Tea...a beverage that puts the "steam" in Steampunk.

[Lady Penelope]

Yep, unsweetened is definitely not how it's normally served down South.  Here, it's usually served both sweet and cold, with the lemon slice used as a garnish so that folks who prefer it in their tea can add it, and those who don't can just set their citrus decoration aside.   

Even dieters who order unsweetened tea usually end up adding sweeteners like Splenda to it.  At least most of the ones I know do.  I only know a few people who actually prefer their iced tea without any sweetness at all.

Fresh mint is optional, but is the addition I like best.  I can take or leave the lemon.

[Hester]

Interesting note at the bottom of that last webpage that iced tea is often served free in restaurants in Vietnam while patrons are choosing from the menu.

I recently had dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant.  While I was perusing the menu, the waiter brought a glass to my table.  It looked like a water glass, and that was what I was expecting.  I was quite shocked by the dirty rust colour of the water, and bits of stuff floating in it.  I thought there must be a problem with their plumbing, and I was going to point out the rusty water to the waiter.  Then, to my relief, I realized that the liquid in the glass was actually steaming.  It wasn't water after all -- it was very weak tea, complete with a few stray tea leaves floating in it.  

[Ginny Blundy]

I haven't gone back all the way on this thread, but has anyone mentioned sun tea? I learned to make it from my grandmother. Not that it's all that hard. Fill a pitcher or large jar with cold water, put in a few tea bags, cover the top of the pitcher with plastic wrap/or the jar lid, and put it out in the sun for a few hours and let it brew. This is what I use for iced tea during the summer. I don't put sugar in my iced tea, but I like a bit lemon, and I grow my own mint, so may add that, depending. It really is quite nice.

There was some discussion somewhere (possibly not on this thread) about sun tea, and in the course of the discussion I learned that it is now considered dangerous. Because you aren't boiling the water, it's not getting hot enough to kill any bacteria that may be hanging out in your tea, or water, or the pitcher you sun-brew it in.

So sun tea is bad now. Isn't that sad? I mean, not so sad that you want to go to the hospital for food poisoning, but still.

[Gazongola]

Mlle Wisdom, "inter" and "e" are commonly replaced on this forum by "aether", for example "aethernet" and "aether bay", in reference to the disproven/unnecessary medium for the propagation of light, the luminiferous aether.

I prefer 'the mystical bay of e' as opposed to 'aetherbay' myself.

[DeseretRose]

There was some discussion somewhere (possibly not on this thread) about sun tea, and in the course of the discussion I learned that it is now considered dangerous. Because you aren't boiling the water, it's not getting hot enough to kill any bacteria that may be hanging out in your tea, or water, or the pitcher you sun-brew it in.

So sun tea is bad now. Isn't that sad? I mean, not so sad that you want to go to the hospital for food poisoning, but still.

Would that really be a problem with modern sanitation, though?  Any more so then, say, eating an organic apple directly from the tree?

[Mal `e Diction]

My grandparents, my parents, and I have all enjoyed sun tea all our lives. No one has ever gotten sick from drinking it. A couple of years from now, "they" will decided that sun tea is a healthy tonic — kinda the same way "they" said eggs or salt were bad for you. Now they're not. Don't believe everything "they" say.



However, if you put anything besides tea and water in the pitcher/jar as it brews — then all bets are off!

[Flynn MacCallister]

There was some discussion somewhere (possibly not on this thread) about sun tea, and in the course of the discussion I learned that it is now considered dangerous. Because you aren't boiling the water, it's not getting hot enough to kill any bacteria that may be hanging out in your tea, or water, or the pitcher you sun-brew it in.

So sun tea is bad now. Isn't that sad? I mean, not so sad that you want to go to the hospital for food poisoning, but still.

Would that really be a problem with modern sanitation, though?  Any more so then, say, eating an organic apple directly from the tree?

The water and the pitcher, no, it shouldn't be a problem. The tea, quite possibly yes.

