Spyderco Forums

Just a note on the 'over roasting' of coffee....This comes from our French cousins and their 'cafe culture'-
Coffee is expensive- but used to be way, way more expensive.
The easiest way to get more cups from a given amount of beans is to over-roast it to nearly burnt- you'll get more cups of dark brown drink from a smaller amount of beans....Meaning your profit per cup goes up- true, the actual flavour might be unpleasant, but who cares if your burning a Gauloise at the same time- chances are the subtleties of a medium roast wouldn't be tasted anyways.
This isn't anything new and has been the practice for at least 200 years in Europe (Thank you Mr Len Deighton! )

This is the approach that all of the coffee chains use to this day- it's why Starbucks et al's 'house blend' will always taste burnt to someone who roasts their own or is used to lighter blends: or indeed to someone who enjoys tea on a regular basis.
I always go for a light-medium roast to start with, then rarely work my way up to anything darker- I find most beans, if fresh, give the full coffee profile without needing to be turned into little piece of charcoal

I would point out ( being from the tea drinking nation par excellence) that going with a named varietal or region of tea from a recognised tea house will get you a quality of tea of an order of magnitude better than a common 'named brand' without a clear indication of the tea- Buy (say) PG Tips or Tazo and what you are normally getting are the floor-sweepings left over when the Twinnings stuff was bagged up

I would also look at your water hardness- soft water and hard water have different ionic salts dissolved, which result in muting or accentuating different sections of the flavour profile.
Filtered water contains a high proportion of Sodium ions, again which can impact on the 'success' of your chosen tea blend....Experiment with different waters and you'll be suprised- Oh, and never reboil the kettle: it drives all the oxygen from the water resulting in a 'flat' taste.

My issue is with strings on the teabags, not tea bags themselves (except the ones that taste like cardboard). If you ever get a chance to go into a tea shop like Ten Ren you can taste the difference in the tea.
I just came back from Turkey and enjoy the tea there quite a bit, rather brisk. I still refuse to drink Lipton.

I never learned to like the taste of coffee. Even just the *smell* of coffee is as offensive to me as cigarette smoke. Tried it everywhere from black to loaded with sugar, cream, whatever, even in candy mixed with chocolate, that just ruins the candy for me.

But I drink a lot of tea. First thing I do when I get to work in the morning is make myself some hot tea. And since I have a weight problem I am trying to cut out soft drinks, and drink iced tea with my meals instead. I do sweeten my tea, but I figure that is still far less calories than I would get in a Dr. Pepper or Coke.

Rooibos is great tea also. It has several different names. We work with some South Africans who introduced it to us and it is quite good, especially for late night. Not sure if it has made it abroad or not. Give it a try.

I prefer tea to coffee myself . I generally drink black tea and try to mix up which one I buy. I tend to brew it strong and like milk and a really good local honey in it. I always buy loose leaf tea and always make my tea in a French press. Does anybody else use a French press to brew tea? It is basically just a way to brew loose leaf tea and then strain it.

bearfacedkiller wrote: Does anybody else use a French press to brew tea? It is basically just a way to brew loose leaf tea and then strain it.

Similar. I use a Bodum tea pot. It's kinda like a small French press in a glass teapot. Works very well.

Ken

Very nice. I figured someone did. I have had the same french press for over ten years and when I got into loose tea I just started using it because I had it around. I have been given tea pots like that at a few sushi restaurants that I have been to.

I have been enjoying this tea lately.
http://theteaspot.com/bolder-breakfast- ... ?catid=253" target="_blank

I have tried many of their teas as they area local company and it is available readily here. They has so many options I don't know if I could ever try them all.

That sounds delicious!

Ken

Tea is not a wonder liquid.
You can find beneficial list of tea as well negative lists.

Tea possible prevents cancers.
Tea possible causes cancers.

etc

:D

Divo wrote:Tea is not a wonder liquid.
You can find beneficial list of tea as well negative lists.

Tea possible prevents cancers.
Tea possible causes cancers.

etc

:D

Breathing causes cancer these days.

Very insightful, thanks. :D

bearfacedkiller wrote:

Divo wrote:Tea is not a wonder liquid.
You can find beneficial list of tea as well negative lists.

Tea possible prevents cancers.
Tea possible causes cancers.

etc

:D

Breathing causes cancer these days.

Very insightful, thanks. :D

Well, that seals it. I'm going back to rum for my morning cup!

Ken

Quick question for you tea connoisseurs... How long do you consider your tea "fresh"? I've given my experiece in coffee but I don't have a good baseline for tea...

