Comment by the-mitr

10 days ago

of possible interest

George Orwell's 11 rules of tea making

https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwel...

14 comments

the-mitr

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Foobar8568  10 days ago

Lot's of red flags in his way of tea making, but what can you expect from a British born in India on foods or drinks.

wcfrobert  10 days ago

> "First of all, one should use Indian or Ceylonese tea. China tea has virtues which are not to be despised nowadays—it is economical, and one can drink it without milk—but there is not much stimulation in it. One does not feel wiser, braver or more optimistic after drinking it. Anyone who has used that comforting phrase ‘a nice cup of tea’ invariably means Indian tea."

These are some of the worst tea-making tip I've ever seen. I get that taste is subjective and all, but come on... This is like saying:

"Al Pastor street taco in Mexico has its virtues - it is economical, and one can eat it without salsa - but there is not much stimulation in it. One does not feel wiser, braver or more optimistic after eating it. Anyone who has used that comforting phrase 'a great taco' invariably means Taco Bells"

CTC tea [1] is inferior in quality. They are mass-produced, brews quick, and tastes way too strong (hence the milk). Tea was invented in China and tea culture goes back thousands of years. India and Sri Lanka only started producing tea in the mid 1800s. Robert Fortune literally dressed up as a Chinese merchant, snuck into some rural village in Fujian, and smuggled some teas back so the British East India Company can cultivate it in and around India.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush,_tear,_curl

  • chrisjharris  9 days ago

    He's writing from a certain time, place, and culture, in reference to the teas that were available to him at that time. I'm not sure what you're arguing - that black tea didn't subjectively make him feel wiser, braver or more optimistic? And his tips for making black tea are perfectly sound.

    If I remember correctly, he actually wrote that essay because there was a world event that his compatriots were getting outraged about, and this was his way of being provocative by not covering it. But I may have that wrong.

ghtbircshotbe  10 days ago

6 heaping teaspoons of tea per quart of water seems like a lot of tea.

  • Foobar8568  10 days ago

    It depends really on the infusion time.

    Gong Fu brewing method has "worse" ratio but on purpose, a good oolong is marvelous. So is a good Pu'Er or green tea.