Evening star., 1948-11-02
Bv Marearef Child

ny MQfSdref l. ma
A cup of tea is certainly one of
the most ordinary and simple of
beverages. Or so 1t would seem.
I, however, make what must be
the worst cup of tea this side Of
the Atlantic. The English state
ment that Americans don't know
how to make real tea probably was
made with me in mind. Anyway, I
am in perfect accord with it.
don't know how TO make tea. But
I keep trying.
Was telling my woe to Marion
Cedarblade over at WINK the other
day and Marion suggested two pos
sible solutions. One, consult a cook
book. Two, conduct a series of
scientific experiments, dunking the
tea bag in the water for various in
tervals timed a la soft-boiled egg,
with one of those minute hour
glasses until I hit the right formula.
The former semed the line of least
trouble, so last night I consulted the
cook book. Several cook books.
And discovered that I am not
alone with my problem. For the
very first book I opened said, "A
cup of tea is one of the most deli
cious beverages but probably no
other Is attended with such doubt
full results, chiefly because the av-
erage persons knows little about
the selection Of teas and methods
of brewing it are uncertain"
Heartened, I read on.
Most cook books agree that one
teaspoon Of tea to a cup of boiling
water gives the best results. The
water must be and I quote "bubblin,
boiling" and one guide suggests {
teaspoon to a cup plus one NOR
for the pot"
And they all agree that the tes
should seep three to five minutes al
least, which is where Marion's tea.
timer comes in handy.
In addition, now also know tina
the color of tea is no indication
OF its strength, that Z out Of i
Americans drink tea and that tn,
United States lis the worlds secone
largest importer of the beverage
England, I presume, is first. Tn,
Chinese, Of course, are the cham
pion tea drinkers of the world. Afte,
all, they've been inbibing 1t for ovel
1000 years!
There are almost as many kind,
Of tea as there are tea drinkers
including English Breakfast, Irish
Style (green tea?) Fancy Flower,
Ceylon and Pinhead Gunpowder
The latter Is for people who liv,
dangerously. And the prices rang,
from few cents to five dollar.
pound. However, at $50 cups tt
the pound, even the latter, onl,
comes to 31s cents a cup, which
isn't bad.
And surely is nothing like th'
price at which tea used to sell wher
| 1t was first introduced in England
Thirty to so dollars q pound wa!
the tariff in those days!
| Mate, pronounced mah-tay, to M
has one of the most fascinating
names Of all teas. That is the drinl
Of many Latin American tea addict
and its isn't really tea at all, bu
is tealike, containing less caffein
and tannin than the USUAL teas ant
having no astringent qualities. It
flavor is heavier than that Of tea
too.
i Which brings out another tea fac
which perhaps is not SO commonl
remembered. Tea doesn't have t
be made from tea leaves to be calle'
tea. The dictionary defines tea a
i. any Of numerous other plant
more or less like tea ninfuSiol
from their leaves used as bever
|age-" Like sage tea. Or even Tay
lor tea (hot water, sugar and milk
about which Betty Macdonald remi
nisces so humorously in her ne,
hook.
4 Teas great value, of course, is 1t
!, stimulative quality. Which make
lit, like smelling salts, wonderful frs
! aid in minor crisis. But do 20
know it takes by the clock Is min