UK: Put the Kettle On????
Jan 10th, 2005, 01:24 PM
#201
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I like putting it in after pouring - it gets my tea bag all messed up otherwise. 
But seriously, I searched through my cupboard and found some loose tea I had purchased in London a while back. I've been experimenting (non-scientific!) with it and you guys are right. Loose tea does make a better cup of tea!
But seriously, I searched through my cupboard and found some loose tea I had purchased in London a while back. I've been experimenting (non-scientific!) with it and you guys are right. Loose tea does make a better cup of tea!
Jan 10th, 2005, 03:01 PM
#202
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Re aspiration: Does anyone remember the old Monty Python skit in which John Cleese comes into a shop and (I think) announces sententiously at the counter:
"I should like to buy an 'alibut."
My bedtime reading last night was Agents and Patients, the early Anthony Powell novel (1936).
In it, Maltravers' hostile wife, Sarah:
...began to clear up the tea-things.
"Shall I leave the tea?" she said. "or shall I put the kettle on and make you some more?"
"I should like to buy an 'alibut."
My bedtime reading last night was Agents and Patients, the early Anthony Powell novel (1936).
In it, Maltravers' hostile wife, Sarah:
...began to clear up the tea-things.
"Shall I leave the tea?" she said. "or shall I put the kettle on and make you some more?"
Jan 10th, 2005, 05:29 PM
#203
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tedgale, I might be mixing up the episodes, but that sounds like it's from the Fish Licence. John Cleese was trying to buy a licence for his pet 'alibut named Eric. ("I chose him out of thousands. I didn't like the others, they were all too flat.") When the man he was speaking to called him a looney, he named several people who had unusual pets, including Marcel Proust, who had a pet halibut. "So, if you're calling the author of 'A la recherche du temps perdu' a looney, I shall have to ask you to step outside!" It was hilarious.
On the subject of Anthony Powell, my late father-in-law once gave me a photocopy of an article called "A Guide to A Dance to the Music of Time," by James Tucker. It's a 12-page who's who of every character who appeared in the 12 novels. It was published in The New Review in August, 1975. It's a very handy reference.
Anselm
On the subject of Anthony Powell, my late father-in-law once gave me a photocopy of an article called "A Guide to A Dance to the Music of Time," by James Tucker. It's a 12-page who's who of every character who appeared in the 12 novels. It was published in The New Review in August, 1975. It's a very handy reference.
Anselm
Jan 10th, 2005, 06:38 PM
#204
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I'm also reading a very good new Powell biography, in which the author helps identify many real people, some of them quite close friends of the author, who clearly inspired characters in Dance.
Powell, who liked to be mysterious, always publicly denied such connections. A little hard to believe, given how directly his own life and loves echo the life-story of the series' protagonist/ observer.
Powell, who liked to be mysterious, always publicly denied such connections. A little hard to believe, given how directly his own life and loves echo the life-story of the series' protagonist/ observer.
Jan 11th, 2005, 07:02 AM
#206
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Last night I was watching the Extreme Makeover Home Edition behind the scenes show and they have a new Englishman on the construction crew. They were rebuilding a home in rainy Seattle and they showed the poor Englishman desperately trying to find a good cup of hot English tea with milk. In the US, in general, it's not an easy task. So I imagine it was even more difficult in the mecca of designer coffees. 
Jan 11th, 2005, 10:37 AM
#207
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And this desperate crazed tea-deprived English bloke finally got his tea from what appeared to be a 7-11 or gas station type convenience store and appeared to be as happy as a pig in a poke. He was demanding 'English tea' now is English tea different from what he have in America? Our Lipton's must be the same as in the tea fatherland.
Jan 11th, 2005, 11:19 AM
#208
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But they showed him happy before he tasted it.
Tea in England is definitely different than tea in the US. I know it all comes from India or Ceylon, etc... but the US manufacturers somehow get it all wrong. Even common UK brands like PG Tips and Typhoo are far superior to US brands like Lipton.
We bring tea back from England by the suitcase - as much as we can pack and carry.
Tea in England is definitely different than tea in the US. I know it all comes from India or Ceylon, etc... but the US manufacturers somehow get it all wrong. Even common UK brands like PG Tips and Typhoo are far superior to US brands like Lipton.
We bring tea back from England by the suitcase - as much as we can pack and carry.
Jan 11th, 2005, 11:25 AM
#210
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Some markets in US carry Red Rose and Tetley teas which are good. Avoid Liptons if you can, it is horrible.
BTW, I just bought a GE Brand cordless tea kettle at Walmart (I know...). It comes with a flat electric heating pad so you can carry the kettle around w/o a cord. It is stainless steel and boils water really fast, I used it this morning for the first time.
BTW, I just bought a GE Brand cordless tea kettle at Walmart (I know...). It comes with a flat electric heating pad so you can carry the kettle around w/o a cord. It is stainless steel and boils water really fast, I used it this morning for the first time.
Jan 11th, 2005, 11:49 AM
#213
That chap on Extreme Whatever should have been told there's a specialty shoppe in Redmond (a short unicycle ride from MS HQ) where all brands of British tea are sold, usually at prices surprisingly close to most Tescos. (I guess we scared 'em about import taxes back in Boston.) Lots of other things are available too, especially, now that the big night is drawing nigh....Haggis...
Not that he would know what to do with the great chieftain o' the puddin' race anyway.
Not that he would know what to do with the great chieftain o' the puddin' race anyway.
Jan 11th, 2005, 12:18 PM
#214
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PalQ, I think that's "happy as a pig in mud" (that's the more polite version where I come from). You can BUY a pig in a poke (pocket), which means that you're buying or accepting something sight unseen.
