How do you make your tea? - Page 2

[Sol_y_Paz]

I use the stove or a coffee maker

[beanma]

We have an electric tea kettle/hot water boiler thingy ma bob. It heats the water in about a minute and half so much faster than stovetop and I think it's more energy efficient, too. If I'm making a pot for more than myself sometimes I will put it in a tetsubin (japanese cast iron teapot) and put it on the warmer element of my stove. It will stay warm a long time that way. Usually I just brew a mug at a time, though, and carry it with me in my stainless steel travel mug. It stays hot a long, long time in that.

For iced tea, I'm from the South. The way my folks have always done it is just stovetop with two big ol' bags of Lipton and about a cup of sugar per pitcher. I usually use the electric tea kettle rather than the stove. I'm not a big fan of "sun tea". I don't think it tastes any better, but lots of folks love it. I just brew black tea and pour it over ice. I prefer honey in tea (cold or hot), but will use sugar in a pinch.

[paniscus]

We drink a lot of tea here too. I recently purchased a Zojirushi hot water dispenser. OMG!! It has probably been one of the best purchases ever for tea. It keeps the water warm - you set the temp for what you want. So you can set it higher for black tea, lower for green. So now I just put the tea leaves in a small tea pot (single serve with a strainer) or mug with a strainer then add the hot water from the dispenser. It has been perfect!!

[sunnysandiegan]

I never really enjoyed tea all that much until a few years ago when my DD (age 4 at the time) and I studied England for our heritage lesson over the summer. I had started the heritage idea just to teach her a little bit about the various countries her ancestors are from. Little did I know how much we were ALL going to enjoy it. Our favorite parts have been the FOOD! Anyway, that summer, I researched a lot of English things for our lesson and tried to get pertinent info for a little girl. She really liked the idea of "tea", so the last thing we did was an afternoon "tea" with a few friends. I made several items the English way for the kids, including tea. It was the first time our playgroup had done a "drop off" style party and I sat on the floor in my dress and heels and explained to the kids that we were trying something new in honor of DD's ancestors (I named specifics for them, in terms they understood) and invited them to try one bite of each item and then they could eat more of what they liked and leave what they didn't like. THEY LOVED THAT CONCEPT!

I made tea the English way: bring water nearly to boiling in pot on our gas stove and then pour it over tea bags into a teapot and steep it. For the kids, I poured it from my crystal teapot into a kid-size teapot and DD played the ultimate hostess (without any prompting) by pouring it into tiny teacups for her friends. (This reduced the temperature appropriately for them.) One mom ended up staying with me and we enjoyed our tea in teacups directly from my crystal teapot (Princess House) and it was the perfect temperature. I had also made cucumber sandwiches, egg & mayo sandwiches, cream scones, clotted cream, and lemon curd -- all from scratch following British recipes I found online (plus had fresh strawberries and jam). My friend has been to England a couple times, long ago, and she was so excited! She said everything tasted like she remembered it and the food and tea immediately brought her back. She shared some memories with the kids and told me she hadn't thought of those things in YEARS.

Anyway, my DD and I really, really *liked* the tea that way. I have been making it that way ever since. Lately, I have been mixing up various teas for custom blends... some tea bags, some loose teas. My crystal teapot has a glass insert that works for loose tea as well as tea bags. (It is probably an infuser, but I do not recall any specific names.) Friends love my concoctions and seem to appreciate the way I brew tea. Our moms group used to go to a fancy tea/coffee place once every other month (not Starbucks, but probably similar). Now, they come here.

When I want cold tea, I brew it the same as above and have a cup of hot tea while the rest cools slowly. Then, I pour it into re-used glass bottles and refrigerate it. I can grab those and go. YUM!!!

I mostly like herbal teas, but usually make my blends with one part black tea, one part green tea, and either one part white tea + one part herbal (four parts total) OR two parts herbal (still four parts total). I prefer weaker tea, so I use this four parts "recipe" for guests and I reuse the same tea (loose and/or bags) for a second round of nearly boiling water and drink my own cup from that batch. When I make a blend for myself, I skip the black tea and do a three parts "recipe". Sometimes when I make cold tea, I add a splash of juice to each bottle.

We have stainless steel cookware with a whistle in the lids. Like a PP, I have also learned the sound it makes when the water is just shy of boiling. With our new gas stove (June/July 2009), we have a power burner and it takes 2.5 minutes to get the perfect temperature for two teapots worth of water.

[Gingercat]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

I made tea the English way: bring water nearly to boiling in pot on stove and then pour it over tea bags into a teapot and steep it. For the kids, I poured it again into a kid-size teapot and DD played the ultimate hostess (without any prompting) by pouring it into tiny teacups for her friends. (This reduced the temperature appropriately for them.) One mom ended up staying with me and we enjoyed our tea from my crystal teapot (Princess House). I had also made cucumber sandwiches, egg & mayo sandwiches, cream scones, clotted cream, and lemon curd -- all from scratch (plus had strawberries and jam). My friend has been to England a couple times, long ago, and she was so excited! She said everything tasted like she remembered it and the food and tea immediately brought her back. She shared some memories with the kids and told me she hadn't thought of those things in YEARS.

Oh sunny your post really excited me!
I have lived in the UK for many years (moved to Greece only 5 years ago) and the one thing I do miss is the classic English afternoon tea (or cream tea) with the scones, the clotted cream etc.
The quality of tea here in Greece sucks, but then I haven't been able to find good tea at nearly any place I travelled (and especially in the US; I visit quite often as my sister lives there). That is why I always buy my tea online from a great British tea company, Clipper Teas. Loose is the tea of choice of tea connoisseurs and Clippers has a wonderful loose Assam tea.
In a few hours we' re leaving for the airport to travel to London and the one thing that gets me thrilled is that I'll be able to enjoy English afternoon tea again (or at least I plan to, no idea how my 27-month old son will behave in a teahouse with all that fine china around )

[JessicaS]

I also have a

http://www.teavana.com/Teavana+Perfe...ProductDetails

I love it.

