Tea has been around for thousands of years. Legends of its discovery range from a tea leaf blowing into Chinese Emperor Shen Nung's boiling water to divine creation by the Buddha.
Traditionally, tea is brewed from whole leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. (All teas are made using this plant; the method in which they are prepared differentiates types of tea. Herbal teas, or tisanes, do not contain Camellia Senensis and are not technically classified as tea.) However, since the advent of the tea bag in the early 20th century, many have preferred to brew their tea using this much inferior method. One still needs to use loose leaves for a truly decent cup of tea.
The following instructions are based on George Orwell's method for preparing tea as described in "A Nice Cup of Tea." Read it.
Note: I realize that it might not make much sense to create these instructions since George Orwell already wrote them out perfectly well 66 years ago, but I believe that Orwell's essay lacks much explanation and a small amount of basic detail, as it was written for mid-20th century UK, a society that understood tea significantly better than is common across the globe today.
Traditionally, tea is brewed from whole leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. (All teas are made using this plant; the method in which they are prepared differentiates types of tea. Herbal teas, or tisanes, do not contain Camellia Senensis and are not technically classified as tea.) However, since the advent of the tea bag in the early 20th century, many have preferred to brew their tea using this much inferior method. One still needs to use loose leaves for a truly decent cup of tea.
The following instructions are based on George Orwell's method for preparing tea as described in "A Nice Cup of Tea." Read it.
Note: I realize that it might not make much sense to create these instructions since George Orwell already wrote them out perfectly well 66 years ago, but I believe that Orwell's essay lacks much explanation and a small amount of basic detail, as it was written for mid-20th century UK, a society that understood tea significantly better than is common across the globe today.
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Signing UpStep 1: Equipment
You will need:
-Kettle
-Heating Element(An open flame is best)
-Loose leaf tea
-Teapot
-Teacup
-Milk
-Kettle
-Heating Element(An open flame is best)
-Loose leaf tea
-Teapot
-Teacup
-Milk
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Sorry forgot to add America...I need another cup of coffee...lol
Also, I've heard arguments that milk was traditionally poured in first to avoid damaging fine china with very hot tea. I couldn't prove this attest to this being myth or not though, I personally prefer to add milk second for the same reason you quote Orwell as suggesting. This also leads to the great Cornish vs Devon debate over scones.... jam or cream first?
Yes, the British actually have 6-page standardisation documents for this, and yes, I know about them. Now who's a tea-snob?
Q: Why do anarchists drink herbal tea?
A: Because proper tea is theft!
You also mentioned about the water... It's noticeable, to me, if you boil it twice or multiple times. When water is boiled, oxygen is being released, and this is part of what makes tea good. Now that I think of it, that may be a reason that black teas taste more astringent: there is less oxygen in it, and more hydrogen, which is what makes things acidic (hydrogen is the root of all acids - which means water is an acid).
This is a nice website for learning more about tea chemically and how it's prepared: http://www.teaclass.com/
By the sounds of it... Orwell is kind of a tea-snob.
I love the way this instructable is written, too. :D