Hello everyone! Tea is drunk by many countries. Each country has their way or style, for example: the British love to add milk and suger to their tea, Indians enjoy their masala Chai, Americans grave for a great ice tea during the summer months, and the Russians are proud of their samovars. I was wondering how do you like your tea?
I would like to add that tea resembles language learning. There are different types of tea( black, green, white, pu erh, herbal), different steeping/brewing times and amount of tea leave to water ratio, different tea grades, and different ways of preparation( Gaiwan, Cast iron teapot, yingxing clay teapot, samovar, caydanlik).
In language learning there are different learning techniques( auditory kinesthetic, visual), different methods( Lingq method, shadowing, SRS, intensive reading, extensive reading, speak from day one, assimil, teach yourself, hippocrene, FSI, DLI, peace corps, living language, colloquial) different study/learning times and intensity levels.
I hope that you all enjoy the comparisons I’ve made between tea and language learning( tea and language learning are philosophies within themselves, such how Steve Kauffman keeps on referring to Taoist sayings/teachings).
Iced tea all year around. Unsweetened if freshly brewed and the water isn’t too chlorinated. If it’s not freshly brewed or the water is yucky, sweetened.
If it’s hot tea, then I like green tea with ecinachea if sick or looking to thwart. If “regular” tea drinking, then black tea. I used to have with milk and suger, but Stephen Twinnings of Twinnings Tea (est. 1707) said that putting sugar in tea is “absolutely barbaric.” So, I just have it with milk or sometimes honey or straight up.
Ah, tea! My other passion, apart from languages! I could talk about tea all day long, but I’ll keep it short and sweet.
I mainly drink loose leaf teas, most of which are Chinese. Oolong tea is probably my favorite, but my opinion fluctuates. As for brewing, my heart says yixing teapot but my wallet says gaiwan. Although gaiwans are pretty good as they’re quite versatile. The way I brew my tea is called gongfu style.
That being said, the best cup of tea is the one you enjoy.
Loose leaf tea is better quality than tea bags, because you can actually see what is in the tea(for example: whether it’s mainly twigs or leaves, it’s hand picked or machine picked, or see if there are any insects.).
Where I live, Black teas are a favorite. I mainly drink Ceylon and/or Assam based teas, but I wouldn’t mind try some Chinese black teas(Chinese call them red teas) or even some Turkish tea. In terms of brewing I use a caydanlik( Turkish double pot. The top pot is for brewing the tea and bottom for boiling the water.). It is slightly similar in function to a samovar, but less fancy or impressive and still does the job.
Most people in America call it"Moroccan mint tea" for some reason, but I don’t think it originated there. I had this tea a few years ago in a middle eastern style restaurant, where they used China gunpowder green tea and spear mint with sugar. Ever since then I’ve been growing my own mint(Pepper mint, Spear mint, and sweet mint.) and buy gunpowder green tea in any Asian or middle eastern market nearest my location. I love to drink it during dinner time.
I thought I was the only one drinking iced tea all long even in the winter months. I buy cheap tea bagged teas and prepare them in a coffee pot/machine with some dried fruit, fruit peels, or certain herbs/spices. If I do add sugar or another sweetener it is a small amount.
Wikipedia says it originated in Morocco indeed, and then spread to the Middle East, Spain and now France.
In my family we drink it after lunch or in the afternoon. In Algeria wherever you go, if people invite you over they will offer you tea and pastries. And your diabetes rate will skyrocket
