That was the best and strongest tea ever made in American history.
That explains a lot. You’d need a lot more tea leaves to make Boston harbour taste even slightly of tea.
That’s not a problem for me though. Truth be told, I don’t even like tea.
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The amount of nationalist pride some people put in their ability to steep dried leaves in hot water has always seemed kind of silly to me.
The vast majority of the work and skill that goes into making a decent cup of tea (or coffee) comes from the people who have to actually grow, harvest and process the plants people use to flavor their hot water.
It’s like taking immense pride in your ability to make toasted bread without giving a second thought to the baker who did 99% of the work.
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I had some tea in Japan which was rather salty. It was quite a shock.
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I knew a guy who did this. Just a small pinch on top of the grounds.
Forgot all about that till today. I can’t even remember if I tried it or not myself - this was more than a couple decades ago - if so, I imagine it didn’t make that much of a difference to me. Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll give it a go. 
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I don’t get it either, even after living in the UK for over 20 years, but I’m not British, so maybe there still is something about the whole silly business that I just don’t get.
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as an American who searched the internet to learn how to make better tea, these are the key points I found:
to state the obvious: use boiling water. some people are more picky about specific temps, but thinking you can just use warm water so you can drink it right away ain’t gonna cut it. use boiling water and drink when temp becomes palatable
herbal tea: not from actual tea plants. herbs and flowers etc that you make a drink from by brewing with hot water aka “tea”.
•go nuts. the below does not apply
black tea: the leaves of actual tea plants, “regular” tea. many varieties.
•if you let it steep longer than 4 minutes, it ruins the flavor. you can steep for less time if you like how that tastes, but more time is right out.
•if you want strong tea, use MORE, don’t let it steep longer.
•the tea in tea bags is the scraps left over from processing the leaves. there are rumors that it’s swept off the floor. there are brands that still accomplish a decent product, though, if you’re on a budget/drink a ton of tea, or are not discerning/nerdy about tea.
•the hippie co-op in my city is the sure shot for great loose tea leaves sold in bulk bins, you can buy as much or as little as you want.
•the caffeine dissolves almost immediately. you can make decaf yourself by letting it steep for a few seconds and pouring the water out, then brewing as normal with the same tea. some people are really into the taste of brewing the same tea for multiple steeps. just be aware that only the first steep is ever caffeinated.
green tea: the steep time is different, but I forget if it’s more or less, so check that if you prefer green tea
there is apparently something called “white tea” with what is described as “delicate” flavor for advanced brewers with specialized palates.
thank you for listening to my TED talk.
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Sorry, I could have saved you some time there. Short and to the point for us USians:
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That’s highly debatable. I saw a detailed presentation by the owners of a Taiwanese tea house who made a strong case that different types of tea leaves need to be steeped at different temperatures, and they kept several kettles set to different temperatures in their shop to accommodate that. Black tea can handle boiling water, but many experts believe that white tea, for example, should be steeped at just 85° C or so.
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Absolutely right. I usually follow directions on the bag for non-black tea as far as temperature and time goes. Works pretty well. But sometimes I’ll find a green tea and it says to use boiling water, then I ignore the instructions. Follow the instructions unless they seem dumb, that’s what I always say!
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Edit to add…
This is England; bitterness is the point. We are all bitter, all the time.
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My mum went to a café in a central European nation some decades back. They served various Tisanes; bringing small stoves, water, and kits of twigs, leaves, etc to the customers’ tables. The menu showed how long each brew needed in order to bring out the best flavours. Really neat.
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With all tea, especially green tea: use water with a low degree of calcium carbonates and magnesium carbonates.
Especially with green teas.
Do not use boiling water, but water that has boiled and has now the right temperature for your tea. Black: hot, could be right after boiling. Pu Ehr (‘red’ tea): 80 to 90°C, depending on the tea. 85 usually is good. Green teas: VERY much depending on the tea, but always below 90°C. White tea: same. There are some green and white teas which taste terrible if steeped in water hotter than 60°C on the first steep.
Sorry, not correct. Depends extremely on the leaves picked and the processing of the tea leaves.
White tea, e.g., are nearly unprocessed young, hairy leaves, and the caffeine can’t be extracted quickly. Green tee has very, very different characteristics in regard to how much of the various solubles including caffeine is extracted at what time. (And of course, temperature plays a role, as well as the water. See above.)
Green teas can be crushed, rolled, steamed, roasted, and semi-fermented to different degrees. (Ok, regarding Oolongs as green teas could start a war between Taiwan and mainland China, I wager, but I digress…) Black teas are longer fermented. Fermentation methods also differ.
