mamarosa

robespierre, I will most certainly try this test at home this evening! I'll use my daughters (my husband and son could care less about tea!) and since my in-laws decided they would stay with us for a MONTH, they will be participants whether they like it or not! I'll report back later. This should be interesting!

Mathieu

Sheila thanks for the explanation and information of an aga. I sort of knew what one was from watching Clarissa Dickson-Wright (One of the Fat Ladies) use one on her show but the additional info is appreciated. The oven part of it always seems so small, but I like the latch-type of handle on the door. I also like the brass or copper hinged covers (on some) where one would put the pots on for cooking.
When I buy my farm or country house I plan to have one, but god knows where I'll find an authentic one.

StKnicks

Given all this talk about kettle, is it safe to assume that throwing one over a pub is a sloshy past time by drunken blokes?

sheila

Robespierre, could I seek some clarification here. What I assumed was meant by using the microwave was putting tea and water in mug and zapping same; as opposed to just boiling water in microwave and proceeding as proper. Quid Iuris?

And mathieu, I think you must be misunderstanding the Tardis nature of an Aga. The "ordinary" one has 2 ovens and the dimensions are:-

Aga Ovens
Top Right 254mm(10&quotheight 349mm(13 3/4&quot width 495mm(19 1/2&quot depth
Lower Right 254mm(10&quot height 349mm(13 3/4&quot width 495mm(19 1/2&quot depth
deep and, together 711 high

Not small at all

Robespierre

<b>Heaven forfend!</b>

I would no more put tea and water in a microwave than I would put it on the stovetop.

If <u>that</u>'s everyone's objection to nuked tea, then I concur wholeheartedly!

Kayb95

<i>&quot;How in the name of Victoria Beckham do you make tea with a coffee maker??&quot;</i>

The tea isn't brewed in the coffee maker. The coffee maker is just used to warm (not boil) the water. Some commercial coffee makers have a separate spigot for hot (not boiled)water and they use that. But some restaurants run water through the coffee machine (without coffee in the filter) to get hot (again, not boiled) water. The warm water, with a slightly coffee taste, then sits on the warming plate until some poor, unsuspecting soul orders tea. It's truly awful.

I love a good cup of tea and drink it everyday - I make it at home. I never bother ordering tea in a US restaurant because it tastes horrible and I just get so upset that they can't do something as simple as boiling water.

Kayb95

sorry... didn't mean to repeat myself - Fodors trouble.

seetheworld

My son gave me a delightful tea ball for Christmas so that I may enjoy the lovely bag of apple tea he brought home from Harrods.

To &quot;brew&quot; tea in a coffee pot would only give tea an odd flavor. I have seen little pots that function like a coffee maker but brew tea - an unusual device to be certain

JudyC

Sheila, Many teapots sold in Toronto now come with permanent tea filters.

I was taught to use only boiling water for making tea; but last month while walking along Kufudam in Berlin, a teashop handed out flyers mentioning boiling water kills the fragrant of tea. Does anyone know where this theory from?

Mathieu

&quot;I would no more put tea and water in a microwave than I would put it on the stovetop&quot;

The only kind of tea properly brewed on a stovetop - as far as I know - is true Indian 'chai'.

Milk, water, tea leaves, sugar and whole spices (such as cinammon, cardamom, star anise, clove) mixed in a pot ( a 'haandi' maybe ?) and BOILED for quite some time. Often served boiling hot in a glass.

allisonm

I can't stand the taste of nuked water for tea, but I confess that we make tea every morning in a &quot;coffee&quot; maker. We run the water through as if we were making coffe, but put the bags right into the pot. There is no coffee taste because coffee never has been or will be made in this machine, there is another true &quot;coffee&quot; maker. I think it makes a very decent cup of tea, just don't leave the bags in the pot too long.

PalQ

It seems that microwaved brew is hardly anyone's 'cup of tea' so to speak.

Dr_DoGood

Robespierre - there's nothing wrong with boiling water in a microwave per se, it's simply not done over here because it will take longer than boiling the same quantity in the (ubiquitous) electric kettle.
I'd be surprised if the Uk &amp; Eire didn't lead the world in domestic water boiling technology! You can get super-fast high performance kettles (the Ferraris of the kettle world) which will boil a litre of water -what's that a couple of 20oz pints? - in a minute or less. A microwave simply can't achieve this level of performance and sometimes we are simply in desperate need of our tea - a momentous crisis or a snatched five minute break from the routine of work.

Dr D.

Robespierre

Got it. I can only imagine how pulling that much power would work on our 110v mains, though. The double current drain would blow every fuse in the neighborhood!

(Please forgive the slight exaggeration.)

Kayb95

I have a Black &amp; Decker electric kettle and it works great. Heats faster than a microwave. I'll never be without one again. When this one breaks, I'll be out at the store the same day to buy another.

Morgana

Hi
English televison tends to have adverts every 15 minutes or so, and many times the papers have recorded 'power surges' during the adverts in particularly popular shows. This is purely the British public going into the kitchen and putting the kettle on for tea during the break!

PatrickLondon

Robespierre: I have a small Philips electric kettle sold as a 'travel kettle' (probably contains about a pint). Though designed for European mains voltages, it's worked perfectly well in the US, if a bit slowly. I can't do without a cup of tea in bed first thing.

billy_goat

OK

Fill the kettle with fresh cold water and bring it to the boil.

Meanwhile, swirl hot water around in the teapot (preferably china or earthenware). This warming ensures that the water will remain at boiling point when it hits the tea leaves.

Just before the kettle boils, empty the water out of the teapot and put in the tea leaves. Take the teapot to the kettle and fill it with the freshly boiled water.

Stir the tea briefly, then put the lid on the pot and leave the tea to brew for 3-6 minutes, depending on the size of the leaves (larger-leaved teas take longer). Pour the tea through a strainer into the cup, and then add milk, sugar etc.

You can serve a second cup from the same pot of tea, but after 15 minutes a new pot must be made - the same procedure all over again - as the tea will not only have cooled, but will have become bitter with excess tannin. Have ready slices of lemon for those who would prefer their tea weaker and without milk.

Tallulah

For some reason I just remembered this and had an urge to share it...!

My mother's mother, whom I never knew, liked her tea strong (this was back in Ireland in about the 30s/40s/50s) and she clearly had no comprehension of the etiquette surrounding the noble art of tea making.

Every night she would take out a huge metal tea-pot-come-stove-kettle (I don't think you can buy these anymore, I've certainly never seen one), boil the water, put in the tea and then leave it on a low heat overnight to STEW. This would be then kept warm throughout the next day, giving her a days supply of tea so strong it would take the enamel of your teeth (I'm guessing that she didn't have anywhere near pearly-whites!!)

Suffice to say my mother drinks extremely weak tea!

Maria_H

Quote &quot;Pour the tea through a strainer into the cup, and then add milk, sugar etc.&quot;

Here's another problem - my mother-in-law insisted that you must put the milk in the cup before the tea. Again, it may be a class thing but she wouldn't have any of my arguement that the amount of milk might depend on the strength of the tea!