History and Customs
By 1800, the British were drinking nearly 5 billion cups of tea a year, and the empire was in financial crisis. The Chinese tea merchants (tea had not yet been discovered in India) were not interested in Britain’s primary trading good, heavy broadcloth, so the British had to pay in silver. To balance the payments, The British East India Company sold Indian opium crops in Calcutta, where it was bought by other British firms and smuggled to China (where it was illegal) for, you guessed it, silver. Therefore the silver remained in Canton banks, where the British could use it for future tea purchases.
This arrangement was great for the British but a disaster for the Chinese. Millions became addicted. In 1839 the Chinese emperor ordered 20,000 chests of opium burned on the beach at Canton. The British responded by declaring war and ultimately forcing the legalization of the opium trade. Opium remained legal till 1908.
Tea unquestionably had its genesis in China. Legend has it that in 2737 B.C. Emperor Shen Nong accidentally discovered tea. While he was boiling water in his garden, a camellia leaf fell from a shrub and landed in his pot. Tea is discovered!
The British, with their insatiable demand for tea, resented the Chinese monopoly, and were struggling to cultivate some stolen Chinese tea plants in India. They had a lucky break in the 1820′s when indigenous tea plants were discovered in the Brahmaputra river valley of India, near Burma. By the 1830′s the dense forest of the Assam were being cleared to make way for tea gardens.
The first Russian czar to sip a cup of tea did so in 1618, when an ambassador delivered a gift from a Mongol prince. Tea from China made its way to Russia in camel caravans. The early caravans had a strong influence on Russian tea-drinking customs. To reduce the weight, tea leaves were stuffed into cloth sacks rather than heavy wooden chests. During to trek the leaves absorbed the smoky scent of the evening campfires. This smokiness became a desirable quality in “Russian Caravan” tea.
In Japan, tea arrived in the early eighth century, brought by Buddhist monks who found the beverage stimulating during meditation and prayers. Legend tells of an Indian monk who fell asleep during meditation. To ensure that it would not happen again, the monk cut his eye lids off and threw them to the ground. A tea shrub sprang from the very spot they landed producing a drink that reduced fatigue.
Ceylon grew very little tea until the 1800′s. Then two things happened: a parasite destroyed the coffee crop and Sir Thomas Lipton, the British grocery store giant arrived, buying tea plantations at bargain prices. His marketing flair and competitive pricing vaulted the Lipton Tea Co. to such success, he expanded his market to America.
Mechanics and Table Settings
A Perfect Pot of Tea
To brew a perfect pot of tea, boil fresh cold tap water in a kettle. ( Cold water is essential because it has greater oxygen content and gives the beverage a fuller flavor ) While the kettle is boiling warm the tea pot with hot water from the Fetco or Astra. Once the pot is warmed dump the water and add the tea. Use one teaspoon of leaves per person and one for the pot. Bring the water to a boil. Do not allow it to rattle once it boils, as this rids the water of oxygen. Take the pot to the kettle and pour. Let the tea brew for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir the mixture well. Pour into warm cups.
A Perfect Cup of Tea to GO or Stay
Prepare your water.
Use a Coolie Cup or a Go Cup.
Add a teaspoon into a tea filter.
Add boiling water, let infuse for 3 to 5 minutes.
For guests that use a Coolie cup you have to provide them with a tea caddy so they can put the spent filter on it.
For customers that are in a hurry and are taking out give them a napkin and a zip lock baggie for the spent filter.
A Perfect Container of Iced Tea
To make iced tea you can use the Fetco Brewing System
Use the ½ pot brew basket with insert and 13 x 5 filters
Set the iced tea container under the brew basket
Set Fetco to ½ brew cycle
Add 8 oz of Two Leaves and a Bud iced tea blend to brew basket
Add 5 or 6 packs of sugar to the tea blend
Run Fetco through the ½ brew cycle twice.
Let the brewed tea cool to room temperature or put in cooler for 2 to 3 hours.
Because of tea solids, tea made this way sometimes becomes cloudy. The flavor isn’t affected, but if this bothers you, pour a small amount of boiling water into the container this will clear it up.
Fill 16oz glass with ice
Tear 3 mint leaves with your fingers and mix with the ice
Pour tea blend into glass
Add straw
British Table Setting
At PISTOL & Burnes we use traditional fine English China. The tea tray is used to carry the pot, sugar canister and tongs, spoon tray or tea caddie, and helmet jug for milk or cream. The tea cups, saucers and spoons are to be set on the table not the tray.
Russian Table Setting
Brew tea in a Russian tea pot or a Samovar. Sugar dish, milk helmet, cherry preserves and glass tea containers should be presented.
Chinese Table Setting
Follow our methods for tea preparation. Serve in a Yixing Clay Pot with clay or ceramic bowls. Always include a tea strainer and tea caddie. For single cups use the Coolie Cup and Lid with tea filter or infuser. Remember to include a tea caddie.
Japanese Table Setting
Prepare your tea following Pistol & Burnes’s recipe. Serve to table Japanese tea pot ,with strainer and bowl. Green tea should be prepared – also it is acceptable to add more hot water to the pot. Unlike fermented teas green teas do not become astringent.
Indian Table Setting
Prepare your Chai following the Pistol & Burnes recipe. Present the Indian tea pan, tea strainer and tea bowls to table . Allow your guest to pour their own beverage.
Promotional Suggestions
British Cream Tea: Served in fine English China , tea cup and saucer, tea pot for one or two, sugar bowl with tongs, with milk server and a tea strainer, all placed on a tray. It is permissible to add milk to black teas.
Now, whether the milk goes in first or last is a matter for conjecture. Put it in first, it can be seen as a cautionary measure against the cracking of fine china cups. Also it blends in more easily with the tea. But more importantly as the milk is added, the tannins immediately bind to the milk, making the taste less astringent.
Putting it in after the tea has been poured means that your guest can control the amount of milk to his or hers taste. Never use milk in green, oolong ,or scented teas. Never Never in herbal infusions.