Beforehand, the condition the plants experience has an impact. Grow a plant tea fully shaded, and it’s leaves will be rather delicate, thin and broader. Grow it shaded in a particular timeframe, and the leaves will be different. Grow it in full sunlight, and the leaves will be smaller, darker, thicker. Both the release time and the amount of caffeine are influenced by the shading conditions. Furthermore, soil, climate and weather conditions have their influence as well. I furthermore expect that fermentation results will be influenced by all of this plus the particular microbes potentially involved. Storage of the finished tea is another factor.
You know, tea is really an interesting thing. And yes, you can do a lot of stuff to the leaves of that species which makes totally different drinks.
Oh, and regarding brewing tea for a long time, I suggest looking at samovars, at the minted green teas of the Maghreb and, of course, the already mentioned teas with fermented yak butter…
One last thing: there are some publications in regard to tea scum, but it is rather interesting that what exactly it is and what causes it are - to the best of my knowledge - still scientifically debatable. Feel free to dig a bit. I found four publications on the issue some ten years ago - maybe something new has come up since?
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From the Principia Discordia, page 37
THE PARABLE OF THE BITTER TEA
by Rev. Dr. Hypocrates Magoun, P.P.
POEE PRIEST, Okinawa Cabal
When Hypoc was through meditating with St. Gulik, he went there into the kitchen where he busied himself with preparing the feast and in his endeavor, he found that there was some old tea in a pan left standing from the night before, when he had in his weakness forgot about its making and had let it sit steeping for 24 hours. It was dark and murky and it was Hypoc’s intention to use this old tea by diluting it with water. And again in his weakness, chose without further consideration and plunged into the physical labor of the preparations. It was then when deeply immersed in the pleasure of that trip, he had a sudden loud clear voice in his head saying “it is bitter tea that involves you so.” Hypoc heard the voice, but the struggle inside intensified, and the pattern, previously established with the physical laboring and the muscle messages coordinated and unified or perhaps coded, continued to exert their influence and Hypoc succummed to the pressure and he denied the voice.
And again he plunged into the physical orgy and completed the task, and Lo as the voice had predicted, the tea was bitter.
This has nothing to do with adding salt to tea or the rest of the discussion, with the exception of fnord.
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I think you have found us out.
There is a tiny clique of Brits who will defend their tea-beliefs to the death, instructing you on the right teapot, temperature, loose-leaf types and on and on.
But the majority of us just sling our favourite bag into a cup and have done.
(The majority of us know fuck-all about Cricket either, but we do enjoy baiting the rest of the world about it. Even though we’re not that good at Cricket, apparently).
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The dream is to be able to prepare consistently good tea by sticking to a routine. The caffeine helps to make this routine into a ritual. A problem arises when restaurants and cafes don’t serve tea that rises up to this imagined standard, and the transcription of the ritual serves as a note of protest.
It is similar to Parmigiano Reggiano denominazione di origine protetta. The end result is fairly distinctive, and it’s probably what people are paying for. Deviate too much from this quasi medieval ritual, and this distinctiveness is lost.
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Ooh, I cannot let that slide. Denominazione di origine protetta just means it’s a geographically protected term. Normally you see DOC on wine bottles, but it also applies to cheeses and other regional products. You could say it’s to hard cheese like champagne is to sparkling wines: it guarantees it’s from the region, not that it’s good.
Obligatory tea comment: the actual comment was eaten by fnords
It was defined here
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:C:2009:087:FULL
3.5. Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area
The farms rearing the dairy cows whose milk is to be processed into ‘Parmigiano Reggiano’ are located
within the defined geographical area.
The milk must be produced and processed within the defined geographical area. The milk obtained
from the evening milking and the morning milking is delivered in whole raw state to the dairy, in line
with production specifications. The milk from the morning milking is placed in copper vats and mixed
with that from the evening milking, partially skimmed by natural surface skimming. Native whey is
added to the milk. The use of selected starters is not permitted. Following coagulation, obtained
exclusively by the use of calf whey, the curd is broken up and cooked. After sedimentation, the
cheese mass is transferred to the appropriate moulds to form the wheels. Markings are then affixed.
After several days, the wheels are immersed in brine and then matured for a period of at least 12
months.
The minimum 12-month maturing must be carried out in the defined geographical area.
After the minimum maturing period, tests are carried out to check compliance with production
specifications.
While the regulation ensures that it is processed fully with the region (there was a dispute over whether this also include grating), it also implies that it is made in a certain way.
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