/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>5401829
http://www.booksatoz.com/witsend/tea/orwell.htm

George Orwell confronted the very real possibilities of despotic authoritarian governments in his works, but he was just as despotic about making a cup of tea.

>Lastly, tea — unless one is drinking it in the Russian style — should be drunk without sugar. I know very well that I am in a minority here. But still, how can you call yourself a true tealover if you destroy the flavour of your tea by putting sugar in it? It would be equally reasonable to put in pepper or salt. Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter. If you sweeten it, you are no longer tasting the tea, you are merely tasting the sugar; you could make a very similar drink by dissolving sugar in plain hot water.

>Some people would answer that they don't like tea in itself, that they only drink it in order to be warmed and stimulated, and they need sugar to take the taste away. To those misguided people I would say: Try drinking tea without sugar for, say, a fortnight and it is very unlikely that you will ever want to ruin your tea by sweetening it again.

Behold the 11 Commandments of Tea

http://www.booksatoz.com/witsend/tea/orwell.htm

I follow these almost by the book, except for a very few slight derivations which I find tolerable.

Remember that different blends and varieties of Black Tea also require different steeping times. For instance if you steep 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of Earl Grey for a single cup for more than 3 and a half minutes you're likely to get an overly bitter tea because the acidic tannins of the bergamot flavoring.

Opposed to that, I steep always let my Azores Pekoe steep for about 5 minutes, sometimes even adding an extra 1/2 teaspoon just for that extra flavor, because it's a type of Black Tea with a relatively smooth, earthen taste that rarely gets bitter.

Broken/whole leaf also affects steeping time, since broken lead usually steeps faster, as it releases the tea flavor easily.

And I also take it that you're not a sugar lover. That's good. Sugar ruins tea. If you happen to like sugar, eat a biscuit or a slice of cake while enjoying your daily brown cup of joy. You'll find out the sweet taste of the biscuit will clear your tongue from overly strong tea tannins, allowing you to enjoy the full flavor of your tea right on the next sip.

And for god's sake, don't get one of those faggy glass teapots just because they're in. Fine china or earthenware if what you should really look for in a teapot. And believe me when I say it DOES make a difference.

Do you have anything special you do to improve the taste of your tea anons?