Correct me if I got anything wrong, TA!
That is only a bit worse than what British people do with their tea. OK, theirs is reasonably fresh, but they let the teabag sit in the pot for ages and they commit the serious, undefendable crime of adding milk.
Milk only belongs in chai tea
Chai literally means tea. So chai tea is tea tea. It’s like pizza pie or ATM machine.
Yes and but that’s just how the distinction is made. Prime example: Shiba/Akita “Inu”. Inu is literally dog. Yet it refers to the purebred dog of Japan, not the american shitmix (no shade, theres just not much consistency with what they’re mixed with). Language evolves over time, even the dumb evolutions.
I don’t think they’re engaging in etymological reductionism.
Their argument is that instead of saying “milk only belongs in chai tea”, one could’ve just said “milk only belongs in chai”.
To be fair it’s better than my process for making tea for myself.
Tea bag, sugar, cold water all go into a mug and into the microwave for three minutes. I forget about it for roughly an hour, then drink it as is.
Ok honest question. Do Brits only let the tea soak for like 2-5 minutes? I always let it soak for longer, like 15 minutes otherwise I think it just doesn’t taste as good.
Edit: I probably should have clarified that, when I say 15 minutes, I was thinking about teabags. I only use teabags for stuff like lavender tea etc. Also I would never let black tea soak for 15 minutes, I’ve accidentally been there. Can’t recommend it.
I’m from the US so maybe not what you’re looking for, but for black tea you need a few things:
- 212° water (freedom units) - must be boiling, not boiled-then-left-to-cool. I use an electric kettle. If your water isn’t hot enough your tea won’t steep effectively.
- Decent tea. If you’re steeping 15 minutes you might be drinking cheap tea made with fannings (essentially the tea dust that’s left over after the better quality products have been packaged). I drink Yorkshire Gold but this is a matter of preference.
- Milk and sugar to taste, but these should complement the tea. Tea should be the predominant flavor, it shouldn’t just taste like milk or sugar.
Here’s what you do:
- Heat the water to a rolling boil.
- While the water is still boiling, pour over the teabag. Pour slowly enough that you don’t rupture the bag.
- Steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the teabag. Don’t squeeze it out - this releases more tannins and your brew will be more bitter.
- (CONTROVERSIAL!) Add milk and sugar. Some people will tell you milk goes in first. These people are wrong.
Some people will talk at you about teapots and patinas but honestly if you’re an infrequent tea drinker it’s not worth bothering with.
Signed - an American anxiously awaiting all the UKians who will tell me I’m doing it wrong.
I don’t give a shit about patinas and just use a French press I got from Ikea. But I do have a programmable kettle set to 70 or 80 °C, virtually only use loose leaf green and oolong teas, and steep two minutes for the first steeping and 90 seconds for each subsequent one. (For black tea I just crank the temperature to boiling and keep everything else the same.)
That probably makes me snobbish enough to confuse people who don’t drink tea but amateurish enough to annoy the snobs.
In the end any approach is fine as long as you like the result.
