The Perfect Tea

[kulsoum]

Refreshing Tea for two:

1. Boil 150ml clean water.

2. Add few shreds of ginger, 1-2 green cardamom crushed and 2 tsp fine sugar,

3. Add tea leaves 3 tsp after 4mins and boil for 90seconds only.,(els it gets black and bitter)

4. Divide and strain equally in two mugs.

5. Boil 200ml rich milk** separately till it foams.

6. Pour into the mugs equally.

7. Add a dollop of fresh cream and serve with love..

**Steaming water wid a dash of lime/mint for those who dont prefer milk/cream.

[Ali H Syed]

chai shai... sorry had to go all urdu on you there

(bismillah)

also ever tried just warm milk and the teabag :) no water, its more thick and smooth

(bismillah)

[The Green Knight]

Tea requires water to express itself. Now, here's the best way to make desi tea (chai)!

- Wash your hands, say bismillah and make sure all the containers, cup, tea-sieve (poni) are absolutely clean. (This is important!)

- Take some water, like half a glass and pour it into the kettle / boiling container along with the black tea (Lipton Yellow Label ftw) and some sugar. Don't overdo sugar. You need 2-3 teaspoons for 200-250 ml of good ol' strong chai for caffeine addicts. Adjust the strength to your liking. Remember, tea brand matters.

- Now, cover the container (important) and cook. After a minute or two, lift the lid and you should be greeted with that aroma and some steam. You'll see the water settle down as you take off the lid. This process should be sufficient to evaporate some of the water.

- Milk. This is yet another vital ingredient what sets the desi tea or chai apart from the modernized, mechanized, soul-less "teabag" and dry vegetable oil based whitener / creamer hot solution of nonsense. When I say "milk" I mean dairy milk, from cows (or even better, sheep! thats much, much thicker, creamier and nutritious!). Make sure its not a powder made from soya milk or vegetable oils etc. I strongly recommend fresh, natural dairy milk or the closest possible alternative. Add this milk to the boiling water. Reduce heat and cook. Be careful and do not put the lid on with high heat or it will overflow. Remove lid, and increase heat, and let the tea rise to the top, but turn off heat before it overflows.

- Pour into cup(s) through the tea-sieve.

Enjoy!

Note from mod: No advertising! ;)

Edited September 18, 2011 by Basim Ali

[wonderer]

that's 2 much work for a tea! :o

here's my way: boil water, pour it on an organic tea bag, and drink it! ;)

[Gypsy]

(salam)

If you want a strong black tea, then try brewing loose tealeaves. The tea bags version is good for instant tea.

[wonderer]

^ oh I never drink blk tea lool.. only herbal teas YUM

[The Green Knight]

that's 2 much work for a tea! :o

The whole process takes like 5 minutes?

here's my way: boil water, pour it on an organic tea bag, and drink it! ;)

yuck!~ LANAT ON TEA BAGSSSS!!!! :mad:

[Aly ReZa]

Anybody addicted to tea chai !!

Like me !!

[Shia_Debater]

chai shai... sorry had to go all urdu on you there

(bismillah)

also ever tried just warm milk and the teabag :) no water, its more thick and smooth

(bismillah)

Im gonna try dis sooooooooooon insha'Allah .. I think ive tried it before but I can't remember :donno:

[DoubleAgent4]

I prefer Iranian tea, it'ssimply the best. As I don't have that every day herbal tea will suffice. I've also tried Moroccan tea and it's very nice however you would need to add a lot of sugar to your tea. Occasionally I put milk carnation (or any milk) in my black tea with plenty of sugar. With black tea you don't need to have sugar, some people like it bitter. Iranians prefer to drink it with sugar cubes.

How to make Iranian tea:

- Boil water in electric kettle (around 1.5 L)

- Add one teaspoon of the black tea leaves to a kettle ( if anyone wants to know the names of the good brands, let me know :P) If you have guests over then add one and a half teaspoon.

- Add some water to it, less then half the kettle.

-Get another kettle and add water to that.

-Place the kettle with the black tea leaves over that one ( you can add one cardamon pod to the black leaves)

-Then you wait until the tea boils and lower the temperature!

[Gypsy]

Hawraa,

How long do you generally boil black tea leaves? Does the taste improve with more boiling or less?

I also like Mocha.

[-SeeKeR-]

I am surprised so many people make tea by boiling the leaves. In Pakistan that is considered the short cut method and known as "mix chai(tea)". The usual way its made here is through the brewing method:

1.Take an empty teapot and add some warm water to it to heat it up. Throw out the water and add tea leaves in it. (1 tsp per person)

2.Boil some water. Once the water starts boiling, immediately take it off and put it in the tea pot. Don't let the water boil for too long, otherwise it will develop a very cooked taste which ruins the taste of the tea.

3.Stir the mixture in the tea pot and cover with a tea cozy. Let it rest for 5 minutes.

