tea

[redbird]

Via yonmei, a Friday Five I actually have something to say about.


1. Are you a tea drinker?
Yes.

2. Which do you prefer: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Black Tea, or Green Tea?
English breakfast is a black tea. I prefer Ceylon Breakfast, pure Assam, Irish breakfast, or PG tips, but English breakfast is fine. So are some flavored teas, like vanilla, cinnamon, or mango. I'm not an Earl Grey drinker.

3. What is your favorite herbal tea?
By default, Bigelow's orange-and-spice

4. Do you take ice in your cold tea?
Usually, but I tend to put ice in a lot of cold drinks.

5. Have you ever had Sweet Tea?
If I understand the question correctly, no. Never even heard of it. If this means, do I put sugar in my tea, yes I do, and milk as well, when drinking black (Indian-style) teas. Not in oolongs. Edited based on Minnehaha's info: Sure. I usually sweeten my iced tea.

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Sweet tea is sweetened as it is made.

Can you say more about this? It sounds like the Proper Steps are(roughly) 1) make the tea; 2) sweeten the tea; 3) chill the tea.

What is different about the finished product if it is sweetened after it is chilled? How could you tell it from tea that was sweetened before it was chilled? I haven't made iced tea to test this, but I do not think I could tell, from tasting the finished product, at which point in its making it was sweetened.

K. [wants the straight dope from a bona fide sweet tea drinker]

The Straight Dope From a Bona Fide Sweet Tea Drinker

[(Anonymous)]

As taught to me by my granny in Lee County, Georgia:

1) Get yourself a large pitcher to make the tea in
2) Place an appropriate amount of table sugar in the bottom
3) boil some water
4) pour a bit of the water in the pitcher
5) stir with a long handled wooden spoon to make a sort of sugar slurry
6) add an appropriate number of Lipton tea bags
7) add the rest of the boiling water
8) stir until mixed
9) let cool and steep, usually for several hours
10) refrigerate

* It is worth noting that 'appropriate amount' changes based on locality within the South, preferences of the tea drinkers, and the availability of clear glass for the container and ample sunshine, at which point you are making 'sun tea', another Southern favorite.