h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Did I say something funny?

Mind you, at 110 whatsit things USian electricity is feeble stuff, so I guess that may be the reason for not having electric kettles.

I had better while I still can!

B

I own TWO electric kettles, thank you, my Black & Decker main kettle and my emergency backup kettle, which I loaned to Mike's parents while they were staying at the b&b across the street.

Boiling water in an open saucepan is acceptable in a pinch, but -- and now I turn to the s here -- I have heard that there is something about using a microwave to boil water for tea which makes the results different than using a pot or kettle. I think it tastes differently; and there's that foam you get...

And I hate that barbarism of American restaurants, of serving you a mug of hot water with the tea bag on the side.

excellent point Hypatia. Grilling is great, but is very different from BBQ. I guess in the northeast we say we're having a BBQ, when we're actually just having a party in which we intend to grill the food.

At least we know how to make coffee.

This is my dream coffee pot:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/cona.complete1.jpg

I hope I get one some day.

Witty, you've just made DNA spin in his grave. A61345

Oops, missed a few posts while I was looking for that. It was in reply to the comment about tea in a microwave.

>> Did I say something funny?

Well tea is delicate stuff, and the flavour of the tea depends about 50/50 on the tea itself and the quality of the water it is brewed in.

Normal water has oxygen dissolved in it, in the same way that carbonated water has CO2 dissolved in it, though obviously at less pressure. This is why a glass of water left standing will develop bubbles on the inside of it. Cold, fresh, moving water has the most oxygen in it. Hot water has the least. The longer water remains hot, or takes to get hot, the more of the oxygen will be driven out. This is why you should always use fresh water for making tea. It tastes better. Simple as that. The stepson was astonished each and every time I rumbled him when he simply reboiled stale water, but I could do it every single time.

In addition, and I am not as sure of the reasons for this but it may have something to do with the aromatic oils in tea and the temperatures they evaporate at, tea tastes noticably different depending on the temperature of the water. If you attempt to brew tea with water at 80degrees C, for example, it tastes vile.

Finally tea changes its flavour as it brews, with different flavours taking a minute or two, or three, or five to come out. Jasmine tea is noticably more bitter when it has been allowed to brew, for example.

The best way to make tea is the traditional way. Bring water swiftly to the boil and as soon as it is boiling pour it over tea leaves that you have already put into a dry, warmed, teapot. The warmth of the teapot starts to release the armomatic oils in the tealeaves, and it means that the water does not drastically drop in temperature because it is warming the teapot. Very few people like tea that has been brewed for five minutes, but that is partly beacuse tea these days is optimised to release most of its flavours within about 30 seconds.

Tea matters! Long live

B

My ex's father has a very nice french press. He makes the finest cup of joe that I have ever enjoyed.

I have yet to find a better cup (Aside from what Dr. R makes) than the Kona from http://www.roasting.com . The RoCo (as I call it) is located two blocks from my old house.

[GDZ]

Oh Ben, you are truly wise.

I use distilled water in my tea kettle because the local water is so hard that I would have lime problems after half a dozen boilings. And with hard water I notice a thin scum on the surface of the cup of tea.

Can you get water filters in the US? In Europe you can get jug filters with replacable cartridges for filtering water to drink or use for tea. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4310287898&category=300

I personally don't use them, although my water is hard, because I prefer fresh hard water to stale soft water.

Years ago you could get tea specially blended for my home town's water, I guess that is what "Yorkshire Tea" is.

B

*flabbergasted*

Matina, may I have a cup of Kona, black, please.

*Sits quietly in the corner. *

Marv!

*Flips open her pda and orders a pound of Kona beans for Mr. Moniker's birthday.*

WM, if you do order Kona from the RoCo, tell me what you think of it. I can get lost in a cup of Kona from there.

The order is in, we should be having Kona coffee with breakfast on the morning of July 16.

*has to lie down from reading about WM's tea-making method*

Truly shocking. *shakes antennae*

*Reads instructions on the box of Twinings Earl Grey in her cupboard.*



Am I at least ruining good tea?

Hey! I like . I drink two or three cups of Twinings' English or Irish Breakfast every morning. I boil the water in my stovetop kettle. I even drink it with milk and sugar. I use a tea bag, however. I don't own a teapot, nor do I have loose tea leaves around the house...

::cringes in embarrassment::

You've been doing that to Twinings Earl Grey?