Well, what I usually do:
1. Boil water
2. Let the water cool down
(2.1/2. optional: add citrus zests as described below and/or mintleaves and/or cardamon when using Arabic teas)
3. Add tealeaves, unbagged so they can move freely (you can also put them in a special teabag, it's more of a personal preferance)
4. Wait
5. Stir (n00bs often think this barbaric, but it IS required)
6. Pour using a sieve
I prefer Lady Grey, though some brand's recipes are much better than others and not always called "Lady Grey". I'm trying to import Thé Ruschka from Les Mariage Frères, but it is very very difficult to come by here in Holland. I've got an adress in The Hague from a Pattisier which I visited to buy imported cacao, but they don't seem to be selling it at the adress anymore either. The Dutch are barbarians regarding flavours, so the tea didn't sell because it was too expensive. I've tried in Bourges as well and emailed a little shop above Gant in Belgium, but no succes, so my only option is Paris
To make one of the finest teas yourself:
1. Boil spring or dune water, in a kettle, on charcoals
2. Add citrus zests, now this is difficult: you have to cut flakes of the zests. Too big and they will not properly emit theit flavour, too small and some unwanted flavours may be released, or worse non at all because they've left before they've entered the kettle. Too thin and they won't contain any flavours, too thick and the tea WILL be bitter. Try cutting them 1cmx2cm and as thick as possible without any dot of white of the lower zest showing, and you should be fine. You should use lemons and if possible oranges, limes and mineolas are optional and grapefruit should only be added with care if you chose to add it at all.
3. Add some fresh bergamot leaves, don't overdo it; it will be suited for a Lady not an Earl!
4. Let the water cool down, it must not boil! It must be no warmer than 93 degrees celsius and no colder than 92.
5. Add a Royal First Flush Darjeeling from a good brand like Les Mariage Frères! They always say about 10 grams to a liter, but that's for pussies. However Darjeeling (unflavoured) should be amber coloured and is delicate, so I'd suggest 15 grams to a liter.
6. Add some cornflower petals. Any will do, but preferably use blue ones imported from Estonia.
7. Let it sit. Watch the colour, no time indication needed, it's done when it's done! (The colour will be slightly off from unflavoured Darjeeling though, depending on what ingredients you added,.. memorize!)
8. Stir with a rod or a spoon that leaves no taste, so no silver PLATED crap! Hardwood will do.
9. Pour through a sieve (again one that leaves no taste, so no plastic) in a porcelain tea cup. Tea cups ass oposed to coffe cups are thinner and broader allowing for the tea to cool down faster.
10. Add (cane) sugar or whatever you desire for sweetener if you do at all, except artificial crap like aspartane sweeteners.
11. NEVER add milk, not even fresh raw milk; you've added citrus zests and milk neutralizes, you'll ruin everything.
12. Serve the lady first, then sit back and enjoy. Make sure Corelli isn't too loud, you don't want to have a lady to shout when conversing about the garden.
Finally some tips for newbies:
1. While black teas require the water to be 93-92 degrees, that temperature will kill any greens. Do you hate greens because they are always bitter? It's because of the temperature; such a high temperature releases some unwanted substances form the unfermented leaves as well, which will make the tea taste bitter. For green teas (and whites) the water should be 72-73.
2. Red tea isn't tea, it is composed of the needles of a sub-Saharan African mountain shrub, which is why it's shit! (ok, that was subjective)
3. Mint, Camilla etc. aren't teas either, but they have their uses.
4. Never buy "flavoured" teas like strawberry+blueberry or melon, they are all the same with cheap additives.
5. Do NOT buy teabags. While the choice between using a bag or not may be arbitrary, the fact is that when you buy them bagged, you can't properly see what you are buying. As a consequence, knowing this, most so called supermarkt A-brands subsequently stuff them with leftover powder. It's the same as the do in Africa, except the other way around: export the fish filet and save the bones for the poor locals.
6. It's no Myth, Brittish tea IS excellent even though Les Mariage Frères is French and the Brits ARE horrible cooks. You wouldn't say so perhaps, but the second (black-)tea nation is probably Russia. Don't worry, the cheap illegal (absolutely fabuleous) cognac goes in the coffee, not the tea.
7. Did you know that becoming a Japanese tea master require four years of education in a semi monastic institution?
Last edited by Lai (2008-10-09 02:17:27)
