Hitchens on How to Make a Decent Cup of Tea

[liveonearth]

Comments

[geordie]

That's not a bad article. But you really must not use silver teapots because they flavor the tea. Some would say that the insistence on preheating the pot was to prevent lower quality pots from shattering when the boiling water was poured in.

Steeping black tea can be overdone, if you leave it for long you get a metallic taste and eventually an iridescent sheen on top. There's so little tea in US tea bags that you have to leave it for ages to get any flavor. I buy UK tea bags from Amazon.com and they make strong tea in little time. The black tea available in the US is generally very very poor.

[neptunia67]

I buy PG Tips teabags at Cost Plus World Market. I can also get Twinings there. Sometimes I buy Fortnum & Mason loose tea but it's expensive.

[geordie]

PG Tips is OK, that's what I have. Twinings, on the other hand, I have not had great luck with here. Fortnum and Mason certainly has the best name.

[liveonearth]

Yeah, Twinings pretty much stinks. I have some but I don't DRINK it. I agree about the metal pot--ick. Ceramic is the way to go. Holds heat better too.

[neptunia67]

Good article. I posted it on my Facebook. One thing he doesn't mention is how restaurants serve a cup of hot water, a stainless steel pot of hot water, and ONE teabag. Harumph.

[geordie]

You could always carry a couple in your purse and just ask them for hot water.

[neptunia67]

That's a good idea. It would certainly be better than the Lipton crap they usually bring along wit the water.

[liveonearth]

That's what I do. I always have a zippy in my bag with a few tasty options for herbal, black or green. In US restaurants it's hard to even get a cup of hot water. It seems they keep the mugs in the freezer.