| Author |
Across the Fence:  Do you ever make a "proper" cup/pot of tea?  |
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 28 2008 : 7:47:21 PM
|
I am very taken with having tea. What a great way to settle down for a few minutes in the afternoon to recharge your batteries. Maybe I really like the idea because I always had an "After school snack" when I was little.
Anyway, because proper tea isn't always taught in America (you mean microwaving the water with the tea bag in it isn't proper?!) I thought I might share some of my new found knowledge on this subject:
Firstly you will need-
Tea- either loose or bagged
Stove Top kettle
Tea pot
Tea cup
Honey or Sugar available
Milk or Cream available
First you get your tap running as hot as it can go. Fill the pot with hot water and set aside.
Fill kettle with cold water and set on burner to get to rolling boil.
Just before your kettle has reached a rolling boil- empty the hot water out of your tea pot (this was to warm your pot so as to not shock it or the tea) and add one teaspoon or one bag per person having tea (or per how many cups you would like to have) plus one teaspoon or bag "for the pot". Pour rolling boiling water into tea pot.
Let brew for 3-7 minutes depending on how strong you like your tea. Black tea is traditional for English Teas as the flavor is more robust and can "stand" sugar and cream. Temper cups with sugar and cream per each person's tastes and pour tea. Enjoy with a few "nibbles" (cookies or cakes or lady sandwiches).
Yum. I just had a half pot of tea and I got to use my pretty tea cups!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
|
|
lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2008 : 7:52:28 PM
|
Well, I've THOUGHT about it. Especially lately. However, I don't have any pretty teacups nor a teapot, per se. I have a very large copper tea pot that sits on top of the wood stove for humidity's sake and that's it. I don't really want to brew tea in it, but I use the hot water to make my tea in a pretty coffee cup!
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/lisamariesbasketry/index.htm |
 |
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2008 : 7:54:58 PM
|
Lisa- guess what opened here in town! A Salvation Army and they have pretty tea cups! I try to go for the OLD looking ones but some of the newer ones are pretty too! That is where I got my tea pot and my tea kettle!
It sounds like your copper thing is a tea kettle- but probably shouldn't be used for tea because the metal probably would give a metallic taste to the water. If you want I can keep my eyes peeled for the "perfect cup" and "perfect pot" for you :D
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2008 : 7:57:19 PM
|
That's really sweet of you, Alee. But dh finally got a new job and started today. We should be getting back on our feet here soon and I'll make a trip to the thrift stores in Boise to look for several things, including those!
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/lisamariesbasketry/index.htm |
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
|
|
lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2008 : 8:19:50 PM
|
Oh, I'm so relieved. I was this ][ close to turning off the phone, cable and DSL to stay afloat. It gets really hard when the industry you work in has practically gone belly up and your unemployment has run out. But it's looking much brighter today!!!
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
My Website:
http://www.freewebs.com/lisamariesbasketry/index.htm |
|
|
|
KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2008 : 8:24:07 PM
|
Well, Alee,living in England made me have a proper "cuppa" habit for many years...I've gotten out of it everyday, but I still do have tea in the afternoon at 4:00 or so, now and again. I used to be absolutely religious about it, and even have a cozy.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2008 : 8:29:49 PM
|
OOO! Jonni! That is my next desired acquisition!
I have a friend that is from Devon and she really got me into tea :D
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
N Marie
True Blue Farmgirl
102 Posts
Marie
Seattle
Washington
USA
102 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 12:31:38 AM
|
I have so much tea, I could probably open my own tea shop right now. Unfortunately, I have yet to find the perfect tea pot, and I just bought a teeny, cute little 3-cup French coffee press (GENIUS!!! The most delicious and creamy-textured coffee I've ever had/made in my life!) otherwise I'd probably drink tea more often.
Tea cozies are one of those things that, no matter how punk-rock I aspire to be, just make me go all mushy and girly. I even have a pattern or two to knit–yes, I said knit–them. Uh-oh... another project to add to my never-ending list...
Farmgirl #181
http://yarnfoodcoffee.typepad.com/
The Age of Discovery in a Nutshell:
-I claim this land in the name of England.
-You can't claim it, we live here!
-Do you have a flag?... |
Edited by - N Marie on Apr 29 2008 12:35:34 AM |
|
|
|
CountryBorn
True Blue Farmgirl
1545 Posts
Mary Jane
New York
USA
1545 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 05:15:33 AM
|
Alee, isn't a tea break wondeful! Coming from Canada that was a daily ritual in my Grandma's house.Not only did she make the best tea ever, she also read the tea leaves! I loved it. I have some beautiful tea cups and saucers she bought me. Plus I have tea sets that she hand painted,which include the tea pots, creamers and sugars and of course the small tea plates for goodies. They are so pretty and the fact she did them herself is priceless to me. She always used loose tea, never bags. Happy tea time!