So, you buy a box of Twinnings at the grocery (?) If it's not gone in.., a month? 6 months? A year? Longer? You pitch it?

Ken

demoncase wrote: I would point out ( being from the tea drinking nation par excellence) that going with a named varietal or region of tea from a recognised tea house will get you a quality of tea of an order of magnitude better than a common 'named brand' without a clear indication of the tea- Buy (say) PG Tips or Tazo and what you are normally getting are the floor-sweepings left over when the Twinnings stuff was bagged up

Absolutely. As I pointed out in the beginning, on buying those teas you mentioned, the customer is getting the leftovers (sweepings) from the tea the rest of the world drinks. Tea direct from a good plantation or tea house will always be far better. However, these teas are, sadly, hard to find for the average consumer.

I just got back from a 3 day stay with the heart doctor. He did not, thankfully, find anything permanently wrong. However, I have to stay away from all coffee for the next two months. But guess what? I can drink TEA!

kbuzbee wrote:Quick question for you tea connoisseurs... How long do you consider your tea "fresh"? I've given my experiece in coffee but I don't have a good baseline for tea...

So, you buy a box of Twinnings at the grocery (?) If it's not gone in.., a month? 6 months? A year? Longer? You pitch it?

Ken

Good question, most say about 6 months to a year but it can be longer in a freezer. I don't notice tea going stale like I do coffee after a while. I usually drink black tea but some of the fresher green teas might be more sensitive.

As a side question. Does anyone know if I fine grind tea can I brew it like cappuccino?

Tea will usually stay good, if properly stored, for 6 to eight months. Of course, it will not be at peak flavor. If frozen it will last about 2 years, but I personally think it loses a bit of something. It is not bad, however.

As for the cappuccino idea, that is interesting. Why don't you experiment with it and let us know? I would love to know the results and how it tastes.
I found a few places that offered recipes for all tea cappuccino so it has been done. Starbucks makes one, too, but I think they also add coffee.

Thanks for the info on freshness. About what i would have thought.

Skidoosh wrote:As a side question. Does anyone know if I fine grind tea can I brew it like cappuccino?

Probably/kinda/sorta...

In green tea they make VERY finely ground (like talc) powders called Matcha and Sencha. You just whisk these directly into hot water. These are the teas used in the traditional Jaoanese tea ceremony. (Hot water in a pot, bamboo "spoon" to measure the tea, bamboo whisk to mix it in the cup etc) I've tried both. They were okay but not something I'd want on a daily basis. Similar concept, at least as a basis, but no frothed milk or sugar.

Ken

I too am a tea lover. But I'm as discriminating about my tea as I am my coffee. We here where I work are blessed with some of the very best coffee i.e. Jamaican Blue, Guatemalen, Kenya AA, Samatra, Kona and several variants of Columbian. In other words we are about as spoiled and over-pampered as some of the Kennedy and Rockefeller families when it comes to our coffee drinking here where I work and live.

I also have become a conniseur of extremely fine teas. We are blessed with an excellent Tea Shop here at Crown Center in downtown Kansas City known as the "SHANG" Tea Co. They have some of the finest white tea I've ever put my lips to. They also have some orange and black pekoe teas that make Lipton and Bigelow look like colored water; If even that acceptable.

But there is one tea I'm extremely fond of that I hear very few people ever talk about >> And our great Spyder Brothers and Sisters from South Africa know exactly what I'm talking about. There is a tea that grows near the "Cape Of Good Hope" on the Southern side of South Africa known as "Rooibos Tea". Many refer to this great tea as "Red Bush" tea but my friends at my local health food store and the herb shop next to it both call it "Rooibos" tea>> and that's what most people call it that market it here in the USA.

Rooibos Tea is sort of a different type of tea all together. It doesn't have any caffiene content that I know of but it has properties that far overtake most fine teas. Rooibos Tea has just about every essential trace mineral and anti-oxidant needed for superior health. I've heard that drinking one or two cups of Rooibos Tea will more than supply an individual all the essential trace minerals. It has a very fruity and refreshing flavor that I've yet to match from any other herbal tea I've ever drank.

I wish some of you great Spyder Brothers and Sisters from South Africa would chime in and tell the Spyder World about Rooibos Tea which is found near the Cape Of Good Hope at the southern tip of South Africa

That's one I've been meaning to try JD. Thanks for bringing it up.

Ken

I'm not generally fond of herbal teas, but I've had Twinings Rooibos and, while I don't know about the health claims, it's quite good tasting.