The Tea Lovers Thread

[Essjay]

Since Yorkshire Tea has been mentioned quite a lot in this thread, here is their range -

Tea | Gold | Decaf | Hard Water | Yorkshire Tea

A proper brew - pure and simple. We pay fair prices for really good tea from our farmers to make a lovely blend that's big on flavour, fairness and quality.

www.yorkshiretea.co.uk

I'm not convinced by the idea of a tea which tastes like tea and biscuits or tea, jam and toast though

 

[WhistlingBadger]

@Ch4rlie RO water is great for tea.

 

[Kirsty90]

Got to be a good old Yorkshire tea bag for me!!!!

 

[Ch4rlie]

@Ch4rlie RO water is great for tea.

That’s interesting as I have quickly googled is RO water good for brewing tea.

And yep there’s a lot of conflicting information as per usual when it comes to t’old interweb but most seems to say that RO water does not contain enough minerals and makes the tea taste flat and dull apparently.

So I may go and try several cups of tea, someone has to do it, and try several cups of pure RO tea, see if we like it, if not, then might try several cups of perhaps a 50/50 mix of RO with tap water might work, see what works best.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

That’s interesting as I have quickly googled is RO water good for brewing tea.

And yep there’s a lot of conflicting information as per usual when it comes to t’old interweb but most seems to say that RO water does not contain enough minerals and makes the tea taste flat and dull apparently.

So I may go and try several cups of tea, someone has to do it, and try several cups of pure RO tea, see if we like it, if not, then might try several cups of perhaps a 50/50 mix of RO with tap water might work, see what works best.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've never noticed my tea tasting flat and dull with pure water. I think the taste comes from the tea, not the minerals in the water. But what do I know? Some people absolutely insist that heating water in the microwave destroys the taste of tea. I prefer to use a kettle because, I don't know, there's just a bit more of a ceremony about it, somehow? But taste different? No. Boiling water is boiling water.

 

[NannaLou]

I've never noticed my tea tasting flat and dull with pure water. I think the taste comes from the tea, not the minerals in the water. But what do I know? Some people absolutely insist that heating water in the microwave destroys the taste of tea. I prefer to use a kettle because, I don't know, there's just a bit more of a ceremony about it, somehow? But taste different? No. Boiling water is boiling water.

Absolutely not! you cannot use microwaved hot water to make tea…

Likewise, lots of those machines that churn out teas and coffees in coffee shops don’t heat the water well enough for tea either.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Absolutely not! you cannot use microwaved hot water to make tea…

Can you tell me why? If the water is boiling when it hits the tea, I don't see what difference it makes.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I've never noticed my tea tasting flat and dull with pure water. I think the taste comes from the tea, not the minerals in the water. But what do I know? Some people absolutely insist that heating water in the microwave destroys the taste of tea. I prefer to use a kettle because, I don't know, there's just a bit more of a ceremony about it, somehow? But taste different? No. Boiling water is boiling water.

Microwaving water? Why don't they just make it straight out the hot tap then??

 

[Ch4rlie]

Microwaving water for tea is not a great idea.

What you have to remember about microwaves, is that the actual micro waves are sporadic and shoots at the water randomly therefore will heat the water unevenly.

Despite the water being hot from the microwave, it’s not boiled evenly and it’s this that gives the water a different ‘taste’ when tea is added compared to adding tea to fully boiled water from the kettle which heats water evenly from the heating element which is static at bottom of kettle.

 

[Essjay]

It takes a lot longer to mirowave enough water for a pot of tea than boiling a kettle. I know, I tried it when the kettle died. The next pot of tea I boiled the water in a pan on the hob, much faster. Then went kettle shopping next day.

It's hard to know when water has actually reached boiling point in the microwave, and tea has to be made with actively boiling water. That's why it's no good going on a picnic with a flask of hot water and then trying to make tea with it.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I love that we're having this argument.

OK, so let's assume that the water is actively boiling when the tea hits it (I can see into my microwave, and it does boil, and it continues to boil for several seconds after I remove it), and let's assume that the act of boiling mixes the water around so it's the same through (microwaves might not heat my lasagna evenly because lasagna is solid, but with bubbles, convection, and such, boiling water mixes itself around like nobody's business). Also, let's assume I have a nice, powerful microwave that can in fact boil a cup of water faster than my kettle (because I do and it does).

Any other objections to simply nuking the water? I mean other than "It simply isn't proper!" That's a fairly legit argument when it comes to tea, but please remember, I am an American, so you have to give me a handicap. ha ha

 

[Slaphppy7]

I love that we're having this argument.

OK, so let's assume that the water is actively boiling when the tea hits it (I can see into my microwave, and it does boil, and it continues to boil for several seconds after I remove it), and let's assume that the act of boiling mixes the water around so it's the same through (microwaves might not heat my lasagna evenly because lasagna is solid, but with bubbles, convection, and such, boiling water mixes itself around like nobody's business). Also, let's assume I have a nice, powerful microwave that can in fact boil a cup of water faster than my kettle (because I do and it does).

Any other objections to simply nuking the water? I mean other than "It simply isn't proper!" That's a fairly legit argument when it comes to tea, but please remember, I am an American, so you have to give me a handicap. ha ha

I microwave a cup of water at a time when making my EG; have for years...is it the "proper" way to prepare a cup of tea?...for me, moot point....hot water + tea bag = good enough for me

Of course, as I've aged, my standards may have lowered a bit, but that's perhaps a different subject, altogether....

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I microwave a cup of water at a time when making my EG; have for years...is it the "proper" way to prepare a cup of tea?...for me, moot point....hot water + tea bag = good enough for me

Of course, as I've aged, my standards may have lowered a bit, but that's perhaps a different subject, altogether....

Well, the tea does taste lousy if the water isn't boiling when it hits the leaves. I just can't see why it matters how it boils, and I've never been able to taste any difference.

 

[Essjay]

You could die of thirst waiting for a microwave to boil the water, and we have a 1000W microwave. A kettle boils the same amount in a fraction of the time