Learning Curves and Lipton Secrets!

I guess I always knew there's a learning curve to steeping a good cup of tea.

I mean, it took me years to come up with the exact way to brew a cup of Lipton Orange Pekoe tea. Likely because I didn't care for a long time and when I did begin to enjoy it for myself, I was so distracted, I didn't feel a tea bag worthy of the scant bit of brainpower not being used to investigate how to make a consistently good brew.

Now...

I've got it down to a science and I'll bet Mr. Lipton, himself, could not make his own tea taste any better. (I'll give my secret to brewing a Lipton teabag below)

Of course there are standard methods for brewing certain teas which one would do well to follow. The correct temperature, steep time, tea to water ratio, etc...but sometimes, regardless of carefully followed instructions or superb guidelines, you just have to go through a bit of trial and error.

This morning was a great example of one of those "learning curves" moments. It happened with a tea called "Golden Imperial Lotus" a black tea by Teavana. Apparently it's no longer available (which is probably why it was on sale for 75% off its normal price of $40!) so I won't waste your time reviewing the tea, which is a very nice morning black tea. Only to say that the lovely concept of a hand woven bundle of leaves to simply place in a cup and lift out once the steep time is up was better in theory than in actuallity. The water should have been hotter and the bundle is better suited to brew in 8oz NOT the suggested 16 oz. The result of my first brew was weak and when milked, it looked greyish. So, the first cup was dumped!

Bottom line, accept the probability that you might have to throw away the first steep of a new tea and brew another, garbed with the knowledge of where you may have mis-stepped in your first steeping or infusion. This is especially true if you're unfamiliar with the tea as a category or particular or even company itself. Beginner though I am, I've already noticed the difference between two companies' Rooibos, one takes more than a teaspoon per 8oz, the other takes a little less. I've learned, too, that this does not necessarily mean the one company has fresher tea...they are simply different. And I've enjoyed both teas immensely and will be reviewing both, by and by.

So what's your conquest story with tea? Have you had occasion to throw away tea, and then the determination to make it right? If you feel led, please share below!

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Lipton Tea

(Hot Tea brewing secrets for a single cup.)

 Follow these directions precisely and you will have a PERFECTLY lovely, albeit commercialized and not loose leaf, cup of morning tea.

Must haves:

Porcelain cup (or if you are brave, a glass cup): You can resist it till you're blue in the face, but tea needs a non-porous cup in which to steep. Most mugs absorb the taste and instead of sending the flavor back to you, an essence gets lost in translation.

Boiling Filtered Water: Filtered from your tap or frig will do, but filtered is a must. Now, many teas out there, particularly your whites and greens, would resent you for exposing them to such a harsh temperature, to the point where they become passive-aggressive and give off vial flavors for your unintentional blunder. But Lipton Tea, being a black tea, needs the hotter temperature to release it's flavors. So make the water whistle for  a few moments before pouring it into the cup. (I've discovered my teapot whistles around 203...and for a really good, hot tea, you should wait till it goes up around 210)

Process:

POUR WATER OVER BAG. Do NOT pour the water in the cup and then place the bag in the cup. The bag resists the boiled water and floats on top, while your water cools below it. So, by the time your bag allows the hot water to overtake it, it's too late for a pure steep.

LEAVE IT!! For 3 minutes: No more, no less. (I actually have adopted a different system of measuring steep time for my Lipton. I pour the water, put a slice of whole wheat bread in the toaster, push down and wait for it to pop up. When it does, I quickly butter it with whipped butter and then attend to my tea. This is my daily, morning ritual, whether I wake up at 4am or 7am)

Bag the Bag: Attention, for the more commercialized black teas, such as Lipton and Twinning, you NEED to wrap the bag and string around a spoon and just over the cup, squeeze the bag's essence into the cup. If you try this method with loose leaf, more upscale teas, you will have a bitter mess on your hands as the breaking of the leaves releases something that was never meant to be broken into. ("A bruised reed, He will not crush!"~ Never forget, there are great truths referenced and remembered...even in tea, my friend.)

I grew up drinking Lipton the European way, with "cream and sugar". I discovered in talking to a British woman one time and then years later I spoke about tea with an Austrian woman in Fresh Market, no less, that when "cream" is mentioned with tea, it's actually "Whole Milk" NOT the creamer we put in coffee. (There was a bit of a mix up with the Austrian lady when I tried to be clever and mentioned liking tea with "cream and sugar!" Once we had a chuckle at each trying to interpret according to the other's culture I found out she'd been in the states long enough to know Americans refer to the liquid which creams the tea as simply, "milk". )

The Final Touch for my perfect Lipton Tea is just enough WHOLE milk (this is no time to be skimpy...I AM having whole wheat bread, remember?!) to give the tea a lovely Carmel color. Sugar should NEVER be put in un-creamed hot black tea. The closest thing I can liken it to is that the water scalds it. Therefore, I always put in one packet of Splenda AFTER the milk.

There...Now you have a perfect cup of Lipton Black Orange Pekoe! Let me know if you try this and what you find!