[amma_mama]

Originally Posted by tinuviel_k

This entirely depends on the kind of tea you are drinking. Trust me: if you use boiling water on green tea... blech! You'll end up with bitter, over-strong tea. I used to work in a tea shop and I had countless folks come in asking about how to get the health benefits from green tea when they hated drinking it. Almost without exception they all really enjoyed green tea after I showed them how to brew it properly.

Here is the general rule of thumb for tea temperatures and steep times:

Herbal: full boil- 10+ minutes steep
Black: bring to a boil and let water cool a minute- 4-6 minute steep
Oolong: 175-185 degrees F- 4-5 minute steep
Green: 165-175 degrees F- 2-4 minute steep
White: 160-170 degrees F- 2-3 minute steep

Great reference. The heat of the water and steep times are critical - too many that like darker tea leave it to steep too long and you just end up with bitter tea. If you want it stronger, for iced tea, for example, you really need more tea leaves and keep the water and steep time the same. However, for black tea, I just do the water on the stove top in a small pot that we reserve for tea, so that I can keep an eye on the water. We don't bring it to a full boil but take it off when the bubbles start to form and loosen up from the sides - you do not want the water to lose too much oxygen even for black tea. I then toss in teh tea leaves and cover for steeping. The length of steeping depends on the type of black tea and how fine it is (e.g. broken versus unbroken tea leaves). Also, stay away from tea bags - they give off a ton of color and "strength" but not much flavor since the tea is like dust.

[olien]

Originally Posted by InMediasRes

I boil water in the tea kettle and pour over loose-leaf tea in an infuser (I like the mesh kind, not the kind with tiny holes, and DON'T get the pinch kind cuz the tea falls right out).

I always use the pinch kind & really like them, but if the loose tea is small pieces & a little powdery it does fall through a little. I will have to try the mesh kind.

Originally Posted by tinuviel_k

Yes, I also never use the microwave for tea. I forget the specifics of how it works, but heating in the microwave reduces the oxygenation of the water and it tastes more flat.

Its also gotten to the point after so many years that I can gauge the temperature of the water by the sound my kettle makes as it gets hotter. My husband and I will be in the living room and one of us will say, "Oh, it sounds like the kettle is at about oolong temperature. You might want to get that!"

I agree no microwave!

I also use a kettle on a gas stove & can def tell its done by the sound too.

I love this Q. I love tea. My DH call me a tea snob - I hate lipton/tetley/etc... Once you start drinking really good tea you cant go back to the regular stuff or hate it when you do. Def try loose tea. I find it to be better quality - usually & a much greater variety.

Iced tea:
Luzianne tea bags - decaf. (made for iced tea). I stock up when visiting relatives in NC or FL since they dont sell the decaf in NJ that I know of. I find they make all the difference.

I boil about 2 qt water maybe less in a metal pot on the stove. After it boils I put in 5 tea bags & let sit for 20 - 30min.
Meanwhile, in a gallon pitcher, I add either 1/4 cup raw sug or 8-10 scoops of stevia (make sure 100% & not the kind cut with powdered milk) its a really tiny scooper that came in the jar of Trader Joes 100% pure stevia. Also the juice from 1 - 1.5 lemons depending on the size/juciness of lemon. Add the tea & fill to top with cold water.

This originally was my aunts recipie for sweet tea (shes in NC) I adapted it to our taste - less sugar. I think she puts in 1.5 Cups of sug. It's all a matter of taste.

Oh yeah, www.tealuxe.com has a great loose tea that eases sore throats called Throat Tender. It is AWESOME - really works!

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by Gingercat

Oh sunny your post really excited me!
I have lived in the UK for many years (moved to Greece only 5 years ago) and the one thing I do miss is the classic English afternoon tea (or cream tea) with the scones, the clotted cream etc.
The quality of tea here in Greece sucks, but then I haven't been able to find good tea at nearly any place I travelled (and especially in the US; I visit quite often as my sister lives there). That is why I always buy my tea online from a great British tea company, Clipper Teas. Loose is the tea of choice of tea connoisseurs and Clippers has a wonderful loose Assam tea.
In a few hours we' re leaving for the airport to travel to London and the one thing that gets me thrilled is that I'll be able to enjoy English afternoon tea again (or at least I plan to, no idea how my 27-month old son will behave in a teahouse with all that fine china around )

Gingercat - How was your visit? Did you get to enjoy an afternoon tea with your youngster? I am currently overstocked on tea, but I will look into your link when my supply dips. I love loose tea for infusions and I add dried rose petals to nearly every pot of tea I make. Mmmm...

[Gingercat]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

Gingercat - How was your visit? Did you get to enjoy an afternoon tea with your youngster? I am currently overstocked on tea, but I will look into your link when my supply dips. I love loose tea for infusions and I add dried rose petals to nearly every pot of tea I make. Mmmm...

Oh yes, we've enjoyed afternoon cream tea nearly every afternoon for a whole week! Of course we avoided the posh places but even in places like the M&S cafe you can find very decent tea stuff.
And I came back with a small bag full of wholewheat scones that went into my freezer (hate baking!), a pot of real clotted cream and a jar of organic strawberry jam. And since it is a holiday period I decided to indulge in a very expensive tin of Harrod's loose English Breakfast tea which I did not like as much as my Clipper tea