How accurately do you brew your tea.....do you just estimate the temp or do
you actually use a thermometer...if so, what kind? Also, any suggestions on
how to brew a REALLY good cup of persian tea (without a samivor)? Thanks

ostaz > wrote:
>How accurately do you brew your tea.....do you just estimate the temp or do
>you actually use a thermometer...if so, what kind?

If you are boiling water, it's easy to know how hot it is. Down here it's
at 100'C. Up in Denver, it's a good bit lower.

If you're making a tea that wants to be steeped at a lower temperature,
you need to measure it.

Some folks just boil water, then put it in the cup and wait some amount of
time for it to cool down. But you still need the thermometer to find out
how long it takes for the water to cool down to the right point in your
cup, because it will be different in different cups.

When I do this kind of thing, I use a lab thermometer from Cenco Scientific
because that's what's on my desk. You could use anything that will go up
to boiling. But since I mostly drink black teas that want to be steeped
at boiling temperature, I don't do this much.

An alternate method that some people use is to put water into the microwave,
then heat it for a fixed amount of time. But you still need a thermometer
so you can see how hot the water gets in _your_ cup in _your_ microwave with
that amount of water. I don't like this, because small differences in the
amount of water can make large differences in the final temperature.

>Also, any suggestions on
>how to brew a REALLY good cup of persian tea (without a samivor)? Thanks

I have seen folks do it in a deep pot on the stove. That stuff gets steeped
damn near forever, which is why you need to put all the cardamom in t.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

>>Also, any suggestions on
>>how to brew a REALLY good cup of persian tea (without a samivor)? Thanks
>
> I have seen folks do it in a deep pot on the stove. That stuff gets
> steeped
> damn near forever, which is why you need to put all the cardamom in t.
> --scott

Persian tea tends to be really awful tasting to me if it is oversteeped or
steeped at to high a temp.....although it is a fermented tea (I forget the
type). I usually drink Sadaf brand Persian tea with bergamot (Earl Grey
type).

"
> Persian tea tends to be really awful tasting to me if it is oversteeped or
> steeped at to high a temp.....although it is a fermented tea (I forget the
> type). I usually drink Sadaf brand Persian tea with bergamot (Earl Grey
> type).

Oh, here it is: http://sadaf.com/store/product440.html

12/16/05

>
>>> Also, any suggestions on
>>> how to brew a REALLY good cup of persian tea (without a samivor)? Thanks
>>
>> I have seen folks do it in a deep pot on the stove. That stuff gets
>> steeped
>> damn near forever, which is why you need to put all the cardamom in t.
>> --scott
>
> Persian tea tends to be really awful tasting to me if it is oversteeped or
> steeped at to high a temp.....although it is a fermented tea (I forget the
> type). I usually drink Sadaf brand Persian tea with bergamot (Earl Grey
> type).

My experience in Iran was not very strong, rather conventional black tea
from a samavar, quite sweet, with the sugar cube chopped off the cone and
held between the teeth. No cardamom, but I never got to the classy places
you guys undoubtedly frequent.

Michael

ostaz > wrote:
>>>Also, any suggestions on
>>>how to brew a REALLY good cup of persian tea (without a samivor)? Thanks
>>
>> I have seen folks do it in a deep pot on the stove. That stuff gets
>> steeped
>> damn near forever, which is why you need to put all the cardamom in t.
>
>Persian tea tends to be really awful tasting to me if it is oversteeped or
>steeped at to high a temp.....although it is a fermented tea (I forget the
>type). I usually drink Sadaf brand Persian tea with bergamot (Earl Grey
>type).

It's almost always some kind of Assam. I must say I don't really care for
that method of making tea, but I know folks who do.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"ostaz" > wrote in message
. ..
> How accurately do you brew your tea.....do you just estimate the temp or
do
> you actually use a thermometer...if so, what kind?

For teas using temps at <boiling, I use an instant-read thermometer that I
got from Wal-Mart for about $5.50.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

For what it is worth: I asked my Turkish friend and he uses a Ceylon
tea. Brews very strong and mixes with hot water to taste (ala a
samovar). He also uses a lot of sugar...

Richard