ABC head swipes at Murdoch

[Graeme]

The Nescafe that I know and that my parents have known since the 1960's is a proprietry brand of the absolute best 'instant' coffee on the market.

I knew Nescafe as the brand of coffee before my friend came back from Italy and told me that Nes Cafe was the italian phrase for instant coffee.

The parent company is "Nestle" who are a Swiss outfit. They do many different blends and one which I always have in our cupboard is their "Gold Blend".

That's the same brand we have here in our home. The absolute worst instant coffee is the International Roast brand -- too many Australian hospitals stock that brand for their staff... Happily, I also drink tea with as much enjoyment as I drink coffee.

Oh, and Earl Grey isn't tea....

[E.J.]

Quote from Fritz;"American tea is a joke, both in quality and brewing. While I haven't sampled Australian tea, I find it difficult to believe that it is not much better than its American counterpart".

If you do a search on 'Google' for 'PG Tips' you ought then to try some if you find it. Its a very long established English brand of tea that is very probably the most popular of them all. I do know that its available in the US but only from specialist suppliers. As for brewing it; if you have a kettle that boils water, a teapot, a cup & saucer, not forgetting sugar if you take it, than you're all set. Most people take milk with it but I'm of the belief that milk spoils it and that it should only be drunk black. (Don't forget to warm the pot before you brew the tea).

Enjoy............

I picked up some PG tips at the Whole Foods Market near my house ($3.20 for a box of 40). It wasn't in the tea section of the store, but in the English Foods section. The tea is definitely stronger than what I was used to (the bags appear to have more than twice the tea in them than the Lipton tea bag has). I also picked up some Barry's Irish breakfast tea, but haven't been brave enough to try it yet.

I also found PG Tips tea at the Cost plus Wold Market...they also had PG Tips special blend ($7.99 for a box of 80) maybe I'll try that next.

I am wondering about the purpose for warming the pot first.

[DesDownunder]

I picked up some PG tips at the Whole Foods Market near my house ($3.20 for a box of 40). It wasn't in the tea section of the store, but in the English Foods section. The tea is definitely stronger than what I was used to (the bags appear to have more than twice the tea in them than the Lipton tea bag has). I also picked up some Barry's Irish breakfast tea, but haven't been brave enough to try it yet.

I also found PG Tips tea at the Cost plus Wold Market...they also had PG Tips special blend ($7.99 for a box of 80) maybe I'll try that next.

I am wondering about the purpose for warming the pot first.

Warming the pot means that the cold pot does not rob the boiling water of heat that should go to infusing the tea.

Warming the pot also will allow the tea to remain at a higher temperature for longer, meaning that your second cup will still be hot enough to enjoy.

Some experts maintain that the water temperature should be slightly below boiling so as to not scorch the leaves.

Tea should also be poured onto the milk already in the cup. Adding milk to the tea after the tea is poured, scalds the milk and alters the flavour.

I was also told as a youngster that after you have poured the hot water on the tea, you should turn the pot three times, but I always felt this was a superstition.

Some people also believe the fist cup should be returned to the pot. I think this merely distributes the oils and tannins throughout the brew, and stirring probably performs the same function.

Tea poured within 3 minutes of being made will act as a stimulant, while tea that has been allowed to stand longer than 3 minutes acts as a mild sedative. It seems that the sedating parts of the tea leech into the brew more slowly than the stimulants.

If you find this is all a little to much trouble, then I advise you to avoid the Zen tea ceremony which is somewhat more involved.

[Trab]

Nescafe is good, and it has never stopped surprising me that Stash teas, blended in Portland Oregon, is super popular in Canada and almost impossible to find in the USA, even Portland Oregon. As far as I'm aware, English Breakfast tea blend is specifically blended to allow for milk to not ruin it, and yes, I pour the tea onto the milk in the cup.

The Dutch drink a lot of tea too, and they have a saying that basically says that the host should always pour the 1st cup of tea for him/herself and the last cup of coffee.

I forgot to mention that a ceramic drip filter will take 40 minutes to drip enough for 4 cups of coffee. But WOW, what a lovely cup of coffee.

