Hi, Daniel and Welcome! (more inline)
"Daniel J. Morlan" > wrote in message
...
>
> I bought twinings tins of Earl Grey, Irish Breakfast, Ceylon, Russian
> Caravan, etc. Usually making them with a coffee maker with very mixed
> results. I've always used a couple of pyrex dishes, and a strainer. I
like
> the way tea tastes the most when I get water SCALDING hot, not BOILING,
and
While black teas are best brewed in boiling water, oolong/wulong, green, and
white teas are supposed to be steeped in water that's 180°F or less and some
Darjeelings do better in less-than-boiling water, too.
> I steep black tea for 3 minutes or so. I stir the tea, leaves flying
around
> everywhere in one of the pyrex dishes. I then pour it into a warm SECOND
> pyrex dish through a cheap strainer. By this time it is quite warm, but
not
> HOT tea. I consume it rather quickly. It's a little messy, and uncouth
as
> a process goes, and if this is the best way to do it, then I'll keep doing
> it this way.
>
> My instincts tell me that this is NOT, however, the best way to do it.
By Pyrex dish, do you mean a measuring cup or a baking dish? 'Cause,
actually, using a Pyrex cup isn't a bad thing at all except there's no lid
to keep the heat in which doesn't seem to matter as much for teas needing to
be steeped at lower temps.
> (Minus 40 pounds since January, by the way.)
Congratulations!
> I made a decent sized purchase at www.culinaryteas.com and was at first
> disappointed in their Earl Grey, but I'd followed their suggestions, and
put
> their teabags in BOILING water. I got bitter, rancid filth that had me
> emailing them, and complaining about the quality of their tea. When I
used
> my decade of experience, using hot, scalding water, it worked out just
fine.
> The teas I'm drinking that I got from them are just fine. I enjoy them,
but
> I am as interested in quality as I am saving money.
Watch out for their blackberry 'cause mine had way too many stems. Oh, wait,
you said teabags...maybe nebermind <shrug>.
> This brings me to my main set of questions:
>
> 1.) is there a all-in-one teapot that is feasable for use in the
workplace
> that can be used in conjunction with a microwave to help brew superior
tea?
Many enjoy the IngenuiTea from adagio.com.
> 2.) Is there a consensus within this group where to buy the finest teas
> online, and a place to get the best prices for them? I would be
interested
> in learning of both.
I get the majority of my teas from uptontea.com.
> Earl Grey
> has been a favorite ever since I first heard of it watching Captain Jean
Luc
> Picard on Star Trek. (You must admit, he had to increase the sale of the
> stuff!)
Oh? I thought that was done by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
.
> Now that I have my brewing technique mostly down, I would like to buy
> appropriate equipment for doing this. When I'm home, I don't mind the
> silly/uncouth ritual, or something similar, but I would like to try and
> avoid the pieces of leaves that I get in my service pot (which are
plenty...
> The filter isn't quite fine enough.)
You have several options. Glass teapots provide the best visual
entertainment and are easier to keep clean than ceramic. Chatsford teapots
(and mugs) are excellent for providing a clean beverage because of their
patented brew basket - Upton has a wide variety. Teeli or Swissgold brew
baskets are also excellent. The finest-meshed strainer I've found is the
Empress Tea Room strainer by G&H available for $4 - 4.50 (or more!) at
various places online.
> I'm just looking for a better method (if there is one) and to
> hear some more suggestions on teas to try.
Have you read our FAQs?
http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/faq.html.
In addition to the FAQs, you might want to read the "How to Begin" thread
started by Serendip on 2/19/05 for suggestions for teas or google this
group. If not, just stick around. For some reason, we're nearly always
talking about something that's related to drinking tea
.
--
~~Bluesea~~
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