Black Tea and Milk

[v12]

As a beginner tea drink (but long time coffee connaisseur) i was curious as to which types of black teas usually take milk, and which are primarily served 'strait up'. I noticed that certain chinese teas (from resturants) are served in smaller, sake-like, cups, where as black teas, such as breakfast teas, are served in larger glasses, usually with milk.

Or am i gettings Oolong and black tea confused?

additionally, how are green, white, herbal, rooibos, and flavored teas served? (i know most are prepared at slightly cooler than bioling water temp.)

Thanks in advance!!!

[EvenOdd]

One usually only uses milk on black teas, like the "breakfast tea" you mentioned. Otherwise, if there is a need for sweeten in other teas, probably use sugar or honey.

And I hear it's proper to put the milk in the cup before pouring the tea. Putting milk in after would scald it.

[kissmyhuman]

It's all based on tea culture. The European method of drinking tea with milk and sugar was a result of tea being very expensive and using the milk as a filler. Only the aristocracy was able to afford black tea straight. As far as adding milk, put the milk in your tea cup first then slowly add the boiling water/tea so the milk can reach temp slowly and avoid scalding.

Teas served in Chinese restaurants are usually green or oolong and aren't served with milk or sweetener.

Chinese and Japanese servings are usually around 4oz while European and American servings are around 6-8oz or more.

Green and white teas are usually prepared with lower-than-boiling water, or around 180F. Bring your water to a boil to deoxegnate it then let it cool for about 4 or 5 mins and it should bring you around to ideal temp then steep for about 2 mins (adjust steep time to personal taste). Flavored teas are prepared according to whatever the base tea is (green, white, black, etc.). Roobios I'm not familiar with making so I can't recommend a way to make it. Herbal teas can vary based on whats in it, but it's usually boiling water with a steep time of 3-5 mins.

It's not a science, experiment and stick to what tastes good to you.

[tomvyn]

uff.. OK, let's do it ;o)))

So,as said before,I would recommend milk only with black tea and mainly with no strong flavour. That means, that if you buy good Darjeeling, Keemun(QiMen,..), Nepal, Kenya - those have really full flavour and with the milk you will taste milk AND tea - and those tastes will sort of fight against each other.

With teas like Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Assam there will be almost like chocolate taste (even bit sweet..) - and the taste will be nice and smooth.

What I never believed could be good - is PuErh with milk (obviously full fat - if tea,than pure tea, if milk, than full milk ;o)). I have to say, that I love PuErh, and sometimes with milk - it's amazing! Actually with PuErh I put so much milk, almost like 2parts of tea, 1part of milk.

I've met few people, who liked milk with green tea or even scented green tea - so remember - it will always be your taste and your experience, so keep on trying, and you will see what you like and what you don't.

The preparations methods - quite a topic for itself ;o). Basically and really briefly - the temperature and time of brewing goes down with the percentage of fermentation (and actually color ;o), so
black tea (100% fermented) - 100C water for about 3-5mins,
oolongs (they are inbetween green & black ->10-90% fermented) - 60-80C water for about 2-4mins,
green & white tea (not fermented) - 50-70C for about 2-3mins..
This is basically for tea prepared on one brew, 3,5-4 teaspoons and about 0,55lit of water.. If trying 2nd brew, than only with quality tea, and longer time, higher temperature..

But really depends on the way how you prepare it, how much tea leaves and water you put..

And how you know, that you've brewed too long OR too hot water? The taste will be bitter - after a while of tasting you can really tell..

So just keep on trying and enjoy ;o)))

[Madam Potts]

umm...yeah - that pretty much covers it...nice full answer!

[hop_goblin]

As a beginner tea drink (but long time coffee connaisseur) i was curious as to which types of black teas usually take milk, and which are primarily served 'strait up'. I noticed that certain chinese teas (from resturants) are served in smaller, sake-like, cups, where as black teas, such as breakfast teas, are served in larger glasses, usually with milk.

Or am i gettings Oolong and black tea confused?

additionally, how are green, white, herbal, rooibos, and flavored teas served? (i know most are prepared at slightly cooler than bioling water temp.)

Thanks in advance!!!

PARIS (AFP) - Bad news for Britons: adding milk to tea ruins the health benefits of the drink, according to a Germany study.

Tea has complex compounds called polyphenols which are believed to help the arteries to relax or dilate, thus enabling a smoother flow of blood.

Scientists led at the Charite Hospital in Berlin tested black Darjeeling tea on 16 healthy women volunteers aged more than 50, placing an ultrasound probe on their forearm to measure arterial response.

