Have a cup of tea?

When we think about tea, most people think about Ice Tea. The biggest arguement regarding tea is usually should it be sweet (southern) or not sweet (northern) but however you want it is is a quick refreshing drink.

Tea can be used for medicinal purposes, for enjoyment, hot tea is comforting and relaxing, cold tea is refreshing and satisfying. Sitting on the front porch, sipping cold tea on a hot summer day, the picture itself is cooliong.

This lens is to show you many differant ways we use tea and a unique place to purchase tea of all kind

Tea is basically the dried and processed leaves of only one species of plant called camellia sinensis. Interestingly enough, herbal teas or herbal infusions are not really teas, but simply dried leaves and/or flowers from various other plants and herbs
ven though all teas come from only one species, there are three major varietals:

The China - Small leaves and generally thrives at higher altitudes.

The India (or Assam) - Larger leaves and generally thrives at lower altitudes.

The Hybrid - Kind of in-between the Chinese and Indian.

Earlier, I talked about the processing of the camellia's leaves. There are four main methods of processing and each produces a different type of tea. These four main types are:

White Tea
Green Tea
Black Tea
Oolong Tea

Americans have always been independent, and the war on tea wasn't any different. The Colonists didn't appreciate paing hig taxes, but not having the reight to say any thing about it. So they said, don't send anymore tea thank you, and England said Poo, not only are we sending the tea, you will pay the taxes.

So Americans were a little miffed, they dressed up as Iindians waited for hte ships from the india tea company to doct, climbed aboard and dumped the tea into the sea. And so America had it's first tea party the war againt taxation without represetation began.

Needless to say, England was ticked off, sent soldiers and so started the American revolutionwhich we all know how it enede and who won, so I won't go on any further.

After the war Americans became coffee drinkers, but still loved their tea.

Take your tea and shove it.

George Hewes was a member of the band of "Indians" that boarded the tea ships that evening. His recollection of the event was published some years later. We join his story as the group makes its way to the tea-laden ships:

"It was now evening, and I immediately dressed myself in the costume of an Indian, equipped with a small hatchet, which I and my associates denominated the tomahawk, with which, and a club, after having painted my face and hands with coal dust in the shop of a blacksmith, I repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the ships lay that contained the tea. When I first appeared in the street after being thus disguised, I fell in with many who were dressed, equipped and painted as I was, and who fell in with me and marched in order to the place of our destination.

The Boston Tea PartyWhen we arrived at the wharf, there were three of our number who assumed an authority to direct our operations, to which we readily submitted. They divided us into three parties, for the purpose of boarding the three ships which contained the tea at the same time. The name of him who commanded the division to which I was assigned was Leonard Pitt. The names of the other commanders I never knew. We were immediately ordered by the respective commanders to board all the ships at the same time, which we promptly obeyed. The commander of the division to which I belonged, as soon as we were on board the ship, appointed me boatswain, and ordered me to go to the captain and demand of him the keys to the hatches and a dozen candles. I made the demand accordingly, and the captain promptly replied, and delivered the articles; but requested me at the same time to do no damage to the ship or rigging. We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard, and we immediately proceeded to execute his orders, first cutting and splitting the chests with our tomahawks, so as thoroughly to expose them to the effects of the water.

In about three hours from the time we went on board, we had thus broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be found in the ship, while those in the other ships were disposing of the tea in the same way, at the same time. We were surrounded by British armed ships, but no attempt was made to resist us.

...The next morning, after we had cleared the ships of the tea, it was discovered that very considerable quantities of it were floating upon the surface of the water; and to prevent the possibility of any of its being saved for use, a number of small boats were manned by sailors and citizens, who rowed them into those parts of the harbor wherever the tea was visible, and by beating it with oars and paddles so thoroughly drenched it as to render its entire destruction inevitable."

References:
Hawkes, James A, Retrospect of the Boston Tea-Party, with a Memoir of George R. T. Hewes... (1834) reprinted in Commager, Henry Steele, Morris Richard B., The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six vol I (1958); Labaree, Benjamin Woods, The Boston Tea Party (1964).

