"Moresugarplease" is one word, right?

[HD135]

General forum where most everything is a topic of interest, right? Well here is a topic that is trivial but for some reason is of interest to me: Tea and Brits. Tea because of its taste and Brits because they are the world renown experts.
My experience with tea doesn't stretch far past a jar of Lipton's. It must say presweetened on the label too. If not sugarized then please start me off with 4 lumps but keep the sweetener close by.
What's that you say? "Uncultured, low foreheaded, nose picken, yank"! When it comes to tea you are completely justified branding me as such. So educate me on what makes a good tasting cup of tea besides a 50% proportion of sugar. Is it the type of tea or an acquired taste or.............

[BADDOG]

Hello HD135,

Tea is a British obsession my friend! We are addicted to the bloody stuff! In time of crisis we put the kettle on a make a nice hot cuppa! It wakes us up in the morning, much like you Ameircans having your first cup of coffee. Incidentally we are now drinking more coffee than we used to but that's another story.

I drink PG tips which is, in my opinion is the best tea on the market but there are literally hundreds of varietites from the posh Earl Grey to the humble super market own brand.

Lets face it, in our past history it was tea that led to that Boston tea party and that led to the birth of a new nation, your very own United States! It was tea that oiled the British Empire the largest Empire in the history of the world. With out tea, Britain would not have risen to such heights of power and when the Empire collapsed, as all Empires do, what did we do to console ourselves? We drank lots of tea lol lol!

Some experts say that tea contains certain elements that can help to prevent cancer and strengthen the heart. All I know is this, there are very few British people who don't drink the stuff by the gallon!

I suppose it's just a British thing, my Uncle who served in Burma during World War 2 all says that the only thing that kept them going when the Japanese were all over them was the thought that when they could relax, they could settle down and drink a nice hot cuppa!

One day HD I hope I can meet you and make you a nice cup of real English tea mate lol lol! Hope this answers a few of your questions old son.

Warm Regards

BADDOG
ENGLAND (TEA DRINKING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!)

"CAVE CANUM"

[WiCkEd]

EXACT MEASUREMENTS WHEN DRINKING TEA:

1 POT OF BOILING WATER W/ APPROXIMATELY 8 LIPTON TEA BAGS FOR TASTE,ADDED TO A GALLON CONTAINER & THEN WITH THE ADDITION OF 2/3RDS SUGAR TO THE ENTIRE GALLON IS MY FAV!!! (TRY IT,THATS HOW I LIKE MINE)

OH AND I GO THRU APPROXIMATELY 1 GALLON OF TEA EVERY DAY!!!

[zza1pqx]

The addition of too much sugar too tea is a worldwide affliction and is probably done in England as much as anywhere else.
A huge mug of tea with next to no milk sat next to a really fatty fried breakfast is still a popular way to start the day in the UK. So even though the elements of Tea that are well known to improve health are there, they dont have a huge affect on the population as a whole.

I make tea in the mug. Has to be a big one too. PG Tips is the best Tea because its got a good all round taste, has a funny shaped bag which brews quickly so you dont have to risk the breakdown of the parts that make tea taste good into the parts that make tea taste overdone and nasty, which happens if you leave the bag in the water too long. (Stewing) and also PG tips is by far the cheapest of the popular brands.

So. PG Pyramid bag in big mug. Add the water straight from the boiling kettle until the water reaches 5mm from the top.
Leave it for at least 3 minutes and then stir and strain for a further 60 seconds. ONLY then do you put the milk or sugar in (if thats your bag)
The milk amount should be just enough so the meniscus doesnt look like water, but no more. You shouldnt actually have the taste of milk after finishing your mouthful. For that reason semi-skimmed (half fat) milk is probably the optimum type.

Tea such as PG shouldnt be drunk black. It is generally nothing more than a blend of tea dregs, the powder left over from the good stuff in bags that act as filters and doesnt really suit the addition of sugar and lemon.
If thats what you are after then the best bet is to take a tip from the real tea afficionados of this world, the southern and eastern asians where tea comes from and has been drunk since before the brits left the caves.

Treat yourself to a whole green tea, stewed for at least 5 minutes and strained to remove the leaves.
Now that is an aqquired taste for many but Lotus Green is a good start for steady Tea Drinkers who want to try the real stuff.

[Shohan Gen]

Moresugarplease is most definitely one word. Similar to "cardealership," "shuthef*ckup," or "whatsthat."

[HD135]

Never considered the importance of tea in the establishment of the British empire. Oh yes we studied it but only these many years later has it become of interest. Hence my initial ignorance.
"Wicked's" concoction looks suspiciously close to my family's recipe. The proportions are only slightly different from our own formula which is heavier on the sugar at the expense of tea.
"Milkintea" ??!?! Hmmm, in all honesty I've never heard of such a thing. The resident tea expert (wife) has stepped out so I'm unable to verify my uncultured stupidity.
I'll see if I can find some of the twice suggested "PG tips" tea and giveitago.
Wife returned and comfirmed my ignorance though she doesn't personally add milk to her tea. She drinks what I refer to as designer teas. They have names like "Essence of Sutra with MiMi orange bits". Needless to say her credibility as an tea expert is in question.

[ArcticWolf]

Just remember what us "Boston-ians" told you about your tea too!

Texas has their "Remember the Alamo"..

We have our "Boston Tea Party Anyone?"

[zza1pqx]

Most herball designer teas are a con. Made of rosehip and flavourings, however your wife is quite correct in that adding milk to most fancy teas belies the point of them in the first place which is that they are experiences in themselves and save the addition of sugars, which with herbal teas should be kept to natural sources such as honey or molasses, they should be kept sacrasanct.
Most British peoples Tea is not fancy as I said. Its usually a self filtering bag filled with over tanned dust.
Milk in these teas is often seen as neccessary because it takes the edge of the bittereness associated with these brands.

[HD135]

A couple of thoughts;

Is "Shohan Gen" any relation to the legendary father of tea, chinese emperor "Shen Nong"?

Artic Wolf, good point! Yanks have made there own contributions to the world of tea though the Brits may consider that one infamous.
While surfing the net recently I discovered a few more to add to the harbor incident:
First, "iced tea was created at the World's Fair in St. Louis" and second, "Thomas Sullivan of New York developed the concept of tea in a bag".
Clever, obscure, but interesting facts that will make one the life of any party.

Personally I never drink anything that is "designer like" whether it be coffee or tea. After straining my memory I was able to dredge up a fond recollection from years past involving tea. On occassion, my mother would make what she referred to as "sun tea". Placing tea bags in a gallon jug of water and setting it in the sun for an unremembered duration. This was done in Phoenix, Arizona where temperatures above 110 degrees F (approx 43 degrees C) are not uncommon. I remember it as being quite a treat after proper sugarization.