When the women drank half a litre (0.9 of a pint) of tea, their arteries relaxed significantly more than when they drank hot water or tea with milk -- tea in which skimmed milk, comprising 10 percent of the drink's volume, was added.

The results were confirmed in lab-dish tests on rat aorta.

The study, which appears online in the European Heart Journal, points the finger of blame at three casein proteins in the milk. These are thought to adhere to a kind of polyphenols known as catechins, preventing them from carrying out their health-making work.

This could explain why Britain, a nation passionate about tea-drinking but where almost everybody adds milk to their cup, fails to make headway against cardiovascular disease, said researcher Verena Stangl.

The study did not cover green tea, which is widely drunk in East Asia -- without milk.


Source" Yahoo.news.com

[v12]

thanks this has been really helpful. Im currently in the process of ordering a few sample cans to get an array of different tasting teas!

[Mike in KY]

Yes, try a variety of tea from a variety of souces v12. I continue to do that every year. Tea is a processed agricultural product that does vary.

I notice a lot of vendors still recommend adding milk to many or all Assams. I can't help but wonder if many of them actually hate Assams. I know I dislike the taste of Darjeelings.
If you don't care for the taste of a tea, why buy it in the first place?

Of course, like several other tea drinkers I know, the 2005 Assamese harvest drove me to trying anything to improve the taste. Nothing helped. (2006 was a long sad year)

Bottom line, buy tea that you like. As for milk, sugar and fruit...do you hate the tea that much? It's not coffee. Find tea you like and you won't want to corrupt it.

[tomvyn]

to hop_goblin:
it's really interesting and I've never heard about it, but I suppose, it's kind of obvious, that the nature of tea gonna change with milk added into it.
I just think, that milk is mostly added because of the taste. But anyway, useful information..

to Mike in KY:
the same.. milk is added because of taste.. some people like black tea, some green, some like puehr, some coffee,... ...and some tea with milk.. what's wrong about it?
for example - I just love puehr. The taste is really different to anything else. One day someone told me to add milk. I was against it.. ..but than I tried.. Now I don't do it often, but when I'm in a mood to have a puehr with milk - I really do appreciate the smooth taste - it's like having one more kind of tea ;o))). And the thing is - don't compare it to puehr.. It's not better, it's not worse. It's just - either you like or not, end of story.
And I suppose, that Assam is recomended with tea, because it's the let's say smallest harm.. The taste with milk is really smooth and great. With teas like Darjeeling - first - lots of time they are more expensive, second - the taste is stronger and with milk you won't enjoy it..
and.. don't worry the vendors hopefully don't hate what they sell ?

[kimber45acp]

If you want to be a tea purist, then you'll probably want to pass on the milk. The rule of thumb that I follow is

Black Tea from India - yes this includes English and Irish Breakfast teas which usually are blends of Indian Teas. . No for really high quality loose leaf teas like Darjeeling.

White, Green, Oolong and Chinese Black Tea - No, absolutely not! These teas have a very subtle taste and adding anything but water will overpower the taste. In China its insulting to add sweetner or anything else for that matter to tea.

The rare exception to green tea would be if you had a Kashmiri Chai, which is usually brewed with Gunpowder and flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, almonds and sometimes saffron(for color). Its also sweetened as well.

Herbal teas, other tisanes and homemade concoctions - pretty much anything goes here. I particularly like my south african rooibos with soy milk and sugar.

[JCFantasy23]

I put milk in some hot tea today. It gets it a silkier feel on the tongue when drank and that's about it, makes it a bit better. This may only apply to some teas though, I was just drinking plain lipton and lemon tea.

[varatphong]

Milk acts as a smoothener for harsh and bitter teas that would otherwise be unpleasant to drink on its’ own. Rarely have I seen milk added to high quality teas as milk suppresses the characteristics of the tea and diminishes the overall aroma and flavor. It would indeed be heartbreaking for me to see milk added to a vintage brew of Puerh Cha.

[jdsears669]

When I was a kid I drank my tea with milk and sugar. Now I don't add anything to any of the teas I drink.

[streetspirit]

One green tea that I occasionally enjoy with soy milk is Japanese Matcha made into a iced latte.

[teaspoon]

Ditto streetspirit. While I was working at a tea shop, I had a customer that asked if he could put milk in his green tea, as in "would that be okay???" I said most people don't but there's nothing saying it's wrong really. So he did, and he liked it. This made me curious, and I had read about drinks like milk tea and such in Japan and other places in Asia, so I experimented. I took some sencha, brewed it double strong, and added milk and sugar. It was actually really good! Like green tea candy or something. Fabulous. I wouldn't necessarily drink my tea that way all the time, but it's good for a treat.

~tsp