What? You folks are all nuts.
Tea goes in the kettle and is boiled in the water- usually I forget, and about half the water ends up boiled off. So I’m left with a pitch black tea that has the opacity of coffee. Perfect.
On a slightly more serious note: is there a tea equivalent of espresso? And if so, how might one make such a thing?
Really? I’d always thought Pu-erh tea was a pretty light brew. Every preparation of it I’ve seen has been lovely looking, but not the relatively dense and velvety texture and impact a shot of espresso brings…
Though, there’s a guy here at work doing research on Pu-erh, and I’ve been told he’s more than happy to brew some and talk your ear off about it, so maybe I should pay him a visit?
I don’t know about the tea version of espresso, but there is a tea version of a latte that I love. Indian Chai spice. There are a bunch of different ways to make it, depending on the part of India, and in every case it’s super satisfying and very rich.
Good lord, people weigh out their tea to the gram? Lighten up, folks. I drink a lot of tea, and unfortunately/fortunately am particularly addicted to expensive Taiwan teas. I just toss in what looks right, more or less, depending on how strong I want it to be. Get a scoop if you must, and remember how much is about right-a scale is massive overkill.
Not ‘dong ding,’ which is what it says in Chinese? Frozen Summit.
You should try this stuff @frauenfelder:
Though its unrelentingly pedantic, and has some issues. Its a pretty good summary of how to properly brew tea in the British style. China, Japan, Russia, India, and god knows where else brew differently, using different kinds of tea, and thereby brew slightly different tea. None of them are any more or less authentic or valid than any of the others. Personally I happen to prefer the British style, having been raised with it. But your mileage may vary, and your preference doesn’t make Orwell wrong.
good catch. looks like, at a glance, I didn’t parse the english properly. just saw what i wanted to see, I guess.
thanks for the translation 
I’ve just been using my tea-ball like a scoop into the loose tea. scoop tea to level with one hemisphere, close ball, put it in the mug, and pour over enough water to mostly fill that large-ish coffee mug gives me what I want. I think it’s considered stronger than average?
You could use my grandfather’s method, but it takes all day:
At breakfast, use a small pot that holds a mug and a half of tea, put in two tea bags of King Cole and boiling water. Wait a bit for the rest of the breakfast then pour out one mug’s worth. Add some Carnations Evaporated Milk from a can punctured with a knife.
At lunchtime, add one tea bag to the above pot, boiling water, wait a bit, pour, add the Carnations, have tea.
Then at dinner, add yet another tea bag, boiling water. Wait, pour out, add the Carnations, have tea.
That’s last mug’s tea is like espresso.
Whatever you enjoy most is exactly the right amount!
Happy to translate. One of my theoretically useful and lucrative skills that is just a fun hobby. Useful when traveling in certain areas, I suppose.
Make sure you’ve got some time to spare, since he sounds like a recent convert! But yes, “relatively dense and velvety texture” is almost word-for-word how experts describe Pu-erh. The real stuff, though: the kind that has been tightly packed in discs for years and you just break off a tiny amount at a time when you need it (and can reuse that pinch at least a couple of times). If it’s loose leaf, it’s not the real McCoy.
Now, does it rise to the opaqueness of espresso? No. But if that’s what you’re striving for in tea, that’s the one to try.
The good stuff can be very expensive, which is all the more reason to let your co-worker introduce you to the joys of the tea!
I was going to recommend Tetley’s British Blend for daily use.
Good thing you didn’t.
But, didn’t I just do it then?
I hope not.
Barry’s Tea is for heretics. Tetley’s British Blend is the True Way of The Leaf!
I’ll second the recommendation of Upton Tea. I’ve purchased my teas from them for over 20 years and they’re always reliable and reasonably priced. If you want something fast brewing (as in pour nearly boiling water over it and you’re almost done fast) look for C.T.C style tea. It stands for Cut Tear Curl and is a particular type of processing the tea that makes it fast brewing. My current favorites from Upton are River Shannon Breakfast Blend, Strathdon Estate CTC, Assam CTC BOP Estate Blend Organic (my go to tea), Orange Spice Imperial, Thé Melange Russe, and Chai Spice Tea. Have fun exploring!
DH likes his Charleston Plantation tea, which is lighter and seemingly has fewer tannins than the OTC varieties commonly available in US supermarkets. This week, our local markets had a sale on Yama-Moto-Yama oolong, which I like very well; it’s what many people associate with generic Chinese restaurants. The taste brings back memories.
Wait, is your grandfather supposed to be a gourmet or a barbarian? 
