"Knack" > writes:

> "Lewis Perin" > wrote in message
> news
> > "Knack" > writes:
> >
> >> [...]
> >> The darker teas are capable of producing greater astringency than
> >> the greens and the white varieties.
> >
> > I don't see much support for this generalization. Can you name a
> > black or oolong that's as astringent as gunpowder under the same
> > brewing parameters?
>
> Sorry that I couldn't reply sooner. Been as busy as a bee this week. The
> most astringent tea that I ever had was Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea. That
> style is commonly known as the most astringent available. "Breakfast tea"
> was a designation given to a hearty, robust, full-bodied tea to be drunk in
> the morning. The tradition of adding milk to tea began with breakfast blends
> in order to smooth out their relatively high astringencies. That is the only
> purpose for milk. Irish breakfast tea is so rough that it is typically
> served with lots of sugar in addition to the milk, in order to smooth it
> out.

Sure, but Chinese black teas typically aren't astringent at all. And
if you brewed nearly any green tea the way you normally brew Irish
Breakfast/Assam, you'd get a very astringent liquor. This doesn't
seem like much of a trend to me.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html