My grandparents, my parents, and I have all enjoyed sun tea all our lives. No one has ever gotten sick from drinking it. A couple of years from now, "they" will decided that sun tea is a healthy tonic — kinda the same way "they" said eggs or salt were bad for you. Now they're not. Don't believe everything "they" say.



However, if you put anything besides tea and water in the pitcher/jar as it brews — then all bets are off!

Well, yes they are, really... an excess of salt is very bad for you, and eggs are still high in fat, but the good cholesterol levels, which are now better understood, are higher, and eggs can happily be enjoyed in moderation, just like any other moderately-fatty food.

Sun tea, however, has obvious problems. You are heating your water to blood temperature -- which is prime temperature for bacteria cultivation, and leaving it undisturbed for quite some time. If there are any nasties in the tea leaves, which is quite possible, you are begging them to grow.

It's a bit like leaving meat out in the bench to defrost overnight in summer. You probably won't have a problem, but you might.

With the sun tea, just like with water, it should be fine if it is not cloudy, and there is no slimy or slimy thready stuff in it.

[Gazongola]

Well you know what they say, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. The problem is these days, kids aren't allowed to muck about in dirt etc. Unheard of when I was a nipper.

[Flynn MacCallister]

Well you know what they say, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. The problem is these days, kids aren't allowed to muck about in dirt etc. Unheard of when I was a nipper.

That's kind of silly; it means you have to risk killing yourself.

[Gazongola]

That is what my mother always said. And it has never been silly.

[Gazongola]

Mind you, so did Nietzsche.

[Aedon]

However.... my parents alas are in the habit of leaving it to steep for, as a conservative estimate, 14 hours, thus ruining the taste and leaving the tea more like creosote, or coal tar, in colour and texture.

That sounds rather like my own parents and coffee. *Gasp*
Did I mention the bean of Satan? Pardon.

I do need the bean to start my day though, and I want it so strong when I whistle it gets up and walks to me.
But tea is more refined, indeed, I don't allow myself to be seen drinking coffee. My tea addiction is much more glamorous than being a slave to the bean.

[Ginny Blundy]

There was some discussion somewhere (possibly not on this thread) about sun tea, and in the course of the discussion I learned that it is now considered dangerous. Because you aren't boiling the water, it's not getting hot enough to kill any bacteria that may be hanging out in your tea, or water, or the pitcher you sun-brew it in.

So sun tea is bad now. Isn't that sad? I mean, not so sad that you want to go to the hospital for food poisoning, but still.

Would that really be a problem with modern sanitation, though?  Any more so then, say, eating an organic apple directly from the tree?

The water and the pitcher, no, it shouldn't be a problem. The tea, quite possibly yes.

My grandparents, my parents, and I have all enjoyed sun tea all our lives. No one has ever gotten sick from drinking it. A couple of years from now, "they" will decided that sun tea is a healthy tonic — kinda the same way "they" said eggs or salt were bad for you. Now they're not. Don't believe everything "they" say.



However, if you put anything besides tea and water in the pitcher/jar as it brews — then all bets are off!

Well, yes they are, really... an excess of salt is very bad for you, and eggs are still high in fat, but the good cholesterol levels, which are now better understood, are higher, and eggs can happily be enjoyed in moderation, just like any other moderately-fatty food.

Sun tea, however, has obvious problems. You are heating your water to blood temperature -- which is prime temperature for bacteria cultivation, and leaving it undisturbed for quite some time. If there are any nasties in the tea leaves, which is quite possible, you are begging them to grow.

It's a bit like leaving meat out in the bench to defrost overnight in summer. You probably won't have a problem, but you might.

With the sun tea, just like with water, it should be fine if it is not cloudy, and there is no slimy or slimy thready stuff in it.

Definitely look at the sun tea before consuming - the cloudiness and the slimy threads indicate that there is bacteria in there.

Upon learning all this, I personally came to the conclusion that while sun tea has a certain charm about it, it's certainly not the fastest method of brewing tea, and I'm not put out by boiling it instead. I'm not saying that a person should never take any risks, but food poisoning is really unpleasant, and I strive to avoid it.

