or not?
Lipton Tea *Bleah*, American Tetley's - Yuck!
So what is the difference between British Tea and American Tea? Anybody know?
(I know where I can get real tea, in fact one of our own local grocery stores produce a British Blend tea which is very good, I just wondered what the difference was)
Hey Beng,
I think it has to do with the difference (again) in palates, and the creation of differing strength teas for those markets.
I think you'll find that teas for the domestic (US) market are most likely a lighter blend, with less tannic leaves used as a result.
Don't forget that even different US blends can be so wildly different that those over there. Some fo which you won;t eb able to obtain.
Emily and I are quite fond of Tazo tea (loose leaf), although I've never been much of a tea drinker and much prefer a good cup of freshly ground coffee. I'm still using M&S extra strong teabags I borught back from 1996 and they taste fine. I may have one cup of tea (or maybe two a week if that).
I only have one cup of coffee a day anyways...
Andrew
Well in the past I've bought US Tetleys and Typhoo when I found it, the thing was US Tetleys wasn't that good and Typhoo was kind of expensive ($3+ for 20 bags).
However, when I saw Ukrops (popular supermarket in Richmond) British Blend for something like $2 for 60 bags I thought it was worth a shot - It's not quite (British) Tetleys, but it's far superior than any American tea I've tried and for the price I'm now back to drinking tea as regularly as I did back in the UK.
I also noticed that the Ukrops tea say they use Orange Pekoe and Pekoe Cut Black Tea and wondered if it was the type of tea that made the difference.
I order my PG Tips from one of the import sites. They are very expensive, but to me, it's a quality of life issue as I drink about 5/6 cups a day.
Last time I went to the UK, I brought back some Co-op 99 tea bags as well. Mmmmmm!
Andy
<!-- BBCode Start --><font color=#00ff00>I have a standing order from anyone coming from England. I just have to have my Co-op 99 decaf tea bags. I have a Whitard's of Chelsea teapot and cosy. So I am all set. I still have to buy a decent kettle though. I still use the whistle one that I heat up on the stove. I have seen some nice electric kettles around, I need to put that on my birthday pressy list. </font><!-- BBCode End -->
We can get US made Britsh blend Tetleys. It's not bad.
I tend to drink more herbal or fruit flavoured teas though, and twinings make the best ones of those.
But no matter what I drink, with the exception of Chai, I use no milk or sugar.
We are lucky to have a tea and coffee import shop in this town, and they continually restock as they say they keep no tea longer than a few weeks because of loss of flavour.
Not a tea bag in sight in that shop! They weigh the lose tea as you buy it.
I buy the big teabags by Luziane I think they're called that. They're twice the size of ordinary bags & are supposed to be for iced tea. If they steep long enough they're not bad.
I loved the tea we had in Saudi, Mint tea. A pot of good strong tea with fresh mint leaves steeped in it. Delicious, although the Saudi's made it too sweet.
janet
We just picked up some Ty-phoo from our local supermarket (Waldbaums). They were 5.99 for a box of 80.
I really love Barry's tea from Ireland as you can get 2 strong cuppas from one bag and the American teabags seem to be so weak. I order enough to keep me going for several months straight from Barry's own website.
'Tis grand!! wink
On the tea theme - a favourite topic of mine smile I notice that we use several different words while waiting for the perfect cuppa;
steep/infuse/mash/brew
I'm a 'mash' gal myself - perhaps because I have Yorkshire parents? What about the rest of you? What word do you give this culturally important process?
Jan lol
<!-- BBCode Start --><font color=#00ff00>Brew is the word I have always used. </font><!-- BBCode End -->
I used to mash (Tetleys), now I brew (Twinings Earl Grey). The joys of getting older wink
I have always "brewed" tea.
I've always brewed too.
Don't you hate it when you order tea in a restaurant and they microwave the water? It gets all cloudy and is never hot enough. Then they fill one of those little silver pots with the tepid water and give you one teabag and coffee creamer instead of milk. They come around often to refill coffee but if you want more tea, all they do is give you more water and you are expected to dunk a used-up bag in it! Sorry that's a pet peeve of mine!
Tea drinkers Unite!
Joan
I learned not to order tea from a restaurant within a week of getting here. Why are you still trying?