Tea Time Tricks
Last week when I confessed that we’d broken out the Advent Tee from a little grocery store nearby, I realized that I didn’t even mention the best part of our tea time. It’s not the tea at all.
It’s the homemade croissants from a little vegan bakery near our house. The croissants only cost 65 cents. Crazy, right?
And here’s a little tip for making tea. Heat water in a kettle or hot water pot. Pour it into a teapot with one tea bag. That’s right. You don’t need to use a tea bag for each cup. One bag is enough to flavor an entire tea pot as big as ours. It’s easier than dealing with a bunch of tea bags floating in your cups, and even easier if you prefer loose leaf tea because it’s so much less work.
Drink on!
And pssst. Here’s how we clean mineral deposits out of our hot water pot with one natural ingredient and no scrubbing.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:39 am
i broke down and bought a winter blend called Kaminzeit tea last week. My husband was like, “huh? isn’t it a little early for that?!” and I smiled and said no. =) We’re hoping to get our fireplace up and running in the next few weeks and then it will be perfect to have some Kaminzeit tea!
October 26th, 2009 at 6:39 am
I have that teapot, too, except the rosebud/knob broke off the top!
(And if you’re ever out of vinegar, I hear swirling ice in them takes tannin stains out of coffeepots and teapots. But I haven’t tried it yet, myself.)
October 26th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Don’t you love the names of tea around here? Fireplace Tee? Too cute.
Larissa, I’m so afraid of losing the rosebud. That lid just slides right across our counter a little too well. So sorry yours is gone, though how cool that we have the very same pot!
Katie
October 26th, 2009 at 7:15 am
I am interested in the vegan croissants. A normal croissant is layered in butter which makes the nice flaky layers. If these are vegan, are they using vegan butter or margarine to make the layers???? I sure wish that croissants were 65 cents here! Instead they are $2 for a plain croissant and therefore I don’t eat any. :(
October 26th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Michelle, we wondered the exact same thing, so we had to ask. The bakery we go to strives to offer a lot of vegan and kosher foods. They don’t use margarine either, though. They use plant-based butters similar to what you can find in a US organic grocery store.
As a result of trying to serve such unique types of diets, they’re pretty popular (and rare!).
Hope that helps with your question.
Katie
October 26th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Larissa mentioned tannin stains in the teapot…I personally like a clean teapot but don’t some people leave those for the seasoning that is desirable? Wondering what you think!
October 26th, 2009 at 8:45 am
You know, Vicki, I’ve never heard of leaving tannin stains on teapots for flavor; I’ve only heard of it for wine. We rarely drink the same flavor of tea several times in a row, so having a seasoned flavor from one tea might not work so well with a lighter tea. That said, I scrub the inside with dish soap and a scrub brush/Scotchbrite pad. I’ve tried vinegar and loved the results there, too. Doubt anyone else really peeks into our teapots, but who can resist white and shiny sometimes?!
Katie
October 26th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Wow that croissant looks tasty! YUM! I loooove to drink tea out of a pot. Matt and I used to do that all time before Fiona came along. Sigh, not since then. We need to break it out again!
October 26th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I agree with using less tea with more water. When I drink loose leaf tea at work all day, I tend to get 3-4 cups out of one serving of leaves. It makes it more delicate and less bitter, so I don’t need to add any sweeteners.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:39 am
I used to have big problems with tannin stains (not hard water deposits) in the coffee mug I use at work. Going from assam to coffee to jasmine pearls is not a good mix. Also, the tall narrow mug made scrubbing difficult. I was amazed at how impervious to a soapy soak those stains were. Vinegar wasn’t real successful either.
What saved my day was denture cleaner. You know, those effervescent tablets? Just follow the directions, for soaking, and the stains wipe off with a soft rag.
After thinking, it makes sense that something made to get coffee stains off teeth would get them off your cup too.
I’ve heard of leaving tanins on for seasoning, but I thought it was particular to a certain kind of naturally porous pot, plus you’re supposed to always use the same tea in that pot, which would never fly for me.
I gotta say, though, I’m not with you on the more water thing. I’ll even double up the recomended amount of tea a lot of times. Otherwise it gets bitter before it’s strong enough. I think weak tea or tea that has brewed too long is one of the great crimes of the world ;) I will say the only time I had satisfactorily strong hot tea at a restaurant was in England. Perhaps it’s only American teabags that are so weak?
October 26th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I am going to admit it – I am skeptical about the vegan croissant. Does it taste as good as the kind that use real butter? I am a sucker for real butter.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:22 am
What a beautiful teapot!