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You will normally buy your tea in either loose tea leaves or in tea bags, and you will find a big variety from around the world, now it depending on your taste if you want tea leaves from Asia, Africa, South America, or other nations who are offering this wonderful drink, China is well-knowing for their tea and that is where the whole story about tea started.
Tea was discovered in China nearly five thousand years ago, the plant, botanical name Camellia Sinensis, was first known there, and over the years cultivated in other parts of the world, I’m sure you will be amazed to learn there are some 1,500 different varieties of tea.
You will find teas with different health benefits, so the question is to find the right tea to help you, you may like a tea to calm you before going to bed, or for a bad stomach, there are many choices for help whatever your symptoms are, though it is recognized as a medical drink, it is advisable to consult your doctor if the symptoms continue.
It is a joy to have a lovely brewed cup or mug of tea, and it comes with different flavors, if you buy it with a taste of berries the flavor is added, and many of them; anyway, in my opinion, is with far too much on perfume side in the taste, and those you will find mostly in teabags, but to buy a variety box of Teabags is considered a lovely gift for any occasions for the tea lover.
Now if you buy the loose tea leaves with a taste of berry or other fruit, the taste it is normally coming from dry small pieces of berries or fruit.
The different tea sorts come in: Black, Green, Oolong, White, and Pu-erh, depending on when they pick the leaves, the taste depends as well on the condition of the soil and climate. Tea contains caffeine but you can get it decaffeinated, something to think about if you want it close to bedtime.
Tea is normally served in big cups or mugs, where coffee normally will be served in small or middle size cups though in some places you can get it mugs.
Normally you will boil the water but only up to 185-degree F or 85 Celsius, remember to heat the mug or teapot with hot water; then threw the water out before starting on the brew.
Before using a new mug or teapot, you will have to make a brew to “wash the tea leaves”, it is all about to put some taste into the pot, so don’t drink it, if you have bought a clay pot, remember no dishwashing, no microwave, and no use of any dishwashing liquid. A clay teapot will take the taste of the tea leaves, so it is advised to brew with the flavor each time.
There are a lot of mugs and pots to choose from, but most mugs or teapots are made from china or glass, and they are normally able to go into the microwave and dishwasher if there are stains, a bit of fresh lemon clear it at once.
Most teapots have an infuser, so measure the number of loose tea leaves, you want to use to get a brew after your taste, we all use different measures depending on the leaves and our taste, how strong the brew should be, you will have to try it yourself: the measure and time the tea leaves should be in the mug or teapot. I recommend removing the tea leaves or the tea can be bitter in the taste. If you use teabags they should be removed as well after a time.
So, pick your favorite tea, boil water to heat the mug or teapot, through the water away, add the water to mug or pot, add the tea bag or tea leaves, leave it until it is to your taste.
Tea lovers can’t agree which is the right way to drink it: with only milk, with milk and sugar, with only sugar or none of the above.
Did you know in some parts of Britain in the English language Tea means as well dinner, supper or evening meal, my first language is not English and we all have to learn, so one day a lovely lady; who later became a friend, later called in, and I asked if she wanted tea? to where she answered:” No I’m already cooking”. Little did I know it was the same as dinner. Next time I asked: “will you like a cup of tea?”
Something lovely for Grandma
Then you have the cream tea, which is tea with a scone enjoyed with Clotted Cream and Jam, a very rich sort of mid-afternoon meal, and here depending on where you live, the question is what to add to the scone first: The Cream or Jam?
Then you have: Afternoon Tea, which is with sandwiches, cakes, scones, a pie, and a little dessert-like apple crumble? A meal, served late afternoon in England.
In the summertime is commend cold or “ice tea”, as it is called, it is normally in reality only tea gone cold, but it is refreshing, and it is sold in bottles in stores.
Some claim to be able to tell you your futures in the tea leaves, it was mostly practiced by Romani Gypsies, you can even find teacups crafted only for the purpose of fortune-telling, you can recognize them with the arcane symbols inside the cup and on the saucers. It was especially popular in the 1920s where fortune-telling cafes were opened around in towns and tea reading was offered.
But in the States, there was a law against fortune-telling, so in the Tea cafes; the tellers were not allowed to take money from people for the “entertainment” so most of the payments were done with a treat of meals or beverages for the teller, though a small tip was allowed for the “amusement”.
My favorite tea is Earl Grey, I make it in a pot with tea leaves in a strainer, I leave the strainer in the pot until the color of the water is golden, then my tea is ready.