American style tea

[Homercidal]

So I came across an article on how terrible American tea is. Of course, the article was written by a Brit, so it had a certain level of scorn and derision.

But it got me thinking; What is the American way to have tea, and if it's so wrong, why do we keep making it this way?

The answer is that we don't just have one way to make tea. Since our country has a very large area that is very warm most of the year, Ice Tea has become the most popular version of the beverage. I'd go so far as to make the statement that I don't consider Iced Tea to be comparable to hot tea at all, anyway. But it IS one of the most popular beverage made form tea, so it must be included in the discussion if only for the sheer popularity.

Being from the northern portion of the US, when I drink tea, which is not very often, I will take iced tea or hot tea, depending on whether I want a refreshing cooling beverage, or something to warm me up. Most people I know drink hot coffee instead of hot tea, but regularly drink Iced Tea (mostly in the summer, but it's fairly popular in the winter, especially when eating out.)

In my experience the most common way to make hot tea here is to fill a cup with water, put it in the microwave, heat to boiling, and dropping in a bag of tea. Lipton, Red Rose, etc. are not as ubiquitous as they once were. Nowadays you are likely to see Twinnings, Tetleys, Bigelow, etc. being served.

This differs from the English (and possibly world) method of preparing tea by heating water in a kettle, pre-heating a pot, adding tea leaves to the pot, and pouring boiling hot water in the pot, then serving the tea into cups after an appropriate amount of steeping time. Some consider this a "ritual". Anyway, it's the approximation of the "proper" method of making a cup of tea.

So, what's the difference? How does a cup of proper tea differ from the way it's usually made? I'll be honest, I can't say that I've every had a proper cup of tea. Maybe the closest I came was last year when my daughter's roommate from Pakistan made me some sweetened tea with milk. It was ok. I'm assuming she followed the process that most outside the US use to make tea. Honestly, it didn't really taste any different to me (although I almost never drink any tea except plain Earl Grey.)

What is wrong with Iced Tea?

Why is Tea so popular with most of the world when it's considered so "meh" here?

For me personally, I don't understand the love affair the world has with tea. Everyone is different, but honestly I really don't know anyone who craves hot tea like I see they do in Britain and other areas of the world. A lot of people drink regular amounts of coffee. I generally will have one cup in the morning, maybe two if I'm sitting at home playing WoW on the weekend. Soda is maybe the most consumed beverage in the US, especially by the younger people.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

I put a round Tetley British Blend bag in a cup with water, then microwave for 1:20. It's become the only tea I like. Maybe there's more tea in the bag or something, it seems much more flavorful than other tea bags.

That's about how far I go with hot tea. Iced tea's great in the summer with some lemon. I do make kombucha, and drink it if I remember to get it out from under the scoby before it gets too crazy.

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

I've always used a kettle because that's how my grandparents did it. Pretty straight forward process: Kettle whistles, pour water into cup, throw in tea bag. Drink.

For the longest time though, I left the tea bag in the cup the entire time I was drinking it, then one of my friends, a Brit, called me out on it, saying it was "wrong." (He didn't give a real reason.)

Per his advice, I started steeping the tea bag for 3 - 5 minutes and then removed it and honestly, the tea tasted better. Regardless of if it was plain 'ole Lipton, or something more "fancy" like green tea with orange peel and ginger, I noticed that the tea was less acidic and didn't get "stronger" towards the end of the cup.

 

[DuckBrown]

I know lots of folks that are tea snobs and much prefer tea to coffee. I am one of them. Things I try to avoid:
- Tea bags: Whenever possible, I use loose leaf.
- Adding tea to water: That is just wrong. Hot water should be poured over the tea
- Lipton or similar: These are the Budweisers of tea

 

[dmtaylor]

I drank hot tea for years. Love Earl Grey. Like others have mentioned above, I could heat a cup of water in the microwave for about 1:30 and then do the 4-minute steep. 5 minutes is sometimes too astringent, so I learned to go for about 4, then pull the bag.

Also about 6 months ago, I quit drinking soda (Coca Cola) because the carbonation and acid began disrupting my digestive system severely. I'm getting old, in my 40s now, so I can't just consume anything I want anymore unfortunately. So anyway, I learned to brew my own sweet tea as a nice tasty alternative. I don't like to drink just plain water, so I decided that sweet tea would become my thing. I've brewed many many gallons since then. Initially I purchased all the commercial American brands, found that most of them suck although I do like Tradewinds. So also then I bought like a dozen different kinds of black teabags and whole leaf black teas. Just the plain black stuff, no spices or other sh** added. I got a whole bunch of English and Irish breakfast teas, which I found to be a lot more astringent unless steeped for less time, compared to Lipton or the American teas. It's not bad, just different. Through blind tasting after making about 10 batches side by side, I discovered BLINDLY that I actually liked Lipton bagged tea the second best!, and almost as much as my favorite, which is Cameron's whole leaf black (I think that's from Australia or UK??). That one, Cameron's whole leaf, is fruity and complex, I just love it. I figured out the right amounts to use by weight through trial and error. So here's how I make a gallon of my homebrewed sweet tea once or twice per week:

Boil 3.5 cups water in a quart container in the microwave for about 6-7 minutes. Remove and add tea and steep for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, place 7/8 cup sugar into a gallon jug with 3 quarts cold water and shake to dissolve. After the 4 minutes, pour off the hot black tea into the jug. Shake a little more to ensure well blended. Optional: Add 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or whatever flavoring you like. Usually I just drink it black & sweet with no flavor, that's the way I like it. Serve immediately over ice, or it also gets smoother and better tasting after about 24-48 hours in the refrigerator, after the tannins have a chance to mellow or settle out.

