Tea time

[DonnaT]

This article by George Orwell http://www.booksatoz.com/witsend/tea/orwell.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
So, a discussion about tea here on the Forum

Favourite types / tea bags or loose / brands / Chinese / Japanese / Green / Flavoured / Bone china or aluminium mug - discuss away

For me I like different varieties. Black tea, green tea, red tea, Oolong tea, chai tea.

Tea bags mostly. Never loose tea.

I usually drink Lipton black tea.

Recently bought some varieties of Bigelow tea: Blueberry & Acai Green tea (haven't tried it yet); Earl Grey Black tea (it's blended with bergamot oil from Calabria, Italy); and Orange & a secret Spice (cloves?) Black tea.

I prefer iced tea, no mater the brand, but will drink it hot in the winter. I don't use milk nor sugar (diabetic). I use artificial sweeteners (mix of Equal and Sweet'N Low) because I like it to taste sweet, and this mix is sweeter than sugar.

I bring a pan of water to boil with 5 tea bags of the chosen tea. Set it aside to seep and cool. Pour into a container and add the same amount of cold water. Makes about 3 quarts. Refrigerate. I then add the sweetener to a large cup (8+ fl. oz.) of iced tea.

[Anthony Simon]

Great article, Donna - thanks.

Didn't know Orwell had written on this subject and there's some historical snapshot stuff in there when he writes about rationing.

I actually drink mostly coffee. But tea is a whole different thing with the differing tastes and depths of intensity that comes with each successive cup that comes from a pot. In theory, the early cups have more caffeine and the later ones have more of a soothing kind of effect (plus a greater depth from longer infusion). It would be the later ones that would create the classic tea experience - to a point (my dad always went on about the tannin in the tea, just as he did about the tannin in red wine and he loved red wine).

You can get a quick, refreshing drink from a tea-bag very lightly infused. I use that quite a lot to cleanse the palette (no sugar).

[Requal Jo]

I am not a connoisseur of tea or coffee. I just enjoy a good cuppa. Lipton black tea, Lipton classic or English Breakfast will do fine.

[Kelly]

Enjoyed the article. Lots of interesting tidbits.

I suspect some of it was written with tongue planted in the cheek. I haven't read much of Orwell, other than the well known novels. Does he poke fun at himself and others often?

Mostly, it reminded me of why I am not a tea drinker; the fuss isn't worth the effort. Perhaps I haven't had tea done right.

What I do drink is an occasional glass of ice tea. My favorite is 'sun tea', about seven tea bags in a gallon jar left out in the sun for a day and moved to the fridge. One of the kids brought home a jug of pre-made Arnold Palmer style tea, half ice tea half lemonade which was tasty.

I'll stick to my percolator on a timer for that fresh cup of coffee in the morning.

Kel

[Martha G]

I am a coffee lady myself.

However it would be nice to have a tea party every now and then with the girls.

Also a trip to a nice tea house would be a delightful experience - sipping my tea en femme and being very prim and ladylike.

[Robyn]

However it would be nice to have a tea party every now and then with the girls.

Now wouldn't that be nice!

[Martha G]

However it would be nice to have a tea party every now and then with the girls.

Now wouldn't that be nice!

It certainly would be. A wonderful function!

[Anthony Simon]

I suspect some of it was written with tongue planted in the cheek. I haven't read much of Orwell, other than the well known novels. Does he poke fun at himself and others often?

Animal Farm is an extended sardonic kick at the Communist ideal as realised in Russia - ending with "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others". I think the chief pig is supposed to be Stalin.

There's also plenty of satire in 1984 - 1984 being 1948, the year of its composition, turned about. So it's meant as a critique of things he saw in his own society but taken to their logical extremes.

A lot of his stuff is essays - he was very prolific and good. I think his position as a kind of touchstone author for many in the UK relies on that. My impression is he was mostly serious in these. I see this piece as him kind of being less protected than usual - and kind of revealing personal whims over tea rather than getting into political statement type mood (a lot of his stuff is, one way or another, political). But I'm not an expert...

When Requal says she enjoys a good cuppa, that's pretty much the standard point of view in the UK. Like that's my mother's point of view - sitting there with her cup of tea at her kitchen table and a pot of tea in front of her.