US Embassy press release: Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one.
US Embassy press release: Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one.
I'm going to go to bat for our American friends and say that there's nothing wrong with boiling water in a microwave if that's the quickest water-boiling-method you've got. Boiling water is boiling water, who cares.
America's greater sin against tea drinking is their habit of letting the water cool down and then steeping a bag in the barely-hot water so that it makes a drink the colour of dehydrated urine. Why drink tea if you don't want to actually taste the tea?
But then on the other hand iced tea is nice, so they do redeem themselves a little.
Now this is serious! if there's one thing in this country that really bothers me Is the inability of yanks to make a good cup of tea Instructions are printed on the teabag But either they can't read Or they think it's a gag
Pour boiling water over the tea How simple and clear can the instructions be?
They bring you a cup with a lemon slice And an unopened tea bag beside it (how nice) And a pot of water and it may be hot But boiling it isn't so tea you have not
Why can't we Get our tea We need tea To set us free
It's boiling water that brings out tea's flavor With a dash of milk you've a real brew to savor They drink luke brown water that looks like gnat pee And it's got nothing to do with a good cup of tea
Pour boiling water over the tea How simple and clear Can the instructions be?
Pour boiling water over the tea Pour boiling water over the tea
Masters of Realizy - T.U.S.A. Sang by a tea enthusiast of the highest order, Ginger Baker
Boiling water is boiling water, who cares.
No it's not. Sorry but if you believe this you really don't understand tea making. There's 5 stages of water temperature that have different tastes and for different teas: https://www.goldenmoontea.com/blogs/tea/106687623-the-5-different-stages-of-boiling-water-and-how-the-chinese-use-them-for-tea
Tea has a delicate flavour. It's easy to mask it with an otherwise small change. The amount of oxygen in the water (don't use reboiled), the length of boil, the peak temperature, steeping time, water contents (flouride) and hardness (calcium) can all have a massive effect.
Tea isn't coffee. It isn't a strong enough flavour to hide fuck ups and poor technique (though popular black tea blends have tried!). My coffee cup has scum round the sides, I reuse spooons and water. It tastes the same every time.
But my TEA!? I use a clean cup every time, clean spoon, specifically boiled water, rinsed kettle, everything. If I allow the water to boil too long I have to lengthen the steeping time to compensate for the weaker taste. I have to use a dash more milk to make up for the increased bitterness and I have a quick taste to see if I need to add more sweetness. All that fucking around just because I let the water boil slightly longer!
Saying you can microwave water for tea is like telling a sommelier you can make Champaigne with Asda grapes in a gallon oil drum.
With respect to you, that's about technique rather than tooling. If you overboil your water you're going to have overboiled water, but nobody is making you overboil water in a microwave.
Fundamentally, a microwave just applies heat the same as any other cooking appliance. It doesn't add or remove fluoride or change your water hardness. The temperature of boiling water will always be as close to 100° as makes no difference because of simple physics. If you let your water sit bubbling away in the microwave for endless minutes then that's on you for not taking the water out of the microwave when it was done (and is not fundamentally different to overboiling water with a stovetop pot either).
People seem to think microwaves are some sort of spooky exotic magic technology, but they're not. They're just heaters.
I have to use a dash more milk to make up for the increased bitterness
Have you tried adding a tiny pinch of salt instead?
You leave our Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck out of this, y'all hear now?
This is adorable. But I guarantee that the first draft mentions the Boston Harbor.
Aye, they added a fair bit of salt to their tea that day!
I'm surprised nobody is talking about accidentally flash-boiling in the microwave. Is that because they microwave the tea bag in the water in the cup? Because if you have clean water without the teabag, you could get a cup of exploding water in your face after you disturb the cup.
Maybe there is enough lead in the water to prevent this in America.