(TEA)-erminator

 (TEA)-erminator

 Tea plays a crucial role in our everyday lives; it is interesting to see that we have transformed tea again!

My posts have explored the various advantages of tea, from medicinal purposes to simply drinking for pleasure.

Tea now has transformed back to the state it was first discovered in…

 Bootea is a tea that has changed the mind of all tea drinkers! This tea is a special formulation that can help you detox you body and it can help you terminate stubborn fat! (Who needs gym!?)

As it has such selected spices and teas blended together for detoxing , it is recommended that you remove any meat from your diet for a while. meat has lots of toxins! 

It uses very similar ingredients as Mrs Beeton’s tea and The Chinese/Korean medicinal tea

It contains:

Ginseng, ginger, liquorice, lemon grass, fennel seeds and the famous Chinese Oolong tea!   

This clearly shows that those herbal teas that were used traditionally by Chinese and Korean people were very carefully selected and blended together to give Tea a special touch! This really contributes to my understanding overall, these tea's were very carefully selected, each for their own benefit. 

this little teabag did not taste as wonderful as it was marketed,  

Definitely not my cup of tea! 

I'm a little teapot short and stout, here is my handle and here is my spout!

               Teapots are just as important as the tea inside them!

                      A children's nursery song about a teapot! 

In China there are special teapots that are called Yixing teapots.

 Helen Saberi writes how they are: ‘’ made from zisha, purple-sand clay found only in the region of the town of Yixing in Jiangsu province, China. What makes a Yixing teapot special is that the inside is never glazed and, because of its porous nature, it absorbs the flavour of the tea brewed in it. Over a period, the pot literally becomes infused with the tea flavour’’

 (Saberi, Helen. Tea: A Global History. London)

Another very important tradition revolved around the teapots is the tradition of The Russian Samovars!  They are big metal containers with three layers. The bottom layer contains water that is simmered on a low heat, and the top 2 containers have the different flavoured teas in them.

In the Modern Russia, Samovars are not commonly used; instead they are taken out on occasions to highlight the culture and their ancestor’s traditions! 

The pot that tea is brewed in plays a significant role in the Hobbit, Bilbo remembers his house when the he remembers ‘the sound of the kettle on his hearth was ever after more musical than it had been even in the quiet days before’’. The tea pot plays a fundamental role in reminding Bilbo of his house, the author has included the kettle in the start of the novel to highlight the importance if it, readers are taken back to this kettle in the last part as well to show that the kettle has homely memories attached to it.

In Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, we also see that the teapot plays a significant role in Mrs. Corney’s life she takes her anger out by insulting the teapot, the quote below explains more:

The black teapot, being very small and easily filled, ran over while Mrs. Corney was moralizing; and the water slightly scalded Mrs. Corney's hand.

'Drat the pot!' said the worthy matron, setting it down very hastily on the hob; 'a little stupid thing, that only holds a couple of cups! What use is it of, to anybody! Except,' said Mrs. Corney, pausing, 'except to a poor desolate creature like me. Oh dear!'

For Mrs. Corney the Teapot plays a role of a comforting apparatus, she takes her anger and misery out by mentioning how ''little'' and useless this teapot can be.

Clearly both novels show that it’s not just the Russians that can have a samovar to remind them of things! The teapot in all examples is playing a crucial role to remind characters of their past!

Spicy Indian Tea!

India is the second largest producer of tea to china. It’s interesting to note that even though they have the largest amount of tea available in their country, they still ad lots of spices to their beverage!

- Helen Saberi writes how this spicy tea full of Indian flavours can relieve you from  ‘a Headache, Gravel, and Griping in the Guts’.

There were various recipes available for masala chai, so I decided to put it up for a test…. I am going to compare Helen Saberi’s recipe that has been inspired by Rabbi Blue’s recipe, a BBC recipe for masala chai and Beatrice Vieyra’s Cutchee tea

Recipe 1:

 Helen Saberi adapted this recipe from Rabbi Blue’s ‘Matchmaker’s Tea’ in his book Kitchen Blues. Make a pot of black Indian tea for two to four people. Into each cup put a 1 inch cinnamon stick, a slice of lemon, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons sugar and 3 tablespoons rum and pour over the hot tea. For a cooling drink in summer add ice cubes before pouring ‘

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Recipe 2:

BBC’s recipe Ingredients

 350ml/12fl oz. water

100ml/3½fl oz. milk

4 black peppercorns

10 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

Good pinch green fennel seeds

Small piece cinnamon stick

1 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and roughly sliced

1 tea bag

Sugar, to taste

Salt, to taste (optional)

Preparation method

Heat the water and milk in a pan with the spices and ginger until it comes to the boil. Turn the heat down and cook over a low to medium heat for 15 minutes. Be careful as the milk can easily rise and boil over.

Once the volume is reduced to a large cupful, add the teabag and let it brew for one minute, or longer if you like strong tea.

To serve, strain into a cup and add sugar or salt if using, to taste.

And finally…

Recipe 3:

Another recipe for spiced tea can be found in the book Culinary Art Sparklets; the author Beatrice Vieyra introduces a cutchee Tea that includes milk, sugar, almonds, sago cardamom pods and rosewater! (Mentioned in the book Tea: A global history)

All these recipes put a strong emphasis on the spices that are added to the tea, they use similar ingredients but they are all so very different from each other!

My attempt to try the masala chai: (Helen Saberi’s recipe was used  with a pinch of milk) - tips to make a great Helen Saberi inspired tea: boil the milk whilst its cooking it makes the tea creamier and more full of taste! 

sources: 

Tea: a global history by Helen Saberi, http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/theultimatemasalatea_86647