Russian Tea HOWTO
Dániel Nagy <[email protected]>
August 24, 2002 Caffeine is essential for keeping the brain active during nightly hacking sessions. There are, however, many ways to satisfy a hacker's need for caffeine. Drinking Canned Capitalism (Coke) contradicts the very principles of the open source movement, for it is a closed source product, manufactured by a huge, evil corporation. This sweet brown fizzy water is unhealthy and does not leave any space for creativity; you just get what you pay for. It is like M$ Windoze. Coffee is somewhat better (much better, in fact), though it can cause irreversible neural damage especially in young hackers still in larval stage (e.g. K-8), if consumed in large quantities. Moreover, it is strongly addictive and does not taste very good for those not yet addicted. A good tea, however, induces catharctic sensations even in those, who drink it for the very first time, warming one's mind, body, and soul. Many cultures have developed excellent ways of producing delicious tea. The English, the Chinese, the Japanese and many more have mastered the art of this divine beverage. In this HOWTO, however, I would like to focus on my native, Russian way of preparing, serving and consuming tea. The issues of scalability (preparing tea for yourself versus the LUG gathering), portability (preparing tea using different utensils), and quality control are also addressed in this HOWTO. Cultural references are given for the curious. Enjoy!
Adding milk to the tea is actually an English custom. Nevertheless, it's fine as long as you don't mind sweating like a pony- as a tea with milk drinker I dont find it any sweatier than without :) followed by
Smokers tend to like it for its detoxicating effect; tea with milk cancels the weariness caused by tobacco.
very informative!
at time's I wondered though ...Adding milk to the tea is actually an English custom. Nevertheless, it's fine as long as you don't mind sweating like a pony- as a tea with milk drinker I dont find it any sweatier than without :) followed bySmokers tend to like it for its detoxicating effect; tea with milk cancels the weariness caused by tobacco.
Things I've discovered relatively recently about tea:
if you brew it for less than 4 minutes - it has a very strong pickup effect
if you brew it for more than 4 minutes - if it's very srtong it'll get your heart going all right but it definitely doesnt have the same get up and go effect
Loved the Troubleshooting Section ;D-tomos (September 22, 2008, 09:08 AM)
BTW: Assuming it IS true - how much does a pony sweat anyway?-40hz (September 22, 2008, 03:12 PM)
I got a very interesting combination of black tea made with sage leaves as well-tomos (September 22, 2008, 05:29 PM)
My understanding is that the maximum amount of caffeine is extracted from tea between the 3.25 and 3.75 minute mark of the brewing cycle. You get a smaller amount of caffeine brewing it longer than that, but its effectiveness in the bloodstream is offset by the increased amount of tannin and other plant esters that are also being extracted. Tannin, by itself, will affect the heart. It causes a jittery sensation at higher (i.e. mildly toxic) concentrations, but it does not provide anything in the way of an energy boost.-40hz (September 22, 2008, 03:12 PM)
You do not get less of anything, the longer you brew your tea...you get more.-app103 (October 11, 2008, 10:40 AM)
While tea may have less caffiene than coffee, it has higher amounts of theophylline than coffee, and that is released later in the brewing process. So the longer you brew your tea, the more theophylline you'll have in it...but not at the level that you'd get from prescription strength theophylline pills.-app103 (October 11, 2008, 10:40 AM)
(Or should that be: a'gin ;D)no - ag'in - on'y slagging :D-40hz (October 11, 2008, 11:35 AM)