Teach me about Tea

China.


I like white teas, their flavor tends to be more delicate and subtle than black teas. Hard to find at my local tea shop, though. They only carry one, rather expensive, variety (silver needle) that I haven't tried.

Oooh, ooh, I know something about British radio!

Whattdya mean it has nothing to do with anything? It's not like I speak British.

Well, what I do is grab two cups. One cup for the blooming, then strain into another cup for drinking. I just bring my strainer with me to work if I want a cup of tea there.

See, why don't you just say that Joss Whedon is a hottie and then the Invocation to summon Dreamweaver will be complete!!

Are you implying Joss Whedon isn't a hottie?

Don't you normally have to add in something about Captain Tightpants for that to work?

well, that goes without saying

Anyway, back on topic, I'm English, how can I NOT have an opinion on Tea??

Try chocolate covered espresso beans.

The first time I ate them, I had four. You know that episode of Futurama where Fry drinks 100 cups of coffee? Ya, it kinda felt like the end of the episode.

I'll just say that Electric Kettles are one of the most useful things to have in a Kitchen. I have no idea why they are not that popular in the US. You go into a supermarket and will find an entire row of Stovetop Kettles, and only a meager selection of Electric Kettles.

Find the biggest, most powerful one you can find, and treasure it. I use mine for a gazillion different things, tea, coffee, adding boiling water to any recipe, soaking corn husks for tamales, and well.. Anything that requires a liquid to come to a boil..

Same reason rice cookers are more ubiquitous in Japan (not a stereotype, you're really, truly more likely to find a rice cooker than a toaster in a Japanese home) than other countries, the thing they're generally used for is much more popular among the entire population than in America. America rarely uses even stovetop kettles now that coffee makers are so readily availible (we boil water in saucepots).

Shame, really, since electric kettles can boil water much faster than the stove top (heat source concentrated at the bottom of the water vs. heat source surrounding the water). Although I'm sure if Alton Brown had his way, there'd be an electric kettle in every kitchen.

I was pre-warned about those. My old housemate ate a whole bag of them one night and spent the evening gripping the bed trying to sleep. Never tried them after she told me that.

Eating a whole bag? Damn, you know why she was gripping the bed? That much caffeine catapulted her in Hyper Reality. It let her see all the stuff that our brains tell us isn't there and can't possibly be real. Like calorie free pizza that tastes good, ponycorns, and women that like guys that live in basments!

That would be enough to put anyone off their nut.

They're not worth eating if you're not going to eat at least 1/4 lb of them, minimum. 1/2 lb is more worth the effort, and up from there is better.

Why, yes! I am a recovering sugar/caffeine addict! How could you tell?

As for tea? Fill a glass mug most of the way with water. Put it in the microwave and hit the "Beverage" button. (Preset: 2 minutes on High) When it's done, drop in tea bag. Stir every now and then, and remove the tea bag in a few minutes. Stir in one packet of sweetener. Drink.

Mind you, I go for the heavily flavored ones, not for basic tea. So, you can't really take my advice on it.

Haha.

Moderation!


Actually, now I really want some. Since caffeine sets my mind in motion, I should take steps.

Uhm. Ramen. All kinds of hot instant drinks and soups. Instant sauces if you absolutely must. Soaking several varieties of Asian noodles that don't actually need to be cooked to be edible.

Hell. Some ten years ago when I moved to Berlin, I was literally living out of one of those babies for a couple weeks until I had my kitchen set up. Not every day, but many a day. You can get pretty far with one of those unless you want to fry things. You definitely CAN make noodles, dumplings and rice IN them, and of course you can make sauces and soups of all kinds. Just a bit more of an effort to clean.


Edit and totally off-topic: Oi, someone changed their name. This will take some getting used to.

"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill

You know what else heats up small quantities of water, and is much more suited to all varieties of bachelor food?

A microwave!

God, it's like Europe is living in the Stone Age or something.

Just trying to standardize my name usage across multiple platforms.

Only that microwaves are both unhealthy and unsanitary, take up more space and expand vastly more power. I've got one. I use it to thaw frozen food or warm up leftovers. At how many watts and for how long do you need to run a microwave to actually get water to boil? And how do you get your container full of boiling water out of the microwave without oven mitts? It'll be almost as hot as the content. Meanwhile, the kettle comes with a handle that doesn't heat up.

Moreover, the only food you can actually prepare in it is pre-cooked. 90% of which is store-bought and usually indistinguishable in taste from its packaging. The other 10% having been made on a real stove and given to you by kind strangers. Or your mom.

"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill

I figured. My first thought was 'hey, look, Kali's got a second account'. Then I noticed the post count and signature.

"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill

I feel terrible for the state of microwaveable food in Germany.

I agree with you about boiling water, but there's a lot of reasons why someone might end up using a microwave to prepare food over the more traditional oven.

Maybe it's me who has to feel terrible for the state of any food in the US?

Reality is relative.

"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill

Untrue. Though a microwave lacks the kind of precision control one gets with a (good) stove, oven, or grill (to say nothing of the versatility), it is still capable of heating raw foods to a safe, internal temperature. While I would not cook a steak or a salmon fillet in a microwave, I do have the option.