theDevotea TeaTalk

Updated for Summer of 2024

It’s summer again and summer requires iced tea.  The question is, what is the easiest way to make it.

The traditional way is simple.  Brew a pot of hot tea, very strong, and pour it over ice.  This is quick and doesn’t require any planning ahead.  Great!  However, if you ever try this with a tea containing mostly Assam teas,  the effect of icing the tea is most unappetizing.  When brewed hot and then chilled, Assam teas become something that resembles the Mississippi River at New Orleans.  Muddy water!  That is sad, because Assam teas have a bold flavor when iced and are great as the base when making flavored teas. (See the Quick Tip below for a solution to this problem!)

Cold brewing to the rescue! Cold brewing solves the problem.  Cold brewed teas come out clear and flavorful.  Of course, the infusion time is longer, so some planning is required to have tea available when its wanted.  Cold brewing will work with any black , oolong, green, or white tea. Cold brewing also works well with herbal, or fruit tisanes.  Finely cut teas will  infuse much faster than whole leaf teas.  Using good teabags, the tea will be ready in one hour or less.  Whole leaf teas or tisanes will take several hours for best results.  Over infusion is not a problem with most teas, so there is no need to carefully time removal of the tea leaves.  When the tea is strong enough for your taste, remove the tea leaves.

Recommended teas:

Warning: Tea fanatics may want to skip ahead to the list below!

Most great teas make great iced teas as well.  However, for many circumstances, making iced tea is far more about quantity than ultimate quality.  Iced tea for 40 people on a hot day will not fit in a refrigerator overnight!  Producing large quantities requires tea that will infuse quickly and yield a pleasant, if not remarkable, tea.  British teabag brands are the ticket.  British teabags typically contain 2.25 to 2.5 grams of tea (American teabags are typically under 2 grams) and the blends are selected to produce relatively strong teas (because they usually add milk).  Brands that we have used with good results include PG Tips, Yorkshire Gold, Glengettie, Murroughs, Typhoo, and Barrys.  Any of these will produce a strong iced tea using 8 teabags for each gallon of water with 1 – 2 hours of infusion time.

Loose teas that we particularly like include:

• English Breakfast Blend Normal or Decaf – a strong tea that infuses fairly quickly. Clean, slightly malty flavor.
• Nilgiri, Iyerpadi Estate – Still a favorite,  organic tea with classic flavor for iced tea.
• Moroccan Mint –  a green tea/spearmint blend. Very refreshing.  Don’t over infuse!  This one can get too strong.
• Black Currant Flavored Black Tea – Very tasty!
• Blueberry Flavored Black Tea -A northern standard!

How about some herbal choices you say?

• Red Berries Fruit Blend – Our all time best selling herbal blend. You know it must be good!
• Evening in Missoula – A western take on Chamomile, Spearmint and other herbs. Another eber popular blend, hot or cold!

Sweet Teas

Sweet teas seem to be the rage these days (at least if the fast food places are any indication).  Personally they’re not high on my list, however, they are easy to offer in a wide range of flavors for relatively little cost.  The key is flavored syrups, ala Torani and Monin, to name two.  These are flavored, sugar sweetened, syrups that come in a wide variety of flavors.  Start with black iced tea and add the flavored syrup of your choice to taste.  Generally, a couple tablespoons of syrup will be enough. Please, don’t even think about sugar free syrups.  The artificial sweetener taste will ruin the tea.

For detailed instructions, see Cold Brewed Tea at devotea.com.  Teas mentioned are also available at devotea.com and elsewhere.

QUICK TIP: Ever poured a pot of hot tea over ice and then had it turn to mud in the refrigerator?  You know what I mean! It’s not lost!  Remove it from the fridge and add a little hot water to it.  It should clear up almost instantly!

Great News! Devotea.com is now offering replacement lids for the current generation of Chatsford teapots (production starting around the year 2000). They have lids in most of the available sizes and colors, though not all. The lids are recovered from teapots that were defective or damaged in shipment, since, like most manufacturers, this manufacturer does not produce extra lids. This means the replacement lids may not be perfect either, but they’re less costly than buying a new teapot! Prices vary with the size of the lid.

Need a Chatsford lid or replacement basket?   Go to: Chatsford at Devotea.com.

If you are reading this, you probably enjoy hot tea at least as much as I do. Many ways of keeping tea hot have been proposed and are offered for sale on the internet, however, although they may keep your tea hot, most fail miserably when it comes to keeping the tea fresh. When tea is exposed to free air, it will oxidize rapidly, leaving the tea with a very bitter, flat taste. How is tea exposed to free air? Almost any teapot leaves the air free to circulate though the pot via the spout and lid. Adding heat via a warmer speeds up the circulation and thus the oxidation also. Tea left on a warmer will be undrinkable in as little as 10 minutes, and not more than 20 minutes. So what to do?

