The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-01

StandafdS-but such as they are they
get lived up to with fidelity and en-
thusiasm. A poor cup of tea is as rare
in England as a good cup of coffee. Ten
years ago it would have been safe to
add-and as a good cup of tea in
America-but we have changed all that,
and now it is the fashion to be fastid-
ious over your tea and the brewing of
it,
While fashionable people have learned
to like and demand good tea, the know
ledge of it has hardly penetrated
through the various strata of society,
and the cup that is brewed for you in
the average restaurant and hotel is
pretty sure to be of the old boiled var
iety. 1t is surprising how dun caterers
and hotel proprietors are about catch
ing on the new taste for tea. At some
of the smartest and most expensive res
taurants in this country, where coored
walters, decorated china and the high
est degree Of culinary excellence and
style are to be found, they still offer
you cup of a black boiled decoction
made, perhaps, four hours before, and
call it tea, whereas it should be made
fresh to every order. The surest way
would be to give the customer tea.
CcAi'Ai6 NeAtCl anu q put anu ltl ilIil
make his own, but at present the gentle
art of making tea is not generally I'M
derstood sufficiently to make this prac-'
teal except in the case of ladies'.
In late number of the London
Chronicle report was given of a lee
ture on Tea and tea drinking" deliv-
cred before the grocers and allied
trades by one DR.. Goodfellow, and the
value of its sensible advice is enough to
warrant the comparatively brief ex-
tracts from the report quoted here:
The facts to be borne in mind in the
preparation of a cup Of tea, said the
doctor, are, first, to develop the aroma;
second, to obtain the maximum guam
tity of theme with the minimum per-
centage of tatnnic acid.
In order to do this to perfection, he
added, it is necessary to have two hot
dry, earthenware teapots, and as soft a
water as possible Should the water
be hard, it should be used directly it
has started to boil, otherwise the pre-
ciptation of the hardening salts will
interfere with the solution Of the con-
stituents. Last but not least, good
tea must be used. The teapots should
be placed III front of the fire, or on
the hob, to get them warm. Good tea
can seldom be made in a cold or wet
teapot When the water has come to
the boil, the tea should be placed in
one of the hot pots, and allowed to re-
main with the cover on for a half min
ute; boiling water should then he
poured in quickly to the amount re-
CURED, and the pot allowed to stand
under cozy fire four minutes, or from
three to five minutes, according to the
kind Of tea used
After this period has elapsed the in
fusion should be used at once, or IL re-
quired to stand for a little while
should be poured off into the second
hot pot. On no account is a second
brew permissible if the tea prepared
is to be non-injurious, and although
this method may appear wasteful, vet
it is not so, when conducted in a proper
manner.
Usually an excess of tea leaves is
placed in the pot, in the first instance
for the purpose of obtaining the sec
ond brew, by the addition Of hot water.
but the same result in quantity would
be obtained if the original tea were
divided into two portions and two
separate infusions made with the adj
ditional advantage Of a smaller quanti-
ty of the astringent fannie acid. When
the leaves are allowed to stand for a
time in hot water, notable quantities of
the tannin are dissolved out When
therefore, hot water is added to the
leaves that have been standing in the
pot, the result is a solution Of fannie
acid, which, being astringent and bit
ing in taste, the properties are looked
upon as the strong tea of the brew but
as the stimulating properties of tea de-
pend upon the theme. it is obvious that
special tea does not produce the re-
freshlng effect for which tea is taken.
To those who will persist in making
second brew in this way from used
leaves, ] would say that II would be
well to drain the teapot from the first
brew, so that the leaves are not Steep
ing in IT. This would reduce the
quantity of fannie acid in the second
infusion. Many people believe that the
color Of the infusion indicates It's
strength with regard to It's refreshing