[Bruin Fisher]

Don't get me started on tea and coffee.... Whoops, too late!

Purveyors of cheap instant coffee granules are criminals and should all be lined up against a wall and shot. Expensive instant coffee is, at least in the UK, very expensive, and makes a palateable drink, but to my taste buds at least, it doesn't taste like coffee.

I acquired a taste for quality real coffee on a visit to Italy, where they do it very well, but they're addicted to the stuff, and you see office workers rushing into cafes and downing an espresso and shooting off again. The baristas serve it cool enough to drink immediately, because that's what their customers want. English tourists, wanting to sit, admire the view, take their time over their drink, are put out by this until they learn to ask for it HOT.

It is perfectly possible to get decent coffee in England, but it's also possible to order coffee in a cafe and be served instant! And there's a whole generation of Brits who think coffee is made of half milk, half water, a spoon of instant coffee and about three spoons of sugar. A sort of poor man's Latte.

Now tea, we do know about. PG Tips, previously mentioned, is probably the nation's favourite variety. It's also the cheapest barring supermarkets' own-brand, and some people won't drink it. I have a friend who describes it as floor-sweepings. Personally I'm quite happy with a cup of PG Tips, but the best 'conventional' tea would be a single-plantation Ceylon tea, at about twice the price of PG Tips. And speciality teas from China and elsewhere make a drink so different from the usual tea that it almost merits a different name. Lapsang Souchong and Formosa Oolong for the adventurous (it tastes like smoked fish!) or Earl Grey, which is flavoured with Oil of Bergamot, for the more timid.

The way to do it right is: Fill a kettle fresh from the tap and bring it to a full bubbly boil. While it's heating, take a fine china teapot and pour a little of the hot water into it, swill it around and empty it. You've pre-heated the pot. Now put in one teaspoon of Ceylon tea for each person, plus one for the pot, and pour the water from the kettle into the pot while it's still boiling. Stir it a few times, put the lid on the pot and let it brew, five minutes for a strong brew, down to two minutes for a milder drink.

If you take it with milk, use full-fat or semi-skimmed, but not fully skimmed milk, and put the milk in the cup before the tea. Alternatively try it with a twist of lemon, or on its own.

The important bit seems to be to pour really hot water onto the leaves. At very high altitudes where water boils at a lower temperature, you can't make decent tea.

And before anyone complains, although Ceylon changed its name years ago to Sri Lanka, they choose to retain the name Ceylon for their tea. Don't ask me why, ask them!

[The Pecman]

It's at times like these that I'm glad I only drink Vitamin Water.

[Drewbie]

It's at times like these that I'm glad I only drink Vitamin Water.

Haha, is english tea as bitter as say the ones you leave out in the sun? I drink some coffee and instant I agree isn't to good at all :P

At times fox news is good for a laugh. in all honestly I'll really just watch the bbc, or read online, to many stations mostly local news has a lot of fluff pieces.

[DesDownunder]

Quote;"Haha, is english tea as bitter as say the ones you leave out in the sun?"

Always add the milk to the cup first. Quite what benefit this has escapes me as I've always drunk it black but my mother said it so it must be true.

If you haven't got a tea pot or have difficulty in finding one then, by all means, use a coffee pot but only if it is virgin and has never had coffee anywhere near it. The flavours most definitely do not mix. Do not add brown sugar as this will impair the flavour, too. Use only white granulated or lump sugar. Caster sugar (fine granules) is definitely the best.

Do enjoy and put to rest the myth that English tea is bitter. It isn't and is, to my and many other peoples palate, the most refreshing drink on the planet and a panacea for helping to overcome most of lifes little problems.

Rick

Rick, please see my post above about the tea scalding the milk if it is added after the tea is poured. When the hot tea is added to the milk, the milk is not scalded and thus does not impart that acrid flavour.

I do think chlorinated water affects the flavour of both teas and coffee, but the main culprit seems to me to be fluoride.

As far as sweetening the tea, I prefer honey, but you do have to be careful and choose a light coloured honey.