problem/celebrating every moment with tea - I think it’s beautiful.

Here in the US, there’s a little unspoken stigma with men drinking hot tea. It’s secretly considered somewhat effeminate (“Real men drink coffee…with whiskey in it!”). It’s gotten a little better in the years since I was a kid, but not much.

Afternoon tea is right out, though. You may as well go ahead and put on your auntie’s favorite summer frock if you’re a man in the US going to afternoon tea! :laugh:
 
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