Preparing tea properly is easy but you must follow a few basic guidelines. The best tea in the world can taste horrible if prepared incorrectly, and conversely a very inexpensive tea can be very satisfying if made well. All TeaSource tea comes with specific steeping suggestions on the back of the bag, but some general guidelines are listed below.

There are seven factors that effect the quality of brewed tea:

The quality of the tea
The quality of the water
Correct measurement
Correct steeping temperature
Correct steeping time
Allowing the tea leaf to expand fully
Separating the leaf from the liquid at the end of the steeping process
Use the best tea that is available to you. Good tea is a bargain. A tea that costs $100.00 per pound, only costs 50 cents per cup when steeped.

When making any tea, be sure you begin with good water, it makes up over 90 % of the end product. Water quality and taste vary greatly between locales. If your water tastes really good out of the tap chances are it will make good tea. If there is any noticeable unpleasant taste in the tap water, e.g. Metallic, chlorine, earthiness etc. that taste will come through in the tea.

A simple inexpensive solution is a store bought water filter, such as Brita. Spring water can also work very well. Never use distilled water.

Always start with fresh water out of the tap, not water that has been previously boiled or has been sitting around. First, use a small amount of heated water to warm the pot before beginning to make your tea.

Then measure the correct amount of tea into the pot. A good standard guideline is 1 rounded teaspoon per 8 oz. cup. This refers to a measuring teaspoon, not the teaspoon in your silverware set which is usually much larger than a true measuring teaspoon. This is just a general guideline. A very fine particle tea like Nilgiri Tamil Nadu is denser and thus more tea fits on a spoon, so you would probably only use a scant or level teaspoon per cup. With a very large leafed bulky tea like White Peony you would only get a little bit of leaf on the teaspoon, so you would probably use two heaping teaspoons per cup. The approximate weight of these two would then be the same.

Different teas require different steeping temperatures. Using the wrong steeping temperature is probably the most common error people make when preparing tea. You can buy a thermometer to gauge temperature or you can look for visual clues.

Black tea generally should be made with water at a full, rolling boil, 212 degrees.

Oolong tea (also known as wulong tea) should be made with water a little bit below boiling, between 190 and 203 degrees. The water should be steaming rapidly and there should many bubbles rising in the kettle, but not really breaking the surface.

Green teas should be made with slightly cooler water, between 160 and 180 degrees. The steam should be wafting or gently swirling out of the kettle.

White teas should be made with even cooler water, anywhere from 150 to 160 degrees, when you see the very first hint of steam.

Puerh teas are very different, I have had them made with cooler water, similar to a green tea. But my favorite method is to make them with boiling water and steep them a long time.

Herbal teas should typically be made with boiling water.

Different teas also require different steeping times.

Black teas steep 4-6 minutes. Darjeelings are the exception, they should be steeped 2-3 minutes.

Oolong teas (also known as wulong tea) vary dramatically and you need to experiment or follow the suggested steeping instructions on the bag. Many oolongs (wulongs) are perfect at 3-4 minutes, some need 6-8 minutes.

Green teas should typically be steeped for much less time, 2-3 minutes.

Whites teas typically should be steeped around 2 minutes, although some can be steeped much longer with good results.

Puerh teas should be steeped at least 7-8 minutes. I like to steep Puerhs up to 20 minutes.To keep puerh hot, while steeping 20 minutes, simply cover your pot with a
tea cozy or even wrap it with a dish towel. It will stay piping hot.

Herbals typically should be steeped a minimum of 4-6 minutes, some for up to 10 minutes.

All teas require room for the leaf to expand greatly in size as it steeps. Whatever preparation method you use make sure there is enough room for the leaf to expand up to 3-5 times in size. Brewing the leaves loose in the pot and then straining works well. As do the Swiss Gold tea infusers. This is why tea balls make poor tea, there is no room in the tea ball for the leaf to expand so the flavor never gets released into the liquid.

Finally you need to separate the leaves from the liquid when the tea has steeped the proper length of time. Most teas will turn bitter if steeped too long. Using a tea infuser makes this step easy. Simply straining the brewed tea away from the leaves works well also.

Making great tea is very easy, but it does require a little bit of attention to detail.

Information from "The Tea Source"