Sorry about the delay.

Lilac, in which case, I apologise to the late Mr B.

I've never had tea from a glass!!

I'm sure he would appreciate it, KillerB.

What are you doing over there? Working or something? Letting something come between you and your wino friends? For shame! ((tsk tsk tsk))

I had apple tea in a glass when I was in the Middle East. Very sweet and strong.

Making tea is quite simple but like most simple things is easy to get wrong. In England the water can affect the tea dramatically. In the South the water is made hard by varying levels of limestone and chalk. In the North granite is predominant so soft water is around. Ty-phoo used to blend their tea according to the water in the area so you could mess up completely by taking it on holiday to Wales Brita is a godsend.

Generally, follow the following directions.

1. Use good quality tea. Tea bags are fine but leaves are better. The choice is yours but remember peppermint and chamomile is not tea. Earl Grey is just smelly.

2. Use boiling water. Bubbling whilst being poured from the kettle is best. Hot is not good enough, tea needs to be at 100 C to brew properly. Even heating the pot in advance can affect the flavour as the overall temperature is that little bit closer to optimum.

3. Use plenty of tea. It is supposed to be mid/dark brown not a feeble beige colour.

4. Stir it well, get the tea mixed in and then leave it. The time can be as little as two minutes but it needs at least that. Anything over ten can leave the tea 'stewed' and you have to start again. Cover the pot with a cosy or a tea-cloth to keep it hot, this helps it to brew properly.

5. Pour the tea into enormous mugs. It can be made in the mugs but pots are better as the temperature stays higher. Tea-cups are for wimps, you don't see builders drinking tea out of bone china.

6. Add sugar if desired and stir to dissolve. Generally accepted amounts vary between half a tea-spoon and three heaped tea-spoons per mug.

7. Pour required amount of milk from a great height - this helps mix it. Start low and raise to full height quickly.

8. Sit back and drink with preferred choice of biscuits, cakes or toast. No work should ever be done whilst drinking tea. It is the law.

two teas i've recently found worth mentioning are from "stash". a nice blend of green and white tea called "fusion", not as delicate and light as a straight white or green, but retaining tons of flavor from both. and then theres the black vanilla nut creme. incredible with milk and sugar, which i don't normally add to tea. only drawback is it's decaffeinated, which i guess will come in handy when i want a substitute for my nighttime good hope vanilla african rooibos fix! cheers all!

recent health/tea news:

Drinking tea may help keep the doctor away.

A new study finds that tea boosts the body's defenses against infection and contains a substance that might be turned into a drug to protect against disease, researchers say. Coffee does not have the same effect, they say.

A component in tea was found in laboratory experiments to prime the immune system to attack invading bacteria, viruses and fungi, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences released Monday.

A second experiment, using human volunteers, showed that immune system blood cells from tea drinkers responded five times faster to germs than did the blood cells of coffee drinkers.

“We worked out the molecular aspects of this tea component in the test tube and then tested it on a small number of people to see if it actually worked in human beings,” said Dr. Jack F. Bukowski, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School. The results, he said, gave clear proof that five cups of tea a day sharpened the body's disease defenses.

Penny Kris-Etherton, a nutrition specialist at Penn State University, a nutrition expert, said Bukowski's study adds to a growing body of evidence that tea is an effective disease fighter.

“This is potentially a very significant finding,” she said. “We're seeing multiple benefits from tea.”

But she said the work needs to be confirmed in a much larger study, involving more people.

In the study, Bukowski and his co-authors isolated from ordinary black tea a substance called L-theanine.

Bukowski said L-theanine is broken down in the liver to ethylamine, a molecule that primes the response of an immune system element called the gamma-delta T cell.

“We know from other studies that these gamma-delta T cells in the blood are the first line of defense against many types of bacteria, viral, fungal and parasitic infections,” he said. “They even have some anti-tumor activity.”

The T cells prompt the secretion of interferon, a key part of the body's chemical defense against infection, Bukowski said.

“We know from mouse studies that if you boost this part of the immune system it can protect against infection,” he said.

To further test the finding, the researchers had 11 volunteers drink five cups a day of tea, and 10 others drink coffee. Before the test began, they drew blood samples from all 21 test subjects.

After four weeks, they took more blood from the tea drinkers and then exposed that blood to the bacteria called E-coli. Bukowski said the immune cells in the specimens secreted five times more interferon than did blood cells from the same subjects before the weeks of tea drinking. Blood tests and bacteria challenges showed there was no change in the interferon levels of the coffee drinkers, he said.

