Nana's Jewel teapot.
Daddy's teapot given to me by Mother.
A French Press and a Turkish coffee brewer given to me by Aunt Bess.
From upper left: tea leaves, tea sachet, organic tea bag, ground coffee, coffee beans.
Everyone seems to have their preference as to the way tea and coffee are served. I like to grind the coffee beans and make a fresh pot of drip coffee. I use a French Press if I am the only one having coffee. I also have a cappuccino machine which I really like but don't use too often. I don't have enough cabinet space for everything. As to tea, I much prefer the loose tea brewed and strained into my cup. The sachets are much better than the regular tea bags. I can't tell any difference between organic products and regular products, myself.
The trick to steeping tea correctly comes in 3 parts. Using too much tea will make it bitter and using too little makes it weak. The golden ratio is 1 teaspoon of leaves to a cup of water. The ideal temperature to steep tea depends on the tea. Use boiling water 212 degrees for black, dark oolong and herbal teas. Use cooler water 180 degrees when steeping green, light oolong and white teas. Do not oversteep or tea will taste astringent. Steep black teas for 5 minutes, dark oolong, herbal and white teas should be steeped for around 7 minutes, but green and light oolong teas should be steeped just for 3 minutes. Good water will make a world of difference in the taste of your tea. Tea leaves need enough room to unfurl to imbue as much flavor as possible. Buy the best tea you can afford for the best cup of tea. You can add milk, sugar, or lemon juice to your tea or none of the above.
Coffee can be made in a percolator, drip machine, cappuccino machine, or French Press. I read that percolators make the least desirable coffee, but my mother loves her Farberware percolator. The darker the coffee, the more oily the coffee will be. Coffee aficionados say to start with good cold water and freshly ground beans. Use one tablespoon of coffee per one or two cups, depending on how strong you like it. The water should go over the beans just once. Then there is the choice between black, cream, milk, or sugar.
I prefer the English blends in tea. PG Tips is hugely popular in UK and now sold here in the States. Otherwise Tetley and Lipton both make a British blend. It has a stronger and fuller taste.
ReplyDeleteA favorite of mine that I enjoy at the end of the day is Good Earth decaf. It has a wonderful spicy taste that's just right.
A friend introduced me to BRITT Coffee which is from Costa Rica and simply wonderful. Just about the best I've ever had. I've enjoyed both the decaf ground and Dark Roast beans. It is available online.....
Most unusual tea I ever had was called Pink Tea - the leaves are from Kashmir and reddish in color
An interesting site for tea recipes from the sub-continent of India, Pakistan, Tibet and China is called Ellen's Kitchen. She has recipes for teas which are very long and involved but interesting to read....