tea
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eefanincan
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eefanincan
- Admin
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- Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:05 pm
- Location: Canada
Christopher Hitchens tells USA how to make tea, with Orwell's help
Fresh from defeating Tony Blair in a high-profile debate on the evils of religion, Christopher Hitchens has begun a campaign to teach Americans how to make a decent cup of tea.
The water must be 'actually boiling at point of impact' with the leaves or bag
The leading intellectual, who is suffering from throat cancer, claims in a new online article that it is “virtually impossible” to find anywhere in the USA that serves Britain’s national drink in an acceptable form.
He complains that many establishments merely offer a mug of tepid water with a teabag lying on a plate, requiring the drinker to combine the two in a “ridiculous” manner.
Hitchens urges Americans to demand better when they ask for a cuppa in coffee shops such as Starbucks, citing George Orwell as an unlikely source for the “golden rules” of tea-making.
He quotes from a 1946 newspaper article written by the author, which starts by recommending that only Indian or Ceylonese tea should be used and made in a china or earthenware pot.
Hitchens writes, in Slate, that these two pieces of advice “may be considered optional or outmoded”.
“But the essential ones are easily committed to memory, and they are simple to put into practice.”
He says Orwell is right to insist that any pot of mug used for tea is “pre-warmed”, and that the water must be “actually boiling at point of impact” with the leaves or bag.
Hitchens admits that “family feuds have lasted generations” over the issue of whether or not the milk should go in before the tea.
He is with Orwell that milk should be added afterwards, as otherwise “you will almost certainly put in too much”.
However the two writers differ on whether the drink should be sweetened. Orwell thought that tea was meant to be bitter, and that sugar destroyed its flavour.
But Hitchens considers “brown sugar or honey” to be “permissible and sometimes necessary”.
He writes: “It is already virtually impossible in the United States, unless you undertake the job yourself, to get a cup or pot of tea that tastes remotely as it ought to. It's quite common to be served a cup or a pot of water, well off the boil, with the tea bags lying on an adjacent cold plate. Then comes the ridiculous business of pouring the tepid water, dunking the bag until some change in color occurs, and eventually finding some way of disposing of the resulting and dispiriting tampon surrogate. The drink itself is then best thrown away, though if swallowed, it will have about the same effect on morale as a reading of the memoirs of President James Earl Carter.”
Hitchens concludes: “Next time you are in a Starbucks or its equivalent and want some tea, don't be afraid to decline that hasty cup of hot water with added bag. It's not what you asked for.
“Insist on seeing the tea put in first, and on making sure that the water is boiling. If there are murmurs or sighs from behind you, take the opportunity to spread the word. And try it at home, with loose tea and a strainer if you have the patience. Don't trouble to thank me.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink ... -help.html
Fresh from defeating Tony Blair in a high-profile debate on the evils of religion, Christopher Hitchens has begun a campaign to teach Americans how to make a decent cup of tea.
The water must be 'actually boiling at point of impact' with the leaves or bag
The leading intellectual, who is suffering from throat cancer, claims in a new online article that it is “virtually impossible” to find anywhere in the USA that serves Britain’s national drink in an acceptable form.
He complains that many establishments merely offer a mug of tepid water with a teabag lying on a plate, requiring the drinker to combine the two in a “ridiculous” manner.
Hitchens urges Americans to demand better when they ask for a cuppa in coffee shops such as Starbucks, citing George Orwell as an unlikely source for the “golden rules” of tea-making.
He quotes from a 1946 newspaper article written by the author, which starts by recommending that only Indian or Ceylonese tea should be used and made in a china or earthenware pot.
Hitchens writes, in Slate, that these two pieces of advice “may be considered optional or outmoded”.
“But the essential ones are easily committed to memory, and they are simple to put into practice.”
He says Orwell is right to insist that any pot of mug used for tea is “pre-warmed”, and that the water must be “actually boiling at point of impact” with the leaves or bag.
Hitchens admits that “family feuds have lasted generations” over the issue of whether or not the milk should go in before the tea.
He is with Orwell that milk should be added afterwards, as otherwise “you will almost certainly put in too much”.
However the two writers differ on whether the drink should be sweetened. Orwell thought that tea was meant to be bitter, and that sugar destroyed its flavour.
But Hitchens considers “brown sugar or honey” to be “permissible and sometimes necessary”.
He writes: “It is already virtually impossible in the United States, unless you undertake the job yourself, to get a cup or pot of tea that tastes remotely as it ought to. It's quite common to be served a cup or a pot of water, well off the boil, with the tea bags lying on an adjacent cold plate. Then comes the ridiculous business of pouring the tepid water, dunking the bag until some change in color occurs, and eventually finding some way of disposing of the resulting and dispiriting tampon surrogate. The drink itself is then best thrown away, though if swallowed, it will have about the same effect on morale as a reading of the memoirs of President James Earl Carter.”
Hitchens concludes: “Next time you are in a Starbucks or its equivalent and want some tea, don't be afraid to decline that hasty cup of hot water with added bag. It's not what you asked for.
“Insist on seeing the tea put in first, and on making sure that the water is boiling. If there are murmurs or sighs from behind you, take the opportunity to spread the word. And try it at home, with loose tea and a strainer if you have the patience. Don't trouble to thank me.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink ... -help.html
This may be interesting to some. Ginger Baker fronting Chris Goss' legendary Masters Of Reality for a short groove on the inability of Americans to make a good cup of tea!
[align=center]The Masters Of Reality - T.U.S.A
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[align=center]The Masters Of Reality - T.U.S.A
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