Most of the tea I drink is from bags. I wanted to try PG Tips and
bought a box. The first thing I noticed was that the bags didn't have
a string on them. I usually remove the bags from the cup in 5 or 6
minutes. Am I susposed to leave the PG Tips bags in the cup or fish
them out?

Thank you kindly,

I can't remember if those are the flow-through pyramid bags or the disc
shape. From an English point of view they are meant for teapots and
not individual cup. You'll have to go fishing. They'll bobble on the
top initially and you can risk your fingers but a spoon after six
minutes to dig them from the bottom. That better be a big cup or lots
of cream and sugar.

Jim

Peter Clifford wrote:
> Most of the tea I drink is from bags. I wanted to try PG Tips and
> bought a box. The first thing I noticed was that the bags didn't have
> a string on them. I usually remove the bags from the cup in 5 or 6
> minutes. Am I susposed to leave the PG Tips bags in the cup or fish
> them out?
>
> Thank you kindly,

On 23 Jun 2005 07:46:25 -0700, "Space Cowboy" >
wrote:

>I can't remember if those are the flow-through pyramid bags or the disc

These are the flow-through.
> That better be a big cup or lots

I use a 12 oz mug.

Thanks for the reply

In article >,
Peter Clifford > wrote:
>Most of the tea I drink is from bags. I wanted to try PG Tips and
>bought a box. The first thing I noticed was that the bags didn't have
>a string on them. I usually remove the bags from the cup in 5 or 6
>minutes. Am I susposed to leave the PG Tips bags in the cup or fish
>them out?

Fish it out! That's what your teaspoon is for. If you keep letting a
bag tea steep, it will get progressively more tannic. At some point it
will get very nasty.

I used to work with an Indian professor who would mix milk and water,
put it in a tea bag, and put it into the microwave. The end result was
kind of scary, actually.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Peter Clifford schrieb:
> Most of the tea I drink is from bags. I wanted to try PG Tips and
> bought a box. The first thing I noticed was that the bags didn't have
> a string on them. I usually remove the bags from the cup in 5 or 6
> minutes. Am I susposed to leave the PG Tips bags in the cup or fish
> them out?
>
> Thank you kindly,


Real English tea bags don't come with a string. It's because of the
English way to prepare tea, which is either as a cuppa in a mug (stir &
stab for 30 seconds, squeeze and remove the bag) or in a pot (just
leave bags in it).

Maybe this helps:
<http://www.fatsquirrel.org/veghead/wot/vetea.html>

Maybe you like also a look at this:
<http://leo.huan.co.uk/skills/tea.asp>


Dieter

As others have already pointed out, you will get better results if you
use a teapot for PG Tips Pyramid bags. If you really want to brew
your tea in a mug, make it a large one because this tea can be quite
strong. You can also buy a "tea bag squeezer", which is basically a
small set of tongs, for removing tagless tea bags from your mug, It's
less messy than a spoon because you can squeeze out all the excess
water, and you can also grab a hold of the bag. With a spoon, the bag
can slide off and fall back into your tea.

PG Tips is also available in string and tag style double-chamber bags,
which are specifically designed for brewing in the mug. This is your
basic Lipton-style tea bag. They are called PG Tips One Cup. They
are a little more expensive than the pyramid bags and a little harder
to find, but are available online from the British Express at
www.britishexpress.com.

"Dieter Folz" > writes:

> [...]
>
> Maybe you like also a look at this:
> <http://leo.huan.co.uk/skills/tea.asp>

I did look, and I saw

PG Tips tea is picked by pipe smoking monkeys wearing outsize
sunglasses

Startling information indeed, but it left me hungry for details.
Anyone know where the monkeys work? Are there photos?

