basic tea gear for a tea newcomer

Several weeks ago, I received a question from someone new to my blog.  It was just a general 'What's the best way to brew this stuff?' question, but my heart sank a bit when she indicated that she, her name's Elizabeth, only had teabags and really only wanted to brew up a cup at a time.

Nothing wrong with that, despite what Robert Godden might tell you, but once you've really been convinced about loose-leaf tea, it's difficult to get excited about teabags.  I've been suitably polite about how some teabags from some brands aren't that bad, but even I have a hard time actually believing it most of the time.

Today, I got another question from Elizabeth.  It was more along the lines of, 'How do I get into tea?'  Which really means, 'What sort of stuff do I need to do this right?'

I'm going to keep this blogpost as short as I can.  I 'd like to keep it as simple as possible.  One of the things I try to do with this blog is to pass exactly this sort of information on to people relatively new to tea.  Well, loose-leaf tea especially.

Firstly, I'll ask you loyal readers how you'd answer this question.  How would you introduce drinking tea brewed from whole leaf?

I use filter bags quite a lot.  Especially when I travel.  And I like to have them around for everyday use.  Especially with most black tea, I don't think it really matters.

But with any whole leaf tea, some enjoy watching the full leaves open up as they steep almost as much as they like actually drinking the tea.  For that, a glass teapot where the leaves can swim around freely would be ideal.  If you don't already have one, I'm not sure I'd recommend going out and getting one.

Let's make sure you like this tea drinking lark first, ok?

So my advice is to get a Finum Brewing Basket. The largest size is ideal because then you can make both smaller and larger amounts.  There are certainly other brands.  This is simply the one I know.  And I'd get that permanent tea filter basket first before choosing a teapot.  Just to make sure they fit one another.

Here's my Finum Brewing Basket

And what sort of pot?  I don't know what the rest of you think about this, but the simplest ceramic pot should be good for starting out.  Why not?

I'm sure you can find a Brown Betty or something similar from a variety of sources.  I'm not a teapot fanatic, so maybe one of the rest of you has better advice for this question.

Ok Elizabeth, once you have a few basic pieces of tea gear, we'll move on to the actual tea.  Curious how easy this is for you specifically and if anyone else reading this has additional ideas generally.

prostate awareness on a teablog?

a bit of facial hair

There's plenty of tea drinking going on hereabouts, but there's a topic some of us male teabloggers are delicately weaving into our narrative.  The month of November has something to do with prostate awareness.  You'll certainly be hearing more about it in the weeks to come, but I'm going to let Robert Godden explain it better than I can:

Tea and the Art of Manliness Maintenance

So, here we go.  I'll still be talking about this tea drinking lark here.  Quite a lot actually.  But there'll be plenty about a healthy prostate, as well.

Here's an explanation over on Joy's Teaspoon blog: We Challenge You to a 'Mo Off' and I just found this description on the Movember website of what we're doing.  Here's how it's written:

'During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.'

And here's Our Movember Team.  Go check us out and donate indiscriminately.  Or discriminately.

Red Rose Tea memories

Periodically, I'll hear someone ask how I got into tea.  Or it's a common interview question when tea obsessives are interviewed.  Logical question, isn't it?

Because I've written this blog with the tea newcomer in mind, I'm always looking for things that'd be interesting for just such readers.  

I've mentioned Cara in Cleveland before when I wrote Must one study tea to really appreciate it?, and she's told me a bit about a brand I've not yet tried called Red Rose Tea.

The thing is I can't really call Cara in Cleveland a newcomer to tea, because she's shared tea with her grandmother most of her life.  Part of this blog's mission is to lure people over to the leaf-side.  Although she already associates tea drinking with pleasant memories of loved ones, she's not really convinced on this whole tea drinking lark.

I'm rather certain that if we find the right sort of tea, Cara in Cleveland will gladly come join us on the leaf-side.

More on that at a later time.  What I want to do today is let Cara tell us in her own words what tea drinking means to her.  I asked her to tell me about the tea that reminds her of the times she's had with her grandmother.  Here's what she wrote:

I never slept well away from home and Grandma always seemed to know when I was awake and nervous. We would sit in the front room; in the dim light of a flickering orange bulb meant to simulate a candle. She would bring small crackers covered in butter and mugs of Red Rose Tea.

  

I didn't like the tea then; it was strange with an earthy smell and tasted like the oak leaves that got in my mouth in the fall when I jumped in large piles my Grandfather raked but slightly sweeter. I drank it because I got listen to Grandma her tell stories. Sometimes she would talk about my mother as a child or me when I was a  baby but if I was very lucky and she had just purchased a new box she would give me the figurine.

  

Red Rose Tea started in Canada in the late 1800's as a loose leaf tea and came to the States in the 1920's in bags. The company started a promotional give away  in the 1960's; each box of tea included a Wade figurine. These small figurines became highly collectible and my collection lived on Grandma's kitchen windowsill for years. I still get excited now, some 30 years later, when I open a box and find my figurine. My most recent purchase included a miniature Uncle Sam which now sits comfortably in my shadowbox next to a kitten sitting on top of a Jack-o-lantern.

  

Grandma used Red Rose Tea for her iced tea as well, she would set a large container of water and a handful of floating tea bags on the back steps in the summer to steep in the sun. I remember that large container with yellow daisies painted on it and the bright yellow lid. It was usually a blur as I burst out of the back door and skipped down the steps to make my flamboyant entrance in the pool. My summer lunches included that sun tea (with extra lemon and a heaping tablespoon of sugar) and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

  

My wonderful adventures with my Grandfather stopped four years ago and tea with my Grandmother is now just a few precious times a year. I have grown accustomed to the taste of Red Rose Tea and drink it more for nostalgic reasons than anything. That strange taste, I've never quite grown to like, on my tongue releases wonderful memories of times I miss.