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Twinings: You're Brewing Tea All Wrong

mbig

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Tea bags in this demo.
As an occasional consumer of their excellent English Breakfast tea, I found this enlightening.
Also, the ostensible family origin of 'Earl Grey.'

Video 5 mins (short commercial w/o subscription)
Twinings Family Heir: You're Brewing Tea All Wrong
1/24/2017

When it comes to making tea, you may be doing it all wrong.
Stephen Twining, a 10th-generation Twinings heir, and who drinks at least 9 cups of tea per day,
demonstrates the proper way to prepare tea on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero.
 
A relative gave us some fancy water pot. Brings it to a specific degree of your choosing, with recommended settings for various teas.

I was forced to admit that I did seem to notice a little difference with oolong, but honestly, I'm happy with Hitchens' recipe: "Boil water. Add tea"
 
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Best way to make tea is to use loose leaf tea. Not always practical I know but when I make a pot that's the way to go.
 
Best way to make tea is to use loose leaf tea. Not always practical I know but when I make a pot that's the way to go.

Oh, definitely.

I also like to blend them. Darjeeling with a bit of Jasmine is one favorite.
 
Oh, definitely.

I also like to blend them. Darjeeling with a bit of Jasmine is one favorite.

Too lazy for that. My recent preference is for Green Earl Grey.
 
I’m not a fan of tea bags but do get the convenience, I have three of these little brewers and keep a nice assortment of loose teas on hand. They work extremely well and if you have more than one your company can mix their own blend and experiment.


 
A relative gave us some fancy water pot. Brings it to a specific degree of your choosing, with recommended settings for various teas.

I was forced to admit that I did seem to notice a little difference with oolong, but honestly, I'm happy with Hitchens' recipe: "Boil water. Add tea"

Ah, but Hitch said that the water must be added to the tea. I agree with that, however, in the early morning, I commit the sin of boiling water in the cup in the microwave, then adding tea. I am a tea head, at least 3 large 2 bag cups per day. Usually its Irish Tea, or some English Breakfast, with the occasional Earl Grey. Must go make some now...
 
Ah, but Hitch said that the water must be added to the tea. I agree with that, however, in the early morning, I commit the sin of boiling water in the cup in the microwave, then adding tea. I am a tea head, at least 3 large 2 bag cups per day. Usually its Irish Tea, or some English Breakfast, with the occasional Earl Grey. Must go make some now...

Silly person just brew up a pot of tea, wasting a lot of tea using 6 bags.
 
Silly person just brew up a pot of tea, wasting a lot of tea using 6 bags.

A pot would be wasted over the course of the day.

Sometimes 2 cups of tea, sometimes 3. Much less in the summer when you wake up at 0530 and it is already 92 degrees outside.
 
A pot would be wasted over the course of the day.

Sometimes 2 cups of tea, sometimes 3. Much less in the summer when you wake up at 0530 and it is already 92 degrees outside.

You are wasting 6 bags of tea a day. Make a pot use 2 teaspoons or 3 if youi want it strong. If you dont drink the whole pot you have saved some tea and wasted a bit of water. Until water becomes more expensive than tea you are better off with a pot.
I use a pot with a remouvable strainer, easy to clean out afterwards and no need for silly teabags.
 
You are wasting 6 bags of tea a day. Make a pot use 2 teaspoons or 3 if youi want it strong. If you dont drink the whole pot you have saved some tea and wasted a bit of water. Until water becomes more expensive than tea you are better off with a pot.
I use a pot with a remouvable strainer, easy to clean out afterwards and no need for silly teabags.

I used to do loose leaf, but I kept losing strainers and all that.
 
I used to do loose leaf, but I kept losing strainers and all that.

Something like this, stays in the tea pot you only remove to empty out the tea leaves and rinse down. I dont see how you can lose one
 
Loose leaf tea, always. I like green tea, green tea and coconut, or organic black tea. I have never tasted coffee, I can't stand the smell of it so I have never been game enough to try it, so it's tea for me.
 