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

Lewis Perin schrieb:
> "Dieter Folz" > writes:
>
> > [...]
> >
> > Maybe you like also a look at this:
> > <http://leo.huan.co.uk/skills/tea.asp>
>
> I did look, and I saw
>
> PG Tips tea is picked by pipe smoking monkeys wearing outsize
> sunglasses
>
> Startling information indeed, but it left me hungry for details.
> Anyone know where the monkeys work? Are there photos?
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /
> http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html


You can look he
<http://www.whom.co.uk/squelch/40years_tv.htm>
<http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=47906>
<http://www.markmcm2002.verysmooth.co.uk/ads_m-r1.html>
<http://www.monkeyworld.co.uk/press.php?ArticleID=22>

and watch this:
<http://www.whirligig2.freeserve.co.uk/tv/pgtips.rm>

and of course he
<http://www.pgmoments.co.uk/>

"Dieter Folz" > writes:

> Lewis Perin schrieb:
> > "Dieter Folz" > writes:
> >
> > > [...]
> > >
> > > Maybe you like also a look at this:
> > > <http://leo.huan.co.uk/skills/tea.asp>
> >
> > I did look, and I saw
> >
> > PG Tips tea is picked by pipe smoking monkeys wearing outsize
> > sunglasses
> >
> > Startling information indeed, but it left me hungry for details.
> > Anyone know where the monkeys work? Are there photos?
>
> You can look he
> <http://www.whom.co.uk/squelch/40years_tv.htm>
> <http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=47906>
> <http://www.markmcm2002.verysmooth.co.uk/ads_m-r1.html>
> <http://www.monkeyworld.co.uk/press.php?ArticleID=22>
>
> and watch this:
> <http://www.whirligig2.freeserve.co.uk/tv/pgtips.rm>
>
> and of course he
> <http://www.pgmoments.co.uk/>

I must say, RFDT could use more scholars of your caliber, Dieter. I
especially loved the piano movers.

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

Lewis Perin schrieb:

> I must say, RFDT could use more scholars of your caliber, Dieter. I


Not my merit. Just stumbled over a linklist on a German Website:
<www.pg-tips.de.vu>


> especially loved the piano movers.

Ja, that's a nice one. But I really like the new spots with the
T-Birds! :-))

Dieter Folz schrieb:
.... or in a pot (just leave bags in it).


Hm, that's what is puzzling me. I read the sites you've mentioned
(pg-tips.de.vu and fatsquirrel.org) and I also know the Braman Museum
tea site, where the traditional English way to prepare tea is shown.
All three explain the habit to leave the tea in the pot. Is there a
trick to it? Otherwise I can imagine, you'll have a problem of a too
weak tea at the beginning and a far too strong tea at the end?! Or is
it true, that English teas like PG Tips are "designed" for that kind of
praparation and infuse there full content of armoa completely in the
first minute?
Any suggestions?

Martin

"Martin Rosenberg" > writes:

> Dieter Folz schrieb:
> ... or in a pot (just leave bags in it).
>
>
> Hm, that's what is puzzling me. I read the sites you've mentioned
> (pg-tips.de.vu and fatsquirrel.org) and I also know the Braman Museum
> tea site, where the traditional English way to prepare tea is shown.
> All three explain the habit to leave the tea in the pot. Is there a
> trick to it?

I doubt it, settling for something you don't enjoy very much is a
trick.

> Otherwise I can imagine, you'll have a problem of a too weak tea at
> the beginning and a far too strong tea at the end?! Or is it true,
> that English teas like PG Tips are "designed" for that kind of
> praparation and infuse there full content of armoa completely in the
> first minute?
> Any suggestions?

Try pouring off all the tea liquor when it's done.

If you still don't like the taste, try leaf tea rather than teabags.

I think the question here is how much pleasure you expect to get from
the taste and aroma, and how much effort you're willing to exert in
preparing the tea.

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

Lewis 6/28/05

> "Martin Rosenberg" > writes:
>
>> Dieter Folz schrieb:
>> ... or in a pot (just leave bags in it).
>>
>>
>> Hm, that's what is puzzling me. I read the sites you've mentioned
>> (pg-tips.de.vu and fatsquirrel.org) and I also know the Braman Museum
>> tea site, where the traditional English way to prepare tea is shown.
>> All three explain the habit to leave the tea in the pot. Is there a
>> trick to it?
>
> I doubt it, settling for something you don't enjoy very much is a
> trick.
>
>> Otherwise I can imagine, you'll have a problem of a too weak tea at
>> the beginning and a far too strong tea at the end?! Or is it true,
>> that English teas like PG Tips are "designed" for that kind of
>> praparation and infuse there full content of armoa completely in the
>> first minute?
>> Any suggestions?
>
> Try pouring off all the tea liquor when it's done.
>
> If you still don't like the taste, try leaf tea rather than teabags.
>
> I think the question here is how much pleasure you expect to get from
> the taste and aroma, and how much effort you're willing to exert in
> preparing the tea.
>
> /Lew