Bukowski said it may be possible to further isolate and refine L-theanine from tea and use that as a drug to boost the infection defense of the body.

The health effects of tea have been extensively studied. It has been linked to lower heart disease and cancer risk through the action of flavonoids, a type of antioxidant. Other studies have linked tea to helping combat osteoporosis, the brittle bone disease, and to relieving some allergy symptoms.

Cheers Tbird!

Very interesting read.

KIllerB: To continue our conversation here. Since I want to explore brewing tea(s), can you list some of your favorites?

I am interested in the following:

a. Black Tea.
b. Flavored Tea.
c. Green Tea.
d. Herbal & Blended Tea.
e. Jasmine Tea.
f. King's Tea.
g. Oolong Tea.
h. Pouchong Tea.
i. Pu-Erh Tea.
j. Ti Kuan Yin.
k. White Tea.
l. Yellow Tea.

Now, I know that is a big list. I listed them all, just in case. If you have any experience with any of the above, some direction/preferences would be appreciated. May be even a region that you prefer. Or, a type that you prefer? Thank You.

I'm very much a traditional tea drinker. My favourite is Assam and I can't stand Earl Grey - it makes me feel ill. After that it's probably Darjeeling and the softer lapsang-souchong. It's also nice to have jasmine tea or even lemon-grass tea but I don't count them as real tea. In between is Rooibos from South Africa which is caffeine free but you can make it up in the same way as real tea. I've had green tea and black tea from Mauritius - they are OK.

On a normal day to day basis I go for a British standard tea - Typhoo. It's a branded blend, mostly Assam and is actually as expensive as buying individual teas. This tea used to be blended differently for different parts of the country to take account of water changes! There is something intensely satisfying about a well-made cuppa even if you use the same type every day.

I am not 'in' to tea, but I do enjoy it from time to time. I must admit that I do like Earl Grey. I tried it many years ago for the first time mainly for Patrick Stewart Star Trek character, Jean-Luc Picard's, love of the stuff. Sad but true!

i'm definately of the opinion that earl grey is very over-rated. but the way jean-luc says that phrase is very cool.

I've always preferred PG Tips to Typhoo. Maybe I was just influenced by the adverts they had a couple years ago, where the chimp in a suit reading a newspaper at the breakfast table says to his son "PG Tips ain't cheap...they just cost less." I can do a pretty good imitation of whatever accent this is...

On the topic of tea, before I went to law school I was a park ranger in Boston. That's when I realized how many british tourists bring tea with them when they travel. It's just not as good in other countries. They were always looking for a source of boiling hot water to put their tea in. Luckily, the nearby Seven Eleven had the hot water they needed.

cbmac - Most people are either PG tips or Typhoo over here. I think PG Tips is based on Darjeeling so a very different flavour from Typhoo which is Assam based. Never let an ape influence your decisions.

I'm not sure who originally posted the link to this company but

Upton Tea Imports

has some great teas. Their sampler packs are great to try all of the different teas. I like the Bond Street English Breakfast Blend.

After you order they send out a great catalog with TNs on all of their teas.

Thanks, KillerB.

Bought a tea brewer last week. And, ordered some Earl Grey (loose tea). I see what you guys are saying about Earl Grey. But, since I am very familiar with Earl Grey, I ordered it (to compare).

Disclaimer: I am not a tea drinker. I am a coffee guy. If & when I do drink tea, I always put a good amount of sugar to make it taste better. And, never really enjoyed the watery, unrefreshing, stale aftertaste.

So, in the last week or so, I took a tea bag of Earl Grey (Bigelow) & tasted it side-by-side against this new loose tea (Earl Grey) that I ordered & brewed.

To be fair, I also tasted blind as I had my eyes covered & my wife was pouring/feeding the 2 teas to me.

Yep. A joke. As usual, what a difference. The difference is so obvious, it’s funny. This is tea. No sugar needed @ all. I think that this is 1st time in my life that I am drinking tea w/o sugar &/or lemon added. The taste & the finish is so smooth & long lasting & pleasant. Yep, what a difference. Another believer.

Those times that I will desire some tea, this is the way I will do it from now on.

Now what to do with all those tea boxes? Serve when non-tea/coffee geeks come over, I guess...

The same can be said for coffee, KillerB.

As far as tea goes, KillerB. I am trying to learn that. Already I see the difference. A world of difference, you are correct. Of course.

i've had BAD tea in just about every corner of this planet..?? and i've had the best, right here in my own little kitchen. in AMERICA!

That's funny & so true.