Whether you are getting up in the dark to watch the royal nuptials of Katherine and Prince William on Thursday morning or waiting for the highlights later in the day on Friday, you will undoubtedly need a cup of tea to get in the proper spirit. The British have a way of putting the polish on events like the upcoming wedding and while you may not see it on the telly, the Royal family and millions of others in the United Kingdom will take time for tea on Friday to reflect on the day’s events. I learned about this guilty pleasure, enjoyed by royals and commoners alike, while living in London during Diana and Prince Charles’ engagement. During their pre-wedding planning, it seemed like every street corner shop had Diana’s face on a linen tea towel or tea cup made in China.
At the time, I was a year younger than Diana and still developing my own taste in food and drink. To me, taking tea seemed like the something my grandmother might do. Not so in England. Men in navy overalls who filled potholes on the street with lava-like asphalt to the ladies of luxury who had a reserved table at the Savoy, all took time for tea. It’s a ritual that I try to follow most days. This week it will be Wedgwood pots and cups and Earl Grey from Fortnum and Mason, one of the oldest tea companies in the world (circa 1707).
When I returned to the states in 1980, I was sorely disappointed. When ordering tea in an American restaurant, the waiter brought a thin bag on a string with a yellow tag. The tea bag was filled with dust and the water in a dented metal pot was cold by my second horrible cup. It is no wonder that Americans haven’t appreciated tea since the Boston Tea Party. A tepid, weak cup of tea is well, tepid and weak, and tea from a coffee shop tastes vile in a Styrofoam or paper cup.
Rather than be constantly disappointed, I’ve opted for a proper cup at home or in my office. That means acquiring a kit of pots, strainers, cups and tea.
Luckily here in Colorado, good tea is hot and there are some fine spots for a spot of tea, finding a new teapot, buying great-quality leaf teas or just learning about tea. This month, The Denver Tea Room is featuring British teas and treats in honor of the wedding. Denver Tea Room, a tea catering company, recently added a new location at the Holiday Chalet Bed and Breakfast. In case you’ve never been to Celestial Seasonings and seen the teashop and taken the tour, it’s well worth the trip, especially as a summer field trip for visiting guests. Just for the chance to see and smell the peppermint room is worth the trip. Here is the virtual tour.
Here are more of my favorite tea places and instructions on brewing the proper pot and cup of tea.
Brown Palace: The Best Place to Feel Like Royalty While Sipping Tea
Hand down, white gloved of course, the Brown Palace is the place in Denver for afternoon tea. Afternoon tea usually loose tea with milk and sugar, accompanied by a tiered tray of all kids of fussy pretty sandwiches and scones with clotted cream. The Brown Palace does not disappoint. In fact, if you want to experience the ultimate in pampering the Brown has a Butler Brigade special complete with your own butler, Mercedes car with driver, shoeshine and in-room morning and afternoon libations, which of course can include pot of tea. Link here for more.
Boulder Teahouse: The Best Place for an Ashram Experience while Sipping Assam
While tea at the Brown is pure white glove and patent-leather luxury, tea at Boulder Teahouse is pure teva. From the ornate tiles that line the building, donated by the city of Dushanbe in Tajikistan. I know I am mixing my cultures when I say that this is an Indian Ashram kind of place, but every time I visit, I expect a yogi master to begin chanting during the meal, which is part of it’s enchanting culture. The teahouse menu is eclectic New Age meets Western Asian/Eastern European. The tea menu is rich in choices of organic teas from Asia and floral herbal blends that look like something growing at Aspen’s Maroon Bells mountainside. The website has an extensive catalogue for teas, pots and cups including Yixing clay teapots, which are an essential pot for brewing dark rich Chinese teas. Experts advise you may need more than one pot, one for each type of Chinese tea, because of the porous nature of the pots. Link here for more.
Seven Cups of Tea: The Perfect Place to Learn about Tea
Denver’s first and only Chinese teahouse, is known for extremely high quality loose-leaf tea. The shop and teahouse on Old South Pearl sources teas directly from tea farmers in China, many of them organic. In addition to stopping by for a cup, Seven Cups offers three different Chinese Tea Ceremonies, a green tea ceremony (Gaiwan), oolong tea ceremony (Gong Fu) and a pu-ehr tea ceremony, a ancient tea with a rich history from Yunnan in China. Link here for more.
Brewing the Proper Pot
First, select your tea. Most Americans opt for orange pekoe tea in a bag because they think this is a type of tea. It’s not. Orange pekoe is a leaf grade, not a type of tea. It means the tea was picked from the top bud and the next two leaves. What happens to the leaves after picking decides their fate as a high-quality loose tea, broken-tea leaves or tea dust in a bag.
When you have a minute (and no one is looking) open up a tea bag and dump out the contents. Tea dust is leftover tea, the remnants. Some tea companies will include both tea dust and broken leaves, while other will only use the fine leftover. Any sort of tea leaf will enhance the flavor of the bag. Personally, I think tea bags have a place, on your eyes to reduce swelling and when you are in a hurry and need a fast pick me up. Otherwise, go with the tea leaves.
Tea leaves are just that, whole dried leaves. They pack the most flavor and though they are more expensive than bags, they are worth it. Some tea leaves, but not all, can can be reused until you’ve squeezed out every last bit of flavor.
Next, choose something to strain the tea and a pot. I prefer a fine mesh strainer so the leaves are not left in the bottom of the pot or in my teeth. For the pot, porcelain is essential for lighter black teas like Assam, Darjeeling and English Breakfast blends. Deep dark Chinese teas taste better in porous pots made of clay, called Yixing teapots. It is common to have a Yixing pot for each specific type of tea because the pot absorbs the tea flavor.
For a spectacular cup of tea it’s important to pay attention to the water temperature and steeping time. If the water is too hot, for say a delicate green tea, you will literally cook the tea to death. And of some teas are removed from the water too soon or too late, the flavor will disappoint.
Here are a couple of guidelines:
How much tea? Use an ordinary kitchen teaspoon (hence the name), and measure one spoonful per cup.
Black Tea is the most durable of teas, so it can withstand boiling water. Steep for 3-5 minutes. The leaves are usually too bitter to use a second time.
Green Tea is a delicate tea, so only heat the water to just a low rumble. If you forget, let the water boil and cool for about 3 minutes. Steep for 3 minutes, no longer. Some green leaves can be reused.
White Tea is very light in color and flavor. It can stand up to boiling water, but it needs as much as 6-7 minutes of steeping time for optimum flavor.
Oolong Tea is a deep rich Chinese tea. Bring the water to a strong rumble (not boiling). Steep for 3-6 minutes depending on the tea type. Stronger flavors will pop sooner than more delicate oolongs. You may have to taste it during the steeping to find our your preference, and you may reuse the leaves.
Herbal Teas are not really teas, they are tisanes. Sorry to disappoint, but because they are not made from tea leaves they cannot be called tea. But, since they contain no tea leaves, tisanes can withstand boiling water and they can steep for longer periods and not get bitter.
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