The simplest kind of tea is white tea, which the Chinese call yellow tea, though despite its simplicity it is a gourmet taste, full of flavour. It is made from the leaves or buds of Camelia, but they are barely processed, just allowed to dry out naturally in the sun. White tea is not the tea most commonly drunk, for the barely processed leaves need to be used quickly before they lose flavour.
Green tea, which I drunk this morning, is processed a little more than white tea is, and so it stores longer. I bought myself a small box of tea bags to drink because of its health benefits. It is full of anti-oxidants known as flavenoids that are claimed to benefit health by attacking dangerous free radicals. Like white tea it does not keep for a long time, so it must be drunk within a year of being bought. Like white tea it is often taken without milk, which is the way in which tea is taken in continental Europe. British are lovers of tea taken with milk, but a word to be heeded here! Unlike coffee tea does not taste good with cream. I like mine with skimmed or semi-skimmed milk. Another tip for you is whatever tea you take, ensure that the water is boiling when you pour it on the leaves, as this gives you the best flavour.
[Here the writer pauses to brew a mug of green tea.Well, he is British, isn't he!]
A traditional Chinese tea that lies between green and black tea is oolong. While green tea has undergone oxidation in processing oolong has undergone semi-oxidation.The leaves are not shredded, but can be rolled into small balls or rolls. Like white tea it was not meant to be stored for long, so it is a gourmet taste for Europeans and Americans. There is a large range of oolongs depending on the area from which they come.
The commonest tea is black tea, which stores well because it is well-dried. It will keep for years. Most of the common blends sold in the UK and Europe are black teas. This tea is commonly taken with milk, though some take it black [milkless.] Tastes vary, some like it strong, and to get the tea this way leave it to brew in the pot or cup for a couple of minutes. Some people press the teabag with a spoon to release flavour. However, tea kept too long "stews" in the pot and is not pleasant. Some drinkers like tea sweet, and two spoonfuls of sugar per mug is about all that you need, though I prefer mine unsweetened.
A point to be noted, redbush, known as rooibos, is a tea, but it is not char. It is a caffeine free leaf from the South African shrub Aspalanthus linearis. It is a drink popular with people concerned about their caffeine intake, though you can also get decaffeinated tea.
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Chai is associated with black tea, though the English term char denotes white and black, as well as green tea.
We don't take much spiced tea in our family, though in my household mint tea is drunk, and I am a fan of ginger. We don't work in quantities, but measure in cupsful and mugsful.
Revisiting your wizzley brings to a mind a current dilemma about tea-drinking.
I'm considering a homemade version of the Starbucks chai latte with a shot of espresso. Starbucks employs Tazo chai concentrate, which most internet sources call black tea but some say green, with cinnamon, cloves and unspecified "other" spices.
Is chai more associated with black tea than with green, or vice versa? Or is it individual preference? Or is it something else?
What spices would east-ponders generally, and you and your family and Veronica and hers specifically, put in milk boiled with chai and charged-up with a shot of espresso?
Also, what liquid measurement -- west-pond ounces = east-pond milliliters? -- would you consider a shot-full?
They are made with two slices. Otherwise, there are no rules as to types of bread or whether the crusts [bread edges] are removed.
Thank you!
Are cucumber sandwiches made of cucumbers either atop one bread slice or between two bread slices? If so, what kind of bread do you use, and is what some call crust and others call bread edges or ends or sides removed?
Tea is often served alone, though often hosts offer guests tea and biscuits.
I don't think that there is any standard practice for cucumber sandwiches. But cucumber is often served with salad vegetables, such as lettuce, and also with cheese, which is a dry foodstuff that counters any wetness.
Revisiting your article caused me to think about what tea is served with, on this side of the pond and on yours. So I have two more questions to ask of you.
One, is tea ever served alone on the northeast side of the Atlantic pond? And two, what keeps cucumber sandwiches from getting kind of moist or even soggy -- ick! -- from contact with a vegetable that may not be oozing with water content but that definitely has it?
Tetley's was what I drank. It is a very popular brand.
As for culture, I cannot give a definite answer to your question. Seventy million people, spread between several nations cannot be definitively classified as having a common cultural core. Scots make a big deal of Scottishness, e.g kilts and all, but some in Scotland don't. Nationalists in general emphasise their unique cultural elements, but not everyone in the minority nations plays the nationalist game. You would never see me wearing a union jack waistcoat or ostentatiously flying the national flag. And I, like Veronica, am a republican, though I am not as fiercely republican as she is [I am not referring to the American Republican party or to Irish republicanism.]
Thank you!
It's interesting that the United Kingdomers respect tradition and yet will incorporate something else -- such as chai/char -- into that tradition. Scholars mention Indonesian society as syncretistic, in that there's a core to which other cultural beliefs and traditions may, or may not, be added.
Would syncretism be a description of United Kingdom society in general or of Cornish, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh societies in particular?
(What kind of tea would you happen to have had during the below-mentioned tea break?)
It depends on what you mean by tea. Tea in the broad sense denotes any beverage made by pouring hot water onto leaves, so in this sense we had tea before we experienced Indian culture: rosebay willow herb tea was popular, herbal teas were drunk. But when we came into contact with India we were introduced to chai [char] which became so popular that it came to be called tea.
Yorkshire tea and Cumbrian tea, etc, are blends of teas from various tea-growing regions, each of which has its own varieties of Camelia sinensis and its own terroire and climate, and therefore its distinct flavour.
Now, as I finish this comment I am pausing to go and get guess what, another cup of tea. Well, I am British!
Re-reading this wizzley called to mind what I'd meant to ask you before.
Some internet or written source led me to think that your side of the pond did not have tea before your experiences with Indian culture. But you mention Cumbrian and Yorkshire teas. Would those teas have an old pedigree on them, or would they be a consequence of, or reaction to, tea being introduced from India?