I used to have a tea ball, one of those metal things with a chain. I would fill the ball with tea leaves and then dangle it into my hot water. Or else I would leave it in the cup, and I poured boiling water over it. That was many years ago, when I used to get herbal teas from a special shop. But I've moved so many times since then that I don't know where that tea ball is. Today is a cold day and I decided to make some Darjeeling tea, but I had no tea ball, and this tea was the genuine article, sent to me all the way from India, and, of course, it does not come in tea bags.
I discovered two new methods to brew tea without a tea ball. The first is just to use a strainer.
You put the strainer over your cup, and then you pour boiling water over it. The other way is to use your coffee maker and brew it just as if it were coffee.
Both methods work. So even if you don't have a tea ball, you can see brew un-bagged tea.
Bow enjoyed his cup of tea. He took it with a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of lemon.
Everything is better on blue willow china. Bow is very careful with the cup and saucer, so it's only the best for him!
I often use a large cafetiere if I want more than one mugful of tea. It is much easier to clean out than a tea pot. Usually though I use a very deep strainer, measuring about 3 inches (or maybe even a bit more) from top to bottom, which can be left sitting on the top of the mug for as long as desired. I have loads of different leaf teas. One of my current favourites is Moroccan Mint, which is a blend of gunpowder tea and mint leaves.
Hi, Krys. Your methods of brewing sound very effective, I probably need to get a deeper strainer like yours, if I don't find that tea ball. I have not tried Moroccan Mint, but it sounds lovely. I bet even my daughter would like that.
I used to have a tea ball, but mine broke. I have dried peppermint from my mom's garden, and for the longest time I wanted to make peppermint tea. What I did finally was boil some water, and then used the paper towel as a barrier when pour it over the leaves into the water. I have also used paper towels when I run out of coffee filters, so these are quite effective. I would have enjoyed trying some of the Darjeeling tea you and Bow had today.
Hi, Julia. Yes, paper towels can be just as effective as coffee filters in a pinch. I have tried that, too. Did you just use dried peppermint leaves as tea? How was it? My daughter is a big fan of anything with mint in it. I wish you could have tried our tea yesterday, too.
Natural dried mint makes a lovely tea. You can drink it freshed brewed, but it tastes even better when you let it sit for an hour or tea. If you have a mint plant you can make peppermint tea this way, and it will produce much more than what you could ever buy at the store. Of course, you might not want to plant mint there, but it really does not need much tending it all since I know you get rain there. I would live through the spring and summer months.
We should really try to grow some mint this spring. Right now there is still snow on the ground and the temperature is very low! So we'll wait a little, but I will put it on my list. Great idea, Julia!
I often use a large cafetiere if I want more than one mugful of tea. It is much easier to clean out than a tea pot. Usually though I use a very deep strainer, measuring about 3 inches (or maybe even a bit more) from top to bottom, which can be left sitting on the top of the mug for as long as desired. I have loads of different leaf teas. One of my current favourites is Moroccan Mint, which is a blend of gunpowder tea and mint leaves.
ReplyDeleteHi, Krys. Your methods of brewing sound very effective, I probably need to get a deeper strainer like yours, if I don't find that tea ball. I have not tried Moroccan Mint, but it sounds lovely. I bet even my daughter would like that.
DeleteI used to have a tea ball, but mine broke. I have dried peppermint from my mom's garden, and for the longest time I wanted to make peppermint tea. What I did finally was boil some water, and then used the paper towel as a barrier when pour it over the leaves into the water. I have also used paper towels when I run out of coffee filters, so these are quite effective. I would have enjoyed trying some of the Darjeeling tea you and Bow had today.
ReplyDeleteHi, Julia. Yes, paper towels can be just as effective as coffee filters in a pinch. I have tried that, too. Did you just use dried peppermint leaves as tea? How was it? My daughter is a big fan of anything with mint in it. I wish you could have tried our tea yesterday, too.
DeleteNatural dried mint makes a lovely tea. You can drink it freshed brewed, but it tastes even better when you let it sit for an hour or tea. If you have a mint plant you can make peppermint tea this way, and it will produce much more than what you could ever buy at the store. Of course, you might not want to plant mint there, but it really does not need much tending it all since I know you get rain there. I would live through the spring and summer months.
DeleteWe should really try to grow some mint this spring. Right now there is still snow on the ground and the temperature is very low! So we'll wait a little, but I will put it on my list. Great idea, Julia!
Delete