Solution 1:

Empty your pot of tea into a good vacuum bottle and seal it in. The tea should stay nice and fresh for a good long time. Great for the office maybe, however, it won’t look very attractive sitting on your living room tea table or at your fancy afternoon tea!

Solution 2:

Buy a good tea cozy. Now I should define what I consider good.

• If it is knit or crocheted, it does not qualify. It will not have the necessary materials to do a good job.
• Avoid designs that leave the teapot spout and lid open to the room. They will not reduce oxidation of the tea.
• Choose a design that completely covers the teapot down to the table. The goal is to stop air movement around the teapot.
• Choose a design with a heat and stain resistant liner. This helps protect the outer layers from high heat and stains.
• Choose a design that includes a moisture barrier in addition to good insulation. Trapping moisture under the cozy preserves heat and reduces oxidation effectively.

I only know of one company producing tea cozies that live up to these expectations. That is Design In Mind, Inc. Their Tea Quilt(tm) tea cozies, sold through devotea.com meet the criteria above and, having owned several, I can say the company does not exaggerate in their claims for what their products can do. Oh, if you are one of those people who expects your last cup of tea to burn the skin off your lips just like the first one, you’ll be disappointed. But if you just want a comfortably warm, fresh tasting cup of tea, you’ll love these tea cozies.

My advice, before you get too wrapped up in the 300 or so fabric choices grouped in 21 theme categories, spend some time with their Tea Cozy Sizing Guide to determine which size or sizes will best serve your teapot collection. And don’t worry, radical designs and extra large designs can be provided with a custom designed cozy in most of their fabric choices for a moderate up charge.

Be prepared, these tea cozies are not cheap. But as one of their customers is quoted as saying after his purchase: “When I first saw the price I thought ridiculous to charge so much for a cozy. Wrong. It is worth every penny.” I’ve included a few photos below for your viewing pleasure!

Teaman

Update 2024

Checked once more with devotea.com and the Pristine lids are no more. Best bet now is shopping for a vintage (that is  a used) Pristine teapot.

Update 2/20/19

I checked recently on the current stock of Pristine lids at devotea.com. It’s getting very bleak. There is nothing available for the smaller sizes (under 1.5 liter), and only a few choices (mostly uncommon colors) for the larger sizes (1.5 and 2 liter). If it’s time to give up on your workhorse teapot, I strongly recommend the Chatsford teapot line. They don’t have the range of colors that Pristine had, but they are excellent everyday teapots. Chatsford teapots at devotea.com

For a more modern look with plenty of color choices, check out the selections by For Life Designs at devotea.com

Teaman

I have a small collection of teapots. (all functional,  nothing funky.)  The workhorse in my stable is an old, 6 cup, English Pristine Pottery teapot in a matte navy blue.  Pristine was a unique English pottery.  They made almost exclusively teaware: teapots, creamer and sugar sets, milk jugs, tea tidies, and teacups.  What made them unique was the near perfect classic shape, the range of sizes (five sizes from 12 to 60 ounces), and more than 20 incredible colors.

So what happened?  China got ’em.  The English started buying cheap Chinese teapots and at the same time regulated the English potteries into the poorhouse.  With rising costs and falling sales, consolidations started.  Arthur Wood, one of the larger potteries, bought several smaller potteries including Pristine.  However, they were not to be saved either.  Within a year Arthur Wood filed bankruptcy and everything closed.

A few weeks ago, I had a call from a woman who was heart broken because she had dropped the lid of her “baby” as she called it, a six cup, matte navy blue Pristine teapot.  I could understand her pain!

Fortunately, I was able to help her, at least partially.  After years of selling Pristine teapots, we have accumulated a stock of lids in various sizes and colors, not navy blue, unfortunately.  Her “baby” is now two tone, but lives on.

This year at the International Housewares Show I found a new way to brew tea or coffee for one.  While the idea has been around for a while, no one has done it quite as well as this company.

The idea is to brew your coffee or tea in a small container.  When its ready, set the container on top of your mug.  The liquid automatically fills the mug, leaving the spent grounds/tea leaves in the container, ready to rinse out and use again.  It’s a great concept for quickly filling your travel mug in the morning, or making one last shot before bedtime!

The unit is available with either a tea filter or a coffee filter (Yes they are different).  I’ve been asked why not provide both filters with one unit. If you don’t know, just ask any tea lover who has ever had tea that’s been kept warm in a coffee carafe.  When they’re done gagging, they may answer the question.

They are available at devotea.com for under $20.  Click on the photo to get there.