APRIL
Tasty Treats
INTRODUCTION Tea is a very important part of British culture, with around 165 million cups drunk per day. The 12 books that make up The Daily Brew come together to form a tea-lovers guide, full of facts, tips, stories and knowledge to tip the cup of life. With each book you are given a short piece to digest each day, whilst you sip away at your morning cuppa. So take the time to sit down and find out everything you can possibly know about tea, without taking too much time out of your busy lives. April is all about those tasty treats!
1 I
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” C.S. Lewis
2 II
Could you imagine a tea bag that cost £7000? Filled with 280 diamonds along with expensive limited edition tea leaves, the bag was created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of a british tea brand, and then auctioned off for a children’s hospital charity.
3 III
Black tea is best brewed with water straight from the kettle. The boiling water doesn’t ruin the leaves, and you’ll get the best flavour.
4 IV
There are over 1500 varieties of tea, so it’s pretty certain that you’ll find one type that you like.
5 V
Afternoon tea is a very popular custom around the world, and is often formed of lots of tasty treats including tea, sandwiches, scones and cakes.
6 VI
Genmaicha, which is also called Popcorn Tea, is a green tea made of sencha tea leaves and whole grains of roasted brown rice. When brewed, you can see the rice floating in the tea, looking like tiny pieces of popcorn amongst the brown kernels and green tea leaves.
7 VII
Whether you prefer the cream first or the jam first on your scones, cream teas have been a big favourite in England for years, as a light form of afternoon tea. They’re also extremely popular in Asia.
8
VIII
Often, afternoon tea and high tea get mixed up. Back in the 19th century, the upper classes would serve afternoon tea around four o’clock, and it would have been a treat of tea and cakes. On the other hand, the middle and lower classes would have a more substantial ‘high’ tea later in the day, at five or six o’clock.
9 IX
For the best cup of tea, use a teapot. Although it may just be a psychological thing, it’s said that tea served from a teapot tastes better. Just be sure to heat the teapot first by swirling hot water around it and pouring it away.
10 X
Tea works well in all sorts of recipes, so why not add it to your favourite biscuit or cake recipe for a slight change of flavour. Earl Grey works really well with lemon, and everyday tea works great with vanilla.
11 XI
Having tea used to be considered a very special affair. Tea was extremely valuable and it would therefore have been kept under lock and key in a wooden tea caddy before being carefully measured into a teapot when needed.
12 XII
The combination of peppermint tea and hot chocolate works a treat . Just heat up a cup of milk with peppermint tea bag to just boiling, remove tea bag and add teaspoon of drinking chocolate.
13 XIII
The Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong has the world’s most expensive High Tea meal, at a price of just over £8000 per couple. It is called “The Most Fabulous High Tea in the World” and is a collaboration with Graff Diamonds.
14 XIV
It has been scientifically proven that Rich Tea biscuits are the best for dunking. Other biscuits crumble and sink to the bottom in a few seconds, but with Rich Tea the dunkers have more flexibility with seven to fourteen seconds providing the perfect dunk.
15 XV
Teas can be infused with all sorts of flavours, including those that are based on desserts. You could go for a creme caramel or apple pie flavoured tea - there’s plenty out there!
16 XVI
Confessions of a Chocoholic Afternoon Tea If you’re looking to really indulge in an afternoon treat, there’s nowhere better to go to than Podium Restaurant at the Park Lane Hilton. Here they serve their Confessions of a Chocoholic afternoon tea - a delicious blend of chocolate and art. Satisfy your tastebuds with their incredible spread of scones, cupcakes and miniature chocolate delights. For more information visit www.podiumrestaurant.com
17 XVII
Although it used to be essential for milk to go in first to protect the fine china, it is now thought to be better to add the milk after, so you can control the strength of the tea.
18 XVIII
In Iran, a cube of sugar is put in the mouth before drinking tea. It’s safe to say that Iranians definitely have a sweet tooth!
19 XIX
The tradition of a tea break at work have been with us for approximately 200 years. Employers used to allow a break in the morning where food and tea were served, as workers used to commence their day at around 5 or 6am.
20 XX
Black, white and green tea all come from the same plant, the Camellia Sinensis, but the type of tea produced is all down to the way the leaves are processed after harvested.
21 XXI
Often tea bags are filled with lower quality leaves that are made into a dust. For the best quality tea, go for a loose leaf or whole leaf bag, as they create the best flavours.
22 XXII
To flavour alcohol with tea, soak three to four tea bags in the alcohol for about four hours. The colour will change and the aroma will intensify.
23 XXIII
One of the world’s most highly prized tea varieties is Darjeeling tea. It’s a type of black tea that’s often called the champagne of tea which is grown in the eponymous area of Indian Bengal.
24 XXIV
Although such an easy concept, dunking biscuits in tea can be considered as a complex skill. When an expert tries it, biscuit-dunking can create a true taste sensation, but get the timings wrong and you could end up with a soggy mess at the bottom of your cup.
25 XXV
Always drink tea freshly brewed - the oxygen in the air changes its taste and colour.
26 XXVI
Large leaf tea often needs a longer brewing time. This is because the hot water takes longer to extract the contents from the bigger surface area.
27 XXVII
Teacake’s aren’t actually tea flavoured, but are a sweet bun containing dried fruits and are often accompanied with a cup of tea.
28 XXVIII
For a sweet treat that’s low on calories, try a chocolate blend. There are plenty out there, from chocolate peppermint to chocolate blended with a black tea.
29 XXIX
The Queen always starts her day with a cup of tea. At 7:30am a tray carrying a silver teapot, a water jug and milk is carried into her bedroom.
30 XXX
Chai is becoming increasingly popular all over the world. It originally comes from India, and is basically a spiced milky tea.
PHOTOGRAPHY Sophie Kean - 1, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12, 15, 17, 19, 21-26, 28, 30 Unilever - 2 Edward Kimber - 5 Flickr: Infobunny - 6 Benson Kua - 7 Tracy Benjamin - 10 The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong - 13 Josh Blacker - 14 Hilton International Hotels (UK) Limited - 16 Flickr: Howzey - 18 Ashwin Kamath - 20 Flickr: Cooksloweatfast - 27 Cami Photography - 29