And no offense to Mal `e Diction, but just because you're not aware of anyone you know getting sick from it, doesn't mean that someone can't. It also also doesn't mean that no one in your family ever got sick from sun tea - they may simply not have known what made them sick.

[Gazongola]

Honestly, you all worry too much about getting ill.

[Ginny Blundy]

Honestly, you all worry too much about getting ill.

Perhaps. From a certain point of view. I have a friend who refuses to cook with cast iron skillets because she's gotten the idea in her head that they can never properly be cleaned. I happen to think she is overreacting, and I also view them as one of the world's most perfect kitchen utensils. So I use the cast iron skillet (a few of them actually), although she's quite certain that it will give me food poisoning. Is she too worried? Maybe, but she doesn't sneak into my apartment and try to steal all my cast iron skillets while I'm sleeping, so I don't mind. The worst that could come of it is that she may refuse my cornbread while having dinner at my place, and honestly, more for me.

My point being, I'm not the Queen of Tea, who has decreed "no one shall ever make sun tea!" and is prepared to put you in the stocks if you disobey my command. I'm just saying you may want to know that bacteria can find a happy home in your sun tea. There are ways that you can tell if it is there, so you may want to check into that. And we are talking about bacteria, which doctors have known for ages is bad and causes food poisoning, and not some carbohydrate or fat that we don't fully understand but may possibly lead to cancer or heart disease or head lice.

But in the end, it is just advice, and you may take it or leave it.   

[Gazongola]

Oh yes. But I do think the worst you will end up with is an upset stomach. And I would imagine the drying process kills most bacterium.

[Lady Penelope]

*blink blink!*  You take your sun tea dry?  *blink blink!*

 

[Flynn MacCallister]

Oh yes. But I do think the worst you will end up with is an upset stomach. And I would imagine the drying process kills most bacterium.

Even if it did, handling, etc, afterward can re-introduce them.

Also, don't underestimate food poisoning. Even in the developed world it can (and does) kill -- particularly children and the elderly. Just a few weeks ago, a gentleman died of food poisoning and related complications from an extremely upmarket restaurant in Pymble, Sydney.

Worrying about cast iron skillets is worrying too much. Not worrying about bacteria which can make you significantly ill is negligent.

[Gazongola]

Mm, food poisoning can be quite virrulent. I guess we have to *gulp* have faith in the health systems of our respective nations.

*blink blink!*  You take your sun tea dry?  *blink blink!*

 

I am not sure what you mean there. I mean the tea is dried hen you use it. I have never heard of tea being made from fresh leaves. Is that possible?

[Flynn MacCallister]

Mm, food poisoning can be quite virrulent. I guess we have to *gulp* have faith in the health systems of our respective nations.

*blink blink!*  You take your sun tea dry?  *blink blink!*

 

I am not sure what you mean there. I mean the tea is dried hen you use it. I have never heard of tea being made from fresh leaves. Is that possible?

"You take your tea dry", following the same form as "you take your tea with milk and sugar".

I don't imagine that tea from fresh leaves would be all that good... I'm imagining something like a sappy green tea... mmmnnmnn...

[Gazongola]

I see... Well actually, yes I do sometimes.

[Affian]

I must confess that I haven't read all 10 pages of this thread but, I personally prefer Lady Grey Tea and I haven't come across anyone else who drinks it. Anyone here?

[Flynn MacCallister]

It makes me sneeze....

I don't know about this thread, but certainly in previous tea threads Lady Grey has been brought up as a preferred tea.

Edit: not to discourage replies or anything, but d'you know when you're in a thread you can use the search box up in the top right-hand corner to search within that thread?

[Ginny Blundy]

The Missus drinks Lady Grey, which seems somewhat compatible with my fondness for Earl Grey.

We're keeping it in the Grey family.

[Zirtavia]

I must confess that I haven't read all 10 pages of this thread but, I personally prefer Lady Grey Tea and I haven't come across anyone else who drinks it. Anyone here?

Over here!
I have drunk Lady every morning for possibly the last three years  It never gets old...