Jan 11th, 2005, 05:22 PM
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Several posters have used the term "Chai" as a distinctive type of tea.
1. Can anyone enlighten me as to how it differs from other teas? and
2. (turning as I habitually do to amateur etymology): Where does this word come from and is it, as I assume, related to the slang term "cuppa char" for a cup of tea?
PS: I was watching the Russian film "The Russian Ark" the other night and noted that the Russian word for "tea" appears to be "Chai" or something pretty close to it....
1. Can anyone enlighten me as to how it differs from other teas? and
2. (turning as I habitually do to amateur etymology): Where does this word come from and is it, as I assume, related to the slang term "cuppa char" for a cup of tea?
PS: I was watching the Russian film "The Russian Ark" the other night and noted that the Russian word for "tea" appears to be "Chai" or something pretty close to it....
Jan 11th, 2005, 06:34 PM
#216
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Chai is the same sound as "tea" Chinese where tea comes from.
Most "tea" in many languages: French,German, Italian,russian,...ect., all sound more or less the same as in Chinese, but from different dialects.
Most "tea" in many languages: French,German, Italian,russian,...ect., all sound more or less the same as in Chinese, but from different dialects.
Jan 12th, 2005, 02:02 AM
#217
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The words for tea in many languages are indeed very closely related. Char is another of the many Hindi words that were adopted as slang in English (e.g., dekko, doollally, dhobi, chit), hence char-wallah (meaning someone who serves tea), but you don't hear it very often now.
Incidentally, I note that the UK will soon be making the final repayment to the US for its WW2 debts. I've seen the question raised - did anyone ever pay compensation for the tea that went into Boston Harbour? It must have racked up a tidy sum in interest by now....
Incidentally, I note that the UK will soon be making the final repayment to the US for its WW2 debts. I've seen the question raised - did anyone ever pay compensation for the tea that went into Boston Harbour? It must have racked up a tidy sum in interest by now....
Jan 12th, 2005, 08:44 AM
#218
Well, who would have thought? This is National Hot Tea Month in the US. Here is the link ...http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/radio/pa0112.htm
Jan 12th, 2005, 09:57 AM
#219
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What a great thread! As a tea drinker, I just had to add my 2 cents worth.
I never boil my water in the microwave. A foam forms at the top and leaves an ugly ring around the mug. Yuck.
I use a teapot rather than an electric kettle (which my parents use) because it adds a nice touch of blue to my stovetop.
Getting a good cup of tea in a restaurant is almost impossible. I always wait till I get home.
Every day begins and ends with a strong cup of tea. I'll admit that I use teabags -- Tetley British Blend -- which is nice and strong, and WHOLE MILK - no exceptions. Strong tea needs whole milk -- in my humble opinion.
I have also made tea in a hotel room by putting the tea bags in the pot and running the water through the machine.
I always travel with my tea bags. As a minority in the coffee crazy U.S., finding anyone with a decent tea bag is close to impossible. Tea is not herbal tea -- which I am offered all the time.
I once ordered a cup of tea with milk in a restaurant in Gubbio and received a cup of cold milk with a tea bag in it. The poor boy caught hell from his Mom who was the cook.
I have a wonderful book titled "A Decent Cup of Tea" by Malachi McCormick, that I found in an antique store, that is enlightening and wonderfully funny. Cold water in the teapot, please!, and don't boil all the oxygen out.
I love my tea and put up with all the guff I get about the entire tea process. If I started to use loose tea and an infuser, my family might just disown me.
One of my favorite Monty Python skits involved a couple of down-on-their-luck chaps comparing their miserable upbrings. One of them complained that "every morning I had to drink cold tea from a cracked cup". The horror!
Ta, for now.
I never boil my water in the microwave. A foam forms at the top and leaves an ugly ring around the mug. Yuck.
I use a teapot rather than an electric kettle (which my parents use) because it adds a nice touch of blue to my stovetop.
Getting a good cup of tea in a restaurant is almost impossible. I always wait till I get home.
Every day begins and ends with a strong cup of tea. I'll admit that I use teabags -- Tetley British Blend -- which is nice and strong, and WHOLE MILK - no exceptions. Strong tea needs whole milk -- in my humble opinion.
I have also made tea in a hotel room by putting the tea bags in the pot and running the water through the machine.
I always travel with my tea bags. As a minority in the coffee crazy U.S., finding anyone with a decent tea bag is close to impossible. Tea is not herbal tea -- which I am offered all the time.
I once ordered a cup of tea with milk in a restaurant in Gubbio and received a cup of cold milk with a tea bag in it. The poor boy caught hell from his Mom who was the cook.
I have a wonderful book titled "A Decent Cup of Tea" by Malachi McCormick, that I found in an antique store, that is enlightening and wonderfully funny. Cold water in the teapot, please!, and don't boil all the oxygen out.
I love my tea and put up with all the guff I get about the entire tea process. If I started to use loose tea and an infuser, my family might just disown me.
One of my favorite Monty Python skits involved a couple of down-on-their-luck chaps comparing their miserable upbrings. One of them complained that "every morning I had to drink cold tea from a cracked cup". The horror!
Ta, for now.
Jan 12th, 2005, 10:25 AM
#220
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Neil Oz - In Michigan the term is definitely 'as a pig in a poke' but we ignorant midwesterners may be using it wrongly. As for Chai - it's the ubiquitous word for tea all over Asia - including India where the Brits may have got it from. If you've ever been in India the refrain 'tea - chai' is heard everywhere from streets vendors, who i recollect use both words together as they announce their wares.