Hi guys,

Let me chime in here. Awhile back I took some loose-leaf PG Tips and Typhoo
for comparison. I found that because the leaves are CTC -- as opposed to my
usual whole leaf -- my first two or three tries failed as I brewed the tea
much too strong and lost the malty qualities and whatever subtlety the tea
offers. Brewed lighter, I found them quite OK, PG Tips being the more
pleasant of the two. I think they're tricky teas, and I think that steep
length and amount of tea need to be worked out carefully for individual
taste. These are not forgiving teas. That's from my experience. If the
discussion is about decanting, that's an absolute must.

Michael

>> Brewed lighter, I found them quite OK, PG Tips being the more
pleasant of the two. I think they're tricky teas, and I think that
steep
length and amount of tea need to be worked out carefully for individual
taste. These are not forgiving teas. That's from my experience. If the
discussion is about decanting, that's an absolute must.<<

These teas are designed to be drunk with milk. About 98% of the
British population adds milk to tea, and some of them use quite a bit
of it. You can get away with oversteeping it if you add enough milk
to counteract the tanniin. I take my tea without milk, and I agree
with Michael, decanting is an absolute must with these teas. I strain
into a second pot - or remove the tea bags from the pot - after four
minutes.

I don't think I have ever tried PG Tips loose tea. I have gotten lazy
lately and been using mostly tea bags. I did not like loose Typhoo, as
it was VERY dusty; the bagged version is quite good, though.

I have had more expensive, "better quality" teas than these that I did
not enjoy nearly as much.

Martin Rosenberg schrieb:
> Dieter Folz schrieb:
> ... or in a pot (just leave bags in it).
>
>
> Hm, that's what is puzzling me. I read the sites you've mentioned
> (pg-tips.de.vu and fatsquirrel.org) and I also know the Braman Museum
> tea site, where the traditional English way to prepare tea is shown.
> All three explain the habit to leave the tea in the pot. Is there a
> trick to it? Otherwise I can imagine, you'll have a problem of a too
> weak tea at the beginning and a far too strong tea at the end?! Or is
> it true, that English teas like PG Tips are "designed" for that kind of
> praparation and infuse there full content of armoa completely in the
> first minute?
> Any suggestions?
>
> Martin


I just bought a new box with PG Tips pyramid bags (the normal ones,
with 3,125g of tea per bag). On the box there is a nice overview of the
PG Tips history, because of their 75th anniversary. While reading this
I noticed the information that to use PG Tips on its best, one should
use one bag per cup. Then I noticed on the bottom a nutrition
information. There they write that this referrs to 170ml with 30ml
semi-skimmed milk (so overall the amount of a normal mug), brewed with
freshly boiled water for 1-2 minutes.

So, now we know, you should use one pyramid bag (3,125g) per mug and
let the tea infuse for 1-2 minutes (which also implies a removal of the
bag/s). That means for a preparation in a pot about three bags (should
equal three heaped tea spoons) for 0,5 liter (as long as you don't want
to add one more bag "for the pot").


Dieter

Dieter Folz wrote:
>
>
> So, now we know, you should use one pyramid bag (3,125g) per mug and
> let the tea infuse for 1-2 minutes (which also implies a removal of the
> bag/s). That means for a preparation in a pot about three bags (should
> equal three heaped tea spoons) for 0,5 liter (as long as you don't want
> to add one more bag "for the pot").
>
>
> Dieter


Do you really only let it steep for 1-2 minutes? I always let black
tea steep for exactly 4 minutes, although I have cut back to 3 1/2
minutes when using the PG Tips pyramid bags, as they seem to infuse a
little faster. It seems to me that anything less than that would yield
a very weak brew. And I do not take my tea with milk.

I absolutely agree that the bags should be removed to avoid the tea
becoming stewed. However, most people seem to leave them in the pot.
I have a pair of those "tea bag squeezer" tongs that I use for removing
tagless teabags from the pot.

I find most British tea bags to be too strong to brew directly in the
mug. Maybe I should try the recommended 1-2 minutes. But regardless
of what king of bag is used, it should ALWAYS be removed from the mug
before drinking the tea. That is one of my pet peeves - people who
drink their tea with the bag still in the mug. I don't know why; it
just bothers me.

Rob