A relative gave us some fancy water pot. Brings it to a specific degree of your choosing, with recommended settings for various teas.

I was forced to admit that I did seem to notice a little difference with oolong, but honestly, I'm happy with Hitchens' recipe: "Boil water. Add tea"

Why is it so impossible to get forigners to make a decent cup of tea.

Have you no taste buds????

I speak from a British perspective, obviously.

The action is this; Put the tea bag in the cup, bring the kettle to the boil, that's 100c, not 99, BOILING WATER!!! This boiling water hits the teabag squarely, not splashes about around it but is targeted onto the teabag.

Allow a few seconds to brew, say 30 to 45, and remove the tea bag.

Add milk.

Sugar if you have difficulty with your sexuality.

This is just the basic process but should get you started along the road to appreciating the difference between things that taste nice and the crap you Americans and all others tend to call tea.
 
I never acquired a taste for coffee, so have been drinking Tea for many decades.
In the late 80's I had a real tea education from one of my grad students whose family ran
a tea plantation in Sri Lanka. It turned out I had been doing it right all along for Black tea,
which is what I drink. I tend to brew mine for about 2 minuets, any longer and you start to get oil
coming off the leaves.
 
Loose leaf tea, always. I like green tea, green tea and coconut, or organic black tea. I have never tasted coffee, I can't stand the smell of it so I have never been game enough to try it, so it's tea for me.

Had a friend a few decades back who hated coffee but liked to get the used grounds from local diners to add to his garden. Seems it helps improve certain soils.
IMO coffee requires a LOT of sugar, too much for me.
I do like hot tea with 2 or 3 tsps. sugar and some powdered malt as a "creamer".
 
Thanks for the video. I am a huge tea drinker. This past summer we were vacationing in Traverse City MICH and went to Light of Day organic tea farm. It was amazing. We took a fifteen minute tea seminar where we sampled at least five different teas. The said their earl grey won the world championship several years running - although I do not remember who gives such an award.

They gave some advice - never pour a full boiling water on tea as it kills some of the good stuff. Twining seems to agree that it should just come to a boil and be not overbuild. They also said the lighter the tea - the lower the water temperature with white tea being only at about 165 degrees. They also said that herbal tea IS NOT ACTUALLY TEA! If it does not have caffeine - its not really tea.

I normally use my tea ball with special blends in the afternoon or evening but settle for the bags in the morning - usually Bigelows which I think is fairly decent quality as tea bags go.

I use a teaspoon full of the tea and wrap the tea ball in foil and use it later for a second cup. And I have big cups of tea - large oversized mugs.

Great topic and I enjoyed reading posts from all.
 
Had a friend a few decades back who hated coffee but liked to get the used grounds from local diners to add to his garden. Seems it helps improve certain soils.
IMO coffee requires a LOT of sugar, too much for me.
I do like hot tea with 2 or 3 tsps. sugar and some powdered malt as a "creamer".

I used to drink my coffee with a LOT of sugar, as I was hooked on those sweetened coffee flavorings. But blood sugar considerations caused me to cut back, and now I only use about a quarter teaspoon of sugar and some lowfat half and half, and I love it. Sweet coffee now tastes nasty to me. Same with tea, I've never acquired a taste for the English style of adding milk to tea (yuck), but just a little sugar in a cup of Earl Gray is muy bueno.
 
I used to drink my coffee with a LOT of sugar, as I was hooked on those sweetened coffee flavorings. But blood sugar considerations caused me to cut back, and now I only use about a quarter teaspoon of sugar and some lowfat half and half, and I love it. Sweet coffee now tastes nasty to me. Same with tea, I've never acquired a taste for the English style of adding milk to tea (yuck), but just a little sugar in a cup of Earl Gray is muy bueno.
I erred in my post, my cup is actually 2 cups, so 2 tea bags, then the 3 sugars, or 3 artificial sweeteners...
 
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