4. Pour the "Kahwa" in the tea cups, add milk as desired. Add sugar if needed. And serve hot.

Edited September 21, 2011 by -SeeKeR-

[Ruq]

sounds delicious. I like Yorkshire tea because it is nice and strong, always with milk, very rarely with sugar and sometimes a couple of cardemon is nice.

[DoubleAgent4]

Zareen when you lower the temperature you usually wait for 10 minutes or so before you can drink it. To check whether it's done or not put some in your cup, if the colour is still light that means you need to let it brew for longer. When serving, put some of the black tea in your cup using a tea sieve, this way the black tea leaves won't go in the cup. If you feel that the colour of the tea is too dark add the boiled water to it. Usually the longer the tea is left to brew on a low temperature, the better it will taste.

[Blissful]

Anybody addicted to tea chai !!

Like me !!

Yes :wub: I can't live without it tea. We have it after every single meal.

I love desi shai and afghan kahvi, been making alot of it lately and it's beautiful.

Lebs usually don't fuss too much over how the tea is made. It's exactly like Hawraa's method of boiling and leaving aside, and sometimes adding bruised cardamom pods. Careful not to boil your tea for too long, because if you over boil it, it becomes bitter the longer it stands.

Edited September 22, 2011 by Blissful

[dan_rafi]

Arizon Green Tea is the best!!!

[Aly ReZa]

Yes :wub: I can't live without it tea. We have it after every single meal.

I love desi shai and afghan kahvi, been making alot of it lately and it's beautiful.

Lebs usually don't fuss too much over how the tea is made. It's exactly like Hawraa's method of boiling and leaving aside, and sometimes adding bruised cardamom pods. Careful not to boil your tea for too long, because if you over boil it, it becomes bitter the longer it stands.

Same here but I don't have after every meal.

We want it 2 times a day

In the morning if I wil not get

Whole day I will be suffering from headache.

[DoubleAgent4]

I've heard that if you have black tea after a meal it's not good as all those nutrients will have gone to waste :wacko:

Edited September 22, 2011 by Hawraa29

[WhiteSkies]

I prefer Iranian tea, it'ssimply the best. As I don't have that every day herbal tea will suffice. I've also tried Moroccan tea and it's very nice however you would need to add a lot of sugar to your tea. Occasionally I put milk carnation (or any milk) in my black tea with plenty of sugar. With black tea you don't need to have sugar, some people like it bitter. Iranians prefer to drink it with sugar cubes.

How to make Iranian tea:

- Boil water in electric kettle (around 1.5 L)

- Add one teaspoon of the black tea leaves to a kettle ( if anyone wants to know the names of the good brands, let me know :P) If you have guests over then add one and a half teaspoon.

- Add some water to it, less then half the kettle.

-Get another kettle and add water to that.

-Place the kettle with the black tea leaves over that one ( you can add one cardamon pod to the black leaves)

-Then you wait until the tea boils and lower the temperature!

:!!!: You need to use a samovar to make Iranian tea!

:P

[Ali H Syed]

(bismillah)

wowd at how many chai lovers there are -.-

[DoubleAgent4]

:!!!: You need to use a samovar to make Iranian tea!

:P

Haha, they used to use those back in the days :P

Well for all those who don't own a samavar nor have the time to make it in that, the method I mentioned is an alternative ^_^

[Gypsy]

Thanks Hawraa.

I noticed that not all tea leaves required the same time to brew.

For eg, you cannot boil green tea. My green tea will turn into black tea if you boil/brew it. You just pour hot water on tea leaves. Close the lid. And consume in the next 5 minutes.

Haha, they used to use those back in the days :P

Well for all those who don't own a samavar nor have the time to make it in that, the method I mentioned is an alternative ^_^

I have actually seen this in the west. It looks interesting. Is this unit expensive? Does it improve the taste?

[Basim Ali]

Good news for all the tea-lovers here (including me... I think its genetic :donno: ) : To Quench Your Thirst, Reach for Tea Instead of Water!

Has anyone tried qahwah? They serve it in the mosques in Makkah and Madinah, along with dates and yoghurt, at Iftar time.

[Muslim Queen]

Best tea: Black Cherry Tea :D

[3laweyaZainabiya]

(salam)

Purist here. Lol I can't stand tea with milk. I like black tea every now and then but not too often. Sometimes with cardamom, mint, or cinnamon. But plain black is the best to me. Same goes with coffee lol

[Najib]

Refreshing Tea for two:

1. Boil 150ml clean water.

2. Add few shreds of ginger, 1-2 green cardamom crushed and 2 tsp fine sugar,

3. Add tea leaves 3 tsp after 4mins and boil for 90seconds only.,(els it gets black and bitter)

4. Divide and strain equally in two mugs.

5. Boil 200ml rich milk** separately till it foams.

6. Pour into the mugs equally.

7. Add a dollop of fresh cream and serve with love..

**Steaming water wid a dash of lime/mint for those who dont prefer milk/cream.

Gonna try this, thanks ;)