Tea is such a different thing in the States than the U.K. I think. I drink up to 2 liters a day of iced unsweetened tea. Sweet tea is popular around here. I drink hot tea of all kinds on special occasions, my favorite being oolong.

 

Pretty typical - developed by the Chinese, adopted by the British, guzzled by the Americans.

 

 

 

¹I found that in the US most restaurants brew tea at the same temperature as coffee, and that's not hot enough to develop the real flavour.

 

But I've way too many UK citizens pouring boiling water over the tea, and that's not doing youself a favour either...you're over-brewing it... especially black teas....

 

although with over-smoked lapsuchong or watchemacallit teas, it doesn't matter anyway... you feel like drinking from an ashtray)

 

 

Nope if you're waiting for your water to heavy boil, it's way too hot... The water should be simmering (frémissant in French), which means roughly 95°C...  so the surface should have ripples, but not boils

 

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I much prefer green teas anyway... drink it like the Arabs and Africans do (but not nearly as sweet)

 

Don't like the third tea either (which means that they use the same tea three times, everytime with much less sugar....

 

 

As I said - it depends on the type of tea, and even in black teas it depends on the variety - Brits prefer strong Indian tea, and that requires freshly boiled water (between 98-99°C) that still contains plenty of oxygen in it (never re-boil the water). The way the French brew tea is okay - that odd 3°C isn't going to make as much difference, it just takes a little longer to brew - anyway, the French (and Belgians) brew far better coffee than tea - we're getting better at coffee, but still tend to over-roast the beans to bitterness.

 

funny that the English are so secular and insular, except when it comes to finding responsability for their flaws

Secular??    ... not of this church at least.

 

But yup - that's true - that's why we always see the funny side of any stereotyped insult, since it cannot possibly apply to us personally, but some generic conglomeration of our national identity that we can chose to associate or disassociate with on a whim

 

 ...and I can see you are jealous from here.

 

 

Like you've got nooooooo idea!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

For once we agree

 

(pre-heat the pot of course, never make tea in a cold teapot).

 

The more I drink it, the more I'm liking white tea - (no milk, no sugar) - but yes, not boiling water and long infusion.

 

 

Flavoured teas are an abomination - that's like some demented new-age nonalcoholic alcoh-pop.

It's the only way I can stand it.  I guess I'm in the minority of those who don't like tea.

When I make a white tea / fruit iced tea I'll use a little bit of raw honey to counter the tart of the fruit.

When I drink Irish Breakfast tea I use a little milk and rock sugar to counter the initial taste of that blend which is uncharacteristically strong and designed to be used with milk.

 

Not that I chew on tea leaves  . I mean I do put some hot water on it.

 

Uh, “far out”, Catherwood, just roll us a couple of “bombers” and leave them on the side table.

 

green teas are best drunk slightly sugared, IMHO, but that's all

Indeed morroccan mint teas are about the ony way I can ingest mint.

white tea, I like it, but I must say that it's difficult to brew it good

 

in special tea shops, there are mixes (morrocan mixes with dates, flowers) that can be brewed 20-minutes at room temperature ... awesome

 

 

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Not much a coffee man though (except beans crushed in chocolate), but once in a while an expresso in which I add cream (not milk) and sugar >>> I tried  some of those origin cups of coffee like Blue Mountain Jamaica or Costa Rica in specialized shop... I sip it black at first, and then I drown it in cream and sugar....  simply can't enjoy it black... I guess it's not my cuppa...

 

Now, why did nobody tell me?

 

If we're talking that dominant Chinese tea I get at restaurants (forget the name) then I put nothing in.

 

The different types of tea are essentially produced from similar varieties of the same plant, it is how they are processed after picking that determines the colour and variety of tea. As different processes are involved the active substances (oils and flavanols) locked within the dried leaf require different process to release them. Without going into too much detail, the degree of wilt, bruising and oxidisation that the leaf goes through determines the amount of heat needed to produce an infusion (these process also set the colour - the darker it is the more it has oxidised - the more it is wilted the paler it is - so green is generally neutral - no wilt and no oxidisation)  - for fully oxidised leaves (black tea) almost boiling water is needed, while partially oxidised teas like oolong require slightly less heat and unoxidised teas (green and white) require even less. Too much heat will result in bitterness, too little will not release the active substances. 

 

The shape of the pot (short and squat - almost spherical) is chosen to produce an even temperature distribution and uninterrupted leaf circulation in the water during infusion - coffee pot shape has an uneven temperature gradient and poor circulation.

 

 

Amazing tea. Really pricey, but you can squeeze out 4 infusions so it's not terrible. I love having some after going for a ride.

 

Some iced teas are good and Arizona's Arnold Palmer Half & Half is the greatest beverage to ever grace god's grey earth.

 

I drink more coffee but recently have taken to Red Bush tea as I want to cut out the caffeine.

Oh no it shouldn't. 

 

Depends on the tea and on your taste.  (Or if your British or not and what your milk is like)