Archive for the ‘Verity Fisher’ Category

3 comments

all this tea and I’m still thirsty


2011
08.03

Posted in Assam Harmutti, Ceylon Bop Uva, Grand Yunnan, green tea, Japanese Bancha, Joie de tea, Lapsang Souchong, Uncategorized, Verity Fisher | 3 Comments »

Drank this whole pot of tea and I’m still thirsty. It was a smoky Grand Yunnan, and as much as I enjoy the taste, it somehow didn’t affect how thirsty I am. As if I hadn’t actually drunk any tea.

Yesterday I noticed that I was rarely satisfied after drinking a Bancha, and Verity Fisher responded with ‘I never find green or roasted teas to be thirst quenching, but Indian/African/Ceylon blacks are. Odd, isn’t it?’

It was such an interesting comment, and I’ve been pondering it ever since. Why do some teas simply not quench my thirst? What an intriguing question.

There’s probably a scientific answer for this, but I can’t begin to assess it. It’s beyond my understanding.

But my personal experience? My objective opinion? I have plenty of that.

As much as I love the taste of a smoky Lapsang Souchong, it doesn’t make me any less thirsty. And I seem to respond similarly to other smoky teas. I can’t make a blanket statement about all green tea, but there are certainly some I can think of that fit in this weird category.

Many strong, dark teas do quench my thirst, so it has no direct connection to that. I know I was a little rigid about milk in my Darjeeling in my last post, but I still put milk in some tea. When I drink those (an Assam Harmutti or Ceylon BOP Uva) with a bit of milk, I know I won’t be thirsty afterward.

Maybe you know of a chemical or physical reason why some teas are like this. If you do, I’d love to hear it.

But otherwise, have you noticed that certain tea quenches your thirst more than others? Which tea?

4 comments

Who would put milk in their Darjeeling tea?


2011
08.01

Posted in Beasts of Brewdom, Darjeeling, Devotea, Geoff Norman, Joie de tea, Lazy Literatus, Philistine, Robert Godden, tea obsessive, Tee Kampagne, Uncategorized, Verity Fisher | 4 Comments »



There was a lively discussion this morning about polluting Darjeeling tea with milk. Robert Godden (you might know him as The_Devotea over on twitter) mentioned in passing that his wife insisted on drinking her Darjeeling with milk and sugar. It’s Australia. They don’t necessarily stand on convention in the distant reaches of civilisation.

For a few brief moments we had a Beasts of Brewdom situation. Almost immediately after the offhand remark about milk and sugar in Darjeeling, there was shock and dismay coming from up in Portland, Oregon. Lazy Literatus, who’s also known by his given name Geoff Norman, could be heard spitting up his tea upon hearing how the Darjeeling was being mishandled.
Well at this point, another Australian (Verity Fisher also known as @joiedetea) quietly admitted that she’d uncharacteristically added milk to her Darjeeling that morning because she’d over-steeped her tea and the milk cut down on the bitterness. I was worried Geoff might have an aneurism at this point. She assured him that it wouldn’t happen again, but I’m not entirely sure he believed her. Only time will tell.
I have an Irish friend who’s been ordering Darjeeling in bulk for decades from the Tee Kampagne, and he’s been putting milk in his tea since he was small. Or smaller. He wouldn’t give a damn what these tea obsessives on twitter thought about how he took his tea. He doesn’t idealise this high mountain delicacy like we do. It’s simply another black tea for him. Simple.
So what about you? Are you more like Geoff, whose precarious health status seems to have recovered from the original shock, or me even? Would you sooner pour used motor oil in your Darjeeling than destroy it with moo juice?
Or are you a bit of a Philistine on the whole ‘milk in my Darjeeling‘ debate? It’s just tea, after all.

Verity Fisher - Lahikmajoe Drinks Tea