MJ
MJ
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Freya Stark |
|
|
|
Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 06:06:50 AM
|
| It's too bad that tea time falls right as I get home from work. No time to sit with a cup of tea when there's dinner to cook. I think traditional English supper time was late, like 8 or so. Am I right? |
|
|
|
KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 06:22:45 AM
|
Our tea time in England was 4:00 or so. We usually ate a bigger "supper" and then less dinner.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 06:23:53 AM
|
Jonni-
Which is great if you think about it because ideally you shouldn't have too much food on your stomach when you go to sleep. :D
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 06:28:44 AM
|
It did make perfect sense to me....but then, I was also on a farm where the day started rather early and you were really hungry by lunchtime and mid afternoon. We went to bed earlier too at that point, and it really did make a difference in my internal "clock" and how I trained my tummy :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
|
|
|
createmyworld
True Blue Farmgirl
295 Posts
Beth
Akron
PA
USA
295 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 06:45:15 AM
|
Alee, I love tea too and have 2 shelves of one of my kitchen cabinets devoted to tea products. I have a Pristine Pottery steeping pot and a japanese cast iron steeping pot, but don't have a tea kettle... on my list.... I usually just run water through the coffee pot (we rarely have coffee, maybe 5 times a year, so it's really clean and there's no coffee taste to the hot water) to get my hot water for my tea.... never thought about the hot water in the steeping pot before putting in the tea water, but that makes sense, although not sure if I'd want to do that as I use filtered water for drinking and my tap water is really bad... I usually have a mug of tea in the evening before bedtime... I should try the English way and have it earlier on. Enjoy your tea time!
Jonni, how wonderful that you spent some time living in England! I've never been there but want to go some day... dh and I are really into all of the britcoms on pbs and anything else from "across the pond"... ;o)
|
|
|
|
sweetproserpina
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
meg
Vinemount
Ontario
Canada
535 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 07:09:54 AM
|
You ladies are all invited over to my place for afternoon tea today :) I've been a tea-granny since about age 5 (when I literally drank tea with my grannies) and there was always a pot on at home growing up- 'Round 4pm here is when we have teatime- sometimes just a bag of tetley, but often chai or loose leaf. Sometimes I'll make cucumber or cheese sandwiches or scones, and there's always biccies (cookies!). The only thing I don't do properly is warm the pot first with water. All my tea books say I must, but I've never really found much of a difference when I did.
Oh, and we always have a late supper at 7:30 or 8pm so, teatime doesn't fill us up too much!
We had a kettle, we let it leak;
Our not replacing it made it worse,
We haven't had any tea for a week...
The bottom is out of the Universe!
- Rudyard Kipling
ps. I had tea with my grandma the day before yesterday, and we had Earl Grey with a slice of lime (we were out of lemons) and it was surprisingly great! Try it :)
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world."
http://theprimroseway.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 08:13:39 AM
|
Well since I don't have a tea cozy I am wrapping my tea pot in a old jacket! LOL
Oh and I want a Tea Tray too! My mom has this FANTASTIC tea cart that I LOVE!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 08:27:46 AM
|
I'm there, Meg! I think that Earl Grey with lime sounds enchanting...I've always had a bit of difficulty with the "perfume" of Earl Grey, so that might curb it for me.
Alee, my godmother gave us her old tea cart--wonderful! But, my mother used it as a planter and then decided it wasn't worth keeping and set it out to the trash (I was 10, so...no house to stake my claim for it) and someone else driving by thought it was very worth keeping (or selling) and asked if he could take it.
You should knit yourself a cozy, Alee....that's better than a scarf any old day :)
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
|
|
|
Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 08:31:44 AM
|
I absolutely love tea! I don't own any pretty tea cups or pots yet, I've decided to wait to buy them until after I move in June, but I usually have a huge coffee mug of tea after I get off work to wind down from the day.  It's actually kinda one of my daydreams--to own a tea shop some day...now THAT would be so fun!
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
|
|
|
marmieto12
True Blue Farmgirl
213 Posts
laura
utah
USA
213 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2008 : 09:04:26 AM
|
For my last BD (eek#50), I requested a tea party which my beautiful daughters and their wonderful step mother provided! Ironed linens and beautiful tea pots and an eclectic mix of tea cups. Cucumber sandwiches, cookies and scones were a few of the things they had made. It was a delightful time.
Tea is so much fun! Jodi I have been to many tea shops and I would think it would be the most splendid job!
My little girls have several tea sets I have picked up at yards sales, on sale, or cute ones from IKEA. They have a tray and little napkins. It is for quiet time. They are not the most gentle, but they are learning.
When their caseworkers come over, they have tea parties for their visits. It is adorable and comfortable for them to just play.
Laura;Dreaming of big girl farm...
Farmgirl # 148
http://lilsfamilyfarm.blogspot.com
Chapter http://justsimplythegirls.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
|
| |
Across the Fence: Do you ever make a "proper" cup/pot of tea? |
|
Do you ever make a "proper" cup/pot of tea?
