Tea - how do you like it?

[Alexandra M]

I ran across an article on tea, plus I recall my Mom talking about bubbles in the tea and some superstition involved with that...

Plus I thought of doowopgirl when I read this:



(My Mom was not Irish, but Scottish, but I think most countries in the United Kingdom prefer to drink hot tea.

I know Stephen King likes to drink tea!

Rules of Irish Tea Making:



By the turn of the twentieth century every Irish mother was an expert tea maker. Or perhaps I should say “tay maker”.

In the Irish language the word for tea is “tae”, and is pronounced “tay”, which explains why so many cups of “tay” are poured in Ireland every day.

And believe me, every Irish mother knows exactly how SHE makes her tea.

God forbid you forget to scald the pot before adding the leaves or the tea bags. This scalding process involves adding a small amount of boiling water to the empty pot, swishing it around for at least 10 seconds to remove any residue from previous brews, then discarding the hot water.

When I was a little girl in the 1970’s I only remember tea being made with loose tea leaves. In the 1980’s the popularity of tea bags grew. Irish tea drinkers quickly discovered the ease of clean up with this wonderful invention.

But now, back to the rules …..

Only boiling water is acceptable to “wet the tay.” None of this tepid, warm water found in so many American hotels for dunking tea bags hiding weak, tasteless tea leaves.

A boldly flavored, black leaf is imperative for proper Irish tea.

Irish tea is brewed in a teapot rather than directly in a cup.

This facilitates the process of properly “drawing the tay.” Exactly how long the pot must linger over a low heat to produce the perfect shade of brown varies from family to family, and even from person to person within a family.

And for some Irish mothers, the pot must be swaddled in a homemade, knitted, tea cozy to achieve perfection.

Neesy
The superstition my mother told me about the bubbles was that they represent money. Gently catch them on a spoon and drink them and you will get money from somewhere or someone.
I like my tea in a mug and steaming hot with sugar, no milk. (I boil the water in a saucepan too.)

 

[Neesy]

Neesy
The superstition my mother told me about the bubbles was that they represent money. Gently catch them on a spoon and drink them and you will get money from somewhere or someone.
I like my tea in a mug and steaming hot with sugar, no milk. (I boil the water in a saucepan too.)

Going to make some tea now! I could use some extra cold hard cash

Did not know you knew so many superstitions - that's cool Thanks

 

[Alexandra M]

Going to make some tea now! I could use some extra cold hard cash

Did not know you knew so many superstitions - that's cool Thanks

Neesy
I think my mother knew most of the superstitions of her era. I'm surprised I remember so many.

 

[DiO'Bolic]

Why would anybody try different teas when you get one of these in every box of Red Rose tea? I have quite a collection.

But I like coffee much more than tea. I recently watched a documentary on how coffee first came to South and Central America. It involved a king, a thief, covert operation, near mutiny, pirates, and a terrible storm that almost sunk the ship. Great stuff.

Petty Theft Brought Coffee to America - Modern Notion

 

[Doc Creed]

This thread reminds me of Kubrick's film when Jack sneaks up on Wendy as she's paging through his "all work and no play" manuscript. He says, "How do you like it?"

 

[Spideyman]

Tea for one set

Tea pot flowering tea bag

 

[Wayoftheredpanda]

Dad- burn Muricans!

Are you saying you Canadians have a better way of using tea?

 

[DiO'Bolic]

Are you saying you Canadians have a better way of using tea?

I hear they recently legalized one variation of it.

 

[Neesy]

Are you saying you Canadians have a better way of using tea?

I don't know of a better way of using tea (other than drinking it) but I must give you props for coming out with the "Throw it in the Boston harbour" comment

 

[Neesy]

I hear they recently legalized one variation of it.

Here's some crazy Scotsman smoking a tea bag

 

[Doc Creed]

I don't know of a better way of using tea (other than drinking it)

 

[Doc Creed]

Here's some crazy Scotsman smoking a tea bag

That was funny. His accent makes it funnier.

 

[doowopgirl]

Cold with ice and lemon.

As long as I've lived in Ireland I've learned to enjoy a proper cup of tea. Brewed in a pot. Spot of milk and whisper of sugar. But since the arrival of Eastern Europeans ice tea had arrived! Love it very lemony, but never sweet.

 

[Neesy]

As long as I've lived in Ireland I've learned to enjoy a proper cup of tea. Brewed in a pot. Spot of milk and whisper of sugar. But since the arrival of Eastern Europeans ice tea had arrived! Love it very lemony, but never sweet.

I actually don't mind a nice hot Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks when I want to splurge but it has lots of points on Weight Watchers

So - lots of Eastern Europeans over there now? Must make things more interesting!

 

[GNTLGNT]

As a child I would look forward to grocery day if there was new tea. There would be a free ceramic animal in the box, which I collected. I forget the brand. Currently we drink tea daily in the evenings (coffee in the mornings). I could drink it any old way but the wife has certain rules...which I follow...remove the kettle from the stove just before it boils and don't squeeze the teabags when removing them from the pot. We use an old Brown Betty pot that we've used for the last 25 years. On drunk guitar day, I drink my cheap scotch with tea and brown sugar.

Wade miniatures in 1967

 

[Alizesmom]

In someone else’s cup. Yuck.

 

[Doc Creed]

In someone else’s cup. Yuck.

At first I thought you meant you like to drink tea from other people's cups.

 

[GNTLGNT]

At first I thought you meant you like to drink tea from other people's cups.

 

[Wayoftheredpanda]

Drinking tea right now, almost tastes as good as the tears of Great Britain when we wasted alot of it to revolt against taxation

 

[kingricefan]

I boil water in a kettle then pour it into a cup with a tea bag. Let it steep for a few minutes, then add one teaspoon of sugar (sometimes even less than that) and a dollop of milk. This is how my Mom made it when we were kids.