Yummy. I think I'll probably do this forever. It's not difficult, it's tasty, and it's not even expensive. The cheap teas can taste as good or maybe even better than the fancy teas. The breakfast style teas are really intended not for the faint of heart and are better suited to hot tea than cold sweet tea. If you like cold tea, try my methods above, with or without sugar.

 

[dyqik]

As a Brit, I suspect that the "American" method of making tea being referred to and complained about is the one that Brits Abroad* most often encounter and whine about. So it's not the home method of brewing tea, but that which they find in restaurants, cafes and hotels. This is found both in the US, and on The Continent (e.g. as perpetrated by The French):

A mug of hot water is poured, and brought to the table, along with a selection of individually packaged tea bags. By the time it arrives the water is at about 85 degrees**, far too cool to make tea. Fortunately, since the only "tea" you have is a little paper sachet of fannings and dust, which doesn't give the tea room to move, the low temperature of the water is the least of your worries.


*These are those people that engage in the very British tradition of going on vacation ("holiday") overseas in order to find out how they do things wrong over there and then complain about them. As opposed to staying at home and complaining about how things are being done wrong there.

**C, obviously, measuring in Fahrenheit is another of those things that they do wrong over here.

 

[Homercidal]

*These are those people that engage in the very British tradition of going on vacation ("holiday") overseas in order to find out how they do things wrong over there and then complain about them. As opposed to staying at home and complaining about how things are being done wrong there.

**C, obviously, measuring in Fahrenheit is another of those things that they do wrong over here.

Wow! That's a thing? Jeez...

Maybe I'm strange, but if I'm going abroad, I want to see how other people do things differently. I find other cultures and lifestyles interesting.

But that's a topic for another thread...

You may be right about ordering tea at restaurants. I don't do that. Mostly because I don't drink tea in general, but if I did order tea it would be unsweetened Iced Tea. I don't care much for sweet tea, although it is very popular Down South, and actually lots of people I know up north enjoy it too.

I suspect I might like it more if it were much less sweet than it's usually served. Maybe I will try making some at home and see.

 

[autobaun70]

I like "proper" English preparation fine, but my go to is definitely iced black tea (traditional American tea), but unlike most in this area, I prefer it with no sugar, sweetener, etc.

My new favorite is cold brewed Tazo green tea with lemongrass. 2 bags per quart of water (filtered, room temp). Let it sit for 2 hours up to a week. No need to remove the bags, and no worries about over extraction. Refrigerate after the initial 2 hours.

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

I like "proper" English preparation fine, but my go to is definitely iced black tea (traditional American tea), but unlike most in this area, I prefer it with no sugar, sweetener, etc.

My new favorite is cold brewed Tazo green tea with lemongrass. 2 bags per quart of water (filtered, room temp). Let it sit for 2 hours up to a week. No need to remove the bags, and no worries about over extraction. Refrigerate after the initial 2 hours.

Are you a fan or sun tea? I drink about 2 qts a day in the summer. I do one bag of tea (Lipton Black or Tazo Green) per quart of water and leave it out in the sun for 6 - 8 hours, then toss it in the fridge for about 6 hours and drink it "black."

 

[hunter_le five]

Black tea. Green tea. Oolong. Mint. Chamomile. Yerba Mate. Hot. Cold. With cream. Without. Fermented, or not. High quality stuff, or that yard mulch that Lipton sells. I like just about all kinds of tea.

Just don't give me sweet-tea. Everyone drinks that here. More like diabeetus tea. Yuck. Just tastes like sugar-water.

 

[autobaun70]

Are you a fan or sun tea? I drink about 2 qts a day in the summer. I do one bag of tea (Lipton Black or Tazo Green) per quart of water and leave it out in the sun for 6 - 8 hours, then toss it in the fridge for about 6 hours and drink it "black."

Not generally. I typically like hot prepared black tea, be it hot or cold served.

 

[madscientist451]

Saw the title and thought it was going to be about malt based "twisted tea"

 

[RustyHorn]

Wow! That's a thing? Jeez...

Maybe I'm strange, but if I'm going abroad, I want to see how other people do things differently. I find other cultures and lifestyles interesting.

"If we keep the terrorists at bay, maybe they'll just go away and leave us to mount our challenge to all the Americans who thought our service could never be as lousy as the service in New York." - James (Jim Bob) Morrison.

Many USA folk do the same whingeing - I should imagine it's a trait of spoilt human beings!

I personally love really strong tea with a touch of milk and a little sugar. I drink it all day if at home or at work. I'm stereotypically English with the teeth to prove it. I don't have a bowler hat though, nor do I sweep chimneys. I don't drink tea abroad, or even in cafes here because they brew it incorrectly. It's too inconsistent.

 

[Wayne1]

I have been enjoying fresh brewed loose leaf tea for longer than I have been making beer >30 yrs.

A couple of years ago I found teavana

The Perfect Tea Maker

It acts just like a good mash tun. It give the leaves room to steep and has a screen to keep the solids away from the liquid as it flows into your cup.

I tend to like full bodied teas like English Breakfast and Lapsang Souchong.

 

[Zuljin]

1.5 cl Tequila
1.5 cl Vodka
1.5 cl White rum
1.5 cl Triple sec
1.5 cl Gin
2.5 cl Lemon juice
3.0 cl Gomme Syrup
1 dash of Cola