Question for the brits

[bizz]

How the hell do you brew a proper cup of tea??? 

I've switched out my coffee for green tea because of the supposed weight loss benifits. The problem isnt the taste, its more like the lack of it.  I cant seem to get my brew dark enough. No matter how long I let the bag steep it just tastes like hot water with a bit of tea flavoring. I like my coffee like tar so this mild flavor is pretty hard for me to get down. I want my daily shots of caffeine to have a kick

[68Wooley]

I've switched out my coffee for green tea...

There's your problem right there. Tea should not ever be green.

Tips for making tea Americans don't ever seem to get:

First, go to your local supermarket and buy Tetley's British Blend teabags. Or better yet, find a 'British' store nearby and buy teabags from there. Avoid flavoured tea at all costs. Tea is made from tea leaves, not fruit.

Secondly, boil the water. This is important. You don't make tea with hot water, you make it with boiling water. The hot water dispenser at work wont cut it for this. Buy an electric kettle or boil the water in a pan on your stove. A microwave can be used in a pinch.

Next, place the teabag in the boiling water and leave to infuse. Don't stir. Depending on how strong you like it, you'll need to leave it for between 3 and 5 minutes.

Finally, if you want to go the whole hog on the British way of doing things, add a little milk. Most Yanks don't get this (even though they happily put cream in coffee which should, of course, be black...). If you really can't bring yourself to add milk, the only acceptable alternative is a slice of lemon.

That's probably enough for a beginner. Next week we'll move on to open tea leaves, tea pots and strainers.

In week three, we'll learn how to read tea leaves and predict the future.

This has been a public information broadcast...

[RTHolmes]

^^ not bad for a colonial

I pour the boiling water onto the teabag, give it a quick stir and then leave for 1min. this way the boiling water hits the tea first (important for some of the flavours) rather than being cooled by the cup first. quick stir agitates the leaves (like it would in a teapot.) Its about balancing the flavours from the initial boiling water and stir against the flavours from the standing "brew."

PG is about the lowest quality you should use (any cheaper and its "builders tea",) I prefer Twinings


and green tea sucks.

[bizz]

Finally, if you want to go the whole hog on the British way of doing things, add a little milk. Most Yanks don't get this (even though they happily put cream in coffee which should, of course, be black...). If you really can't bring yourself to add milk, the only acceptable alternative is a slice of lemon.

Yep no milk for me, I dont put it in my coffee either. We are in agreement on coffee being black. I might be able to do lemon though.

Thanks Wooley

[thrila]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnvYymrCn4g

As wooley said, we primarily drink black tea with milk in the UK.  Not much milk just a enough to make it look like this:



Green tea is yucky hippy stuff

'standard' is milk and 2 sugars (2 teaspoons of sugar- don't forget to bloody stir).  No sugar for me though.

If it's not to you liking i recommend trying earl grey, it's sweeter.

[bizz]

Green tea is yucky hippy stuff

The only reason I'm drinking this crap is for the supposed health benifits. I'm in the middle of trying to drop a bunch of weight. I was at 190 and I'm trying to get down to 160. The first 10 pounds was easy but the past couple weeks the weight loss has slowed, now I'm at 175 and holding.

One of my friends who dropped a bunch of weight swears by green tea. He told me he drink 6 to 7 cups a day in addition to his diet and work out.  And from what I've read some studys say it does speed up your metabolism so I figured I'd give it a try.

[Shuffler]

Sham-wow....... lose 20 pounds of unwanted fat..... cut off your head!

[68Wooley]

^^ not bad for a colonial

I'm not a colonial, I'm over here reclaiming Her Majesty's property. 

I really, really need to remember to take down the Union Flag outside my house on the 4th of July this year...

[RTHolmes]

btw bizz iirc its the caffeine that does the brown/white fat magic, and black tea has alot more than green tea. coffee would work just as well I imagine.

[Swoop]

What 68Wooley said.

Green tea isn't a British drink, it's a new age hippy drink that seems to be spreading.


And to make proper tea.....my Dad always maintained you can't make a cup of tea, you have to make a pot.  One teabag per cup and one for the pot.  Boiling water, as Wooley says, and then you let it brew for a while.  And I've only ever met one person who drank black tea and he was weird.

Personally though......I don't like tea, green or otherwise.

[Tac]

Both types of tea are great, don't diss them.

Green tea is Asian in origin and is GREAT for your health. You need to go to your local Japanese or Korean store (I'd avoid stores from other countries, my experience with them have been horrid).

Brit tea is great as well and I can't have said it better than the above folks.


I drink green tea in hot days and black tea in cold days. I still have coffee from time to time.


You want to lose weight? Oatmeal. one bowl a day (flakes not powder, made in milk or water, no sugar added though you can add honey if you want). Lowerst cholesterol like a bomb and cleans your guts & you lose weight quick with it.

[RTHolmes]

And to make proper tea.....my Dad always maintained you can't make a cup of tea, you have to make a pot.  One teabag per cup and one for the pot.  Boiling water, as Wooley says, and then you let it brew for a while.  And I've only ever met one person who drank black tea and he was weird.

you forgot to warm the pot ya heathen!

btw "black tea" means the varieties used - darjeeling, assam etc etc are all "black teas" as opposed to green tea (just one variety iirc)

[Masherbrum]

I've never brewed a pot of tea, but when I have Earl Grey, I usually use two bags per mug (travel mug size), never did the Milk thing.   I'll have to try it, but I like the taste of Earl Grey on it's own.

Heck, I'll have to try Tetley's on top of it. 

[SPKmes]

Another thing to aid in weight loss is to squeeze the juice of 1 lime into a cup, fill with warm water. Drink this 1/2 before eating.

[Furball]

Both types of tea are great, don't diss them.

Green tea is Asian in origin and is GREAT for your health. You need to go to your local Japanese or Korean store (I'd avoid stores from other countries, my experience with them have been horrid).

Hippy!!

I like PG Tips.