What Room do U Spend The Most Time In?

Time to "Poll" dance kids!

I'm a Sleepy-head, so I luvs me bedroom.

Howzabout You?

Bedroom. Honestly, i've made myself a little home in here.

It's got my TV, my computer, tables, radio and sound system, heater, fan, and camera. I eat, sleep and play in here.

I just go to the toilet on the occasion and that's my trip for the day

Kidding, but really, it does have all that. And i do basicly live in here.

I like to cook and, of course, make several cups of tea through the day, so I said kitchen.

Define "several". You mean 72, don't you?

This is you at 3am every night:


Ok - maybe you should start a thread to educate us on a decent cup of liquid crack. When I have tea (rare) it's the Lipton floor sweepings type.

Show me the light, Brother Rog"T"Brand!

I'd say more like 5 a day, which comes to the caffine of about 1 1/2 cups of coffee.

Tea basics-

Green Tea is prevented from oxidizing by steaming and dried after being picked.

Oolong Tea is allowed to oxidize for a few days, then steamed and dried, and tend to have a light floral or fruity taste.

Black Tea is oxidzed for up to a month, which turns the leaves black, before steaming and drying.

White Tea is just like Green Tea, except only the very tender end leaf buds are picked, which gives it a very light, smoth taste.

"Teas" made from herbs, like Chamomile, Rose Hips, Chicory, are not teas but Tisanes as they have no actual tea in them.


Tea is very much like wine, in that tea pants growing in different parts of the world, or even in an adjacent plantation can have quite different flavors. Some of the best, and most expensive teas, are known by the Estate they are grown on, with the Darjeeling region, below the Himalayas growing a wonderful, black teas with nutty or floral touches, Assams of China have a rich malty flavor, China Keemuns have a toasty taste, Chinese Yunnan, where tea plants originated, has a smooth sweet taste.

Lapsang Souchong has a natural smoky flavor, while Russian Caravan is a blend based on the teas the Russians would bring home. The Brits and other Europeans, as well as the U.S. would ship their tea home in ships, but the Russians would use caravans going overland. This took months, and the crates full of tea would be exposed to all those nightly campfires, so by the time it got to Russia it had a wonderfully smoky flavor.

If the tea is not in a bag it is called Loose Tea, and you strain the leaves out after being brewed. Some are done artistically, with the leaves formed into rings, or I've had Gunpowder Temple of Heaven tea which has the leaves hand rolled into little pellets, and one that had the long leaves tied together to form a 12 pointed star, and when brewed it would open up to resemble a flower.

There are teas that have added flavors, like Earl Grey which is exposed to a small citrus called Bergamot, which is sort of a minty-orange flavor, Jasmine flowers, Vanilla, etc. Tea is great at absorbing scents, so it's easy to flavor them this way- for good or bad.

There are also additions to the tea like Rose petals, Almonds, Mint, Cinnamon or another very popular choice for the Russians was the combined flavorings of Grapefruit, Lemon, Orange, Vanilla and Spices. A blend I really like is the Japanese Genmai Green, which combines Green tea with toasted Brown Rice.

English/Irish/Scottish Breakfast Teas are a combination of Assam, Ceylon and other teas that form a very strong cup.

Black teas should be made by combining the tea with fully boiling water, in a warm cup or pot, so the temperature doesn't drop and limit the brewing. Also the water should be fresh, as flat water will make flat tea. I'm not so stuck on tradition as to use a pot, etc. I find that by heating my mug of water in the microwave until it is fully boiling means the cup will be quite hot and maintain the temperature after adding the tea.

Oolong tea is best added just as the water is reaching boiling, while Green tea should be added a little before boiling, as each is a little more tender than black tea.

Tea should steep for about 3 to 5 minutes. Longer and you start to get bitter and astringent, so the idea is that to make strong or weak cups of tea, you don't cut or add brewing time, but adjust the amount of tea you add, which is an advantage of using loose leaves over tea bags.

Companies like Stash Tea, here in Oregon http://www.stashtea.com/ buy the best quality teas around the world. Cheaper teas are usually blends of the lesser quality teas which are grown in less ideal areas. The thing is, if someone has only had something like Lipton, they don't really know just how much better a good tea is.

I think I'm down to only 40 types of tea, but there was a time when I had over 60! And each one was distinctive and I'd choose by the mood I was in. So, I just don't have "tea" but actually make a choice on what kind to have.

Lecture over. Homework will be due after the weekend...

So what you're saying is that I'm not wild about tea because I've been drinking the equivalent of dog piss, right?

Seriously, I love to hear people talk about the things they are passionate about. And I really will go try some real tea now just to see what I'm missing.

Now onto my stupid questions:

1. If the tea is loose, how do you know how much to use?
   
2. How do you strain out the leaves after steeping?
   
3. When the waiter at the restaurant brings you out the "tepid" water and Lipton t-bag how hard do you punch him in the face?
   
4. The clock is ticking...What's the homework assignment?
   

So, do you ever drink Iced Teas? Or is that just CraZy talk?

Ah, as far as how much loose tea to use, I'd start with something like half a tablespoon, then you can decide if it's to strong, too weak or just right- I like mine on the strong side.

You can buy a box of tea bags to fill with your own tea, use what looks like a funnel with a mesh bottom which you place in the cup, fill with tea then pour boiling water over it, or you can pour the brewed tea through a strainer into the cup.

The Russians did their tea a bit different. They had what was called a Samovar, which held hot water in the lower portion, with a hollow tube running up that was filled with coal, pine cones, etc., while the top had a "tea pot" that held very concentrated brewed tea. Anytime, day or night, you could pour a small bit of tea in your cup, then add hot water. Also, because sugar was only available to the very wealthy, Russians used fruit jams to sweeten their tea.


I've given up ordering tea at restaurants, unless it is an actual tea shop. I did have Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C. once! That was true, very proper English tea!!!


I do like iced tea and in fact, iced tea seems to be best made with something like Lipton, as good quality teas just don't seem to taste right when iced. I especially like making sun tea, as the very slow and gentle brewing seems to keep the tea smooth.

"with a hollow tube running up that was filled with coal, pine cones, etc."

I'm missing the point of the hollow tube filled with coal or pine cones.


**This episode of "Tea Time in America" will continue in a few moments.**

Ah, I didn't make that part clear. They would burn whatever they could afford or find in the tube, which was surrounded by the water and topped by the "tea pot". So, it was like those instant hot water dispensers. The Russians had a saying, "To talk around the Samovar," which meant to take a great deal of time talking and consuming lots of tea, which with the samovar, was pretty much instant.

Aha! Thanks, comrade!