Tea

“ The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose. I care nothing for your five o’clock tea of modish drawing-rooms, idle and wearisome like all else in which that world has part; I speak of tea where one is at home in quite another than the worldly sense. ”

“ Tea drinking ever since the days of the garrulous Pepys, who speaks of it as a new custom, down to the modern "pink tea," has been a sacred rite of hospitality, to be celebrated in one's best clothes, and with one's finest household silver and china. ”

“ Never were there such potatoes, never beans that seemed to have more of the bean in them, never such curly pork, never trout with more Indian-meal on them, never mutton more distinctly sheepy; and the tea, drunk out of a tin cup, with a lump of maple-sugar dissolved in it, —it is the sort of tea that takes hold, lifts the hair, and disposes the drinker to anecdote and hilariousness. There is no deception about it: it tastes of tannin and spruce and creosote. Everything, in short, has the flavor of the wilderness and a free life. ”

“ We dismount wherever a fine view is obtainable, and invariably find a tea house. Attentive waitresses, clad in their bright kimonas, regale you with small cups of tea and cake, to say nothing of the peppermint candies offered for a few pennies with a low bow and bewitching smile. ”

“ For us no weak tea, that satirical consoler, nor tea whose strength is bitterness, an abomination to the faithful, but mon père's own coffee, the very aroma of which was invigorating; then our friendly pipes out under the starlight, where we sat chatting amicably, with our three heads turbaned in an aromatic Virginian cloud. ”

“ After all, tea is the drink! Domestically and socially it is the beverage of the world. There may be those who will come forward with their figures to prove that other fruits of the soil--agriculturally and commercially--are more important. Perhaps they are right when quoting statistics. But what other product can compare with tea in the high regard in which it has always been held by writers whose standing in literature, and recognized good taste in other walks, cannot be questioned? ”

“ All it tells us about tea is that it is the leaf of a little shoot growing plentifully in the East Indies; that Bohea--called by the French "Bean Tea"--is best of a morning with bread and butter, being of a more nourishing nature than the green which may be used when a meal is not wanted. Three or four cups at a sitting are enough; and a little milk or cream renders the beverage smoother and more powerful in blunting the acid humors of the stomach. ”

“ The tea was astonishingly excellent, so few Americans I had observed having the faintest motion of the real meaning of tea, and I was offered with it bread and butter and a genuinely satisfying compote of plums of which my hostess confessed herself the fabricator, having, as she quaintly phrased the thing, "put it up." ”

“ It is a serious mistake to imagine that the successful or profitable blending of tea consists solely of an indiscriminate or injudicious heaping together carelessly and indifferently of two or more varieties of tea in one homogeneous mass without the least regard to quantities, qualities, affinities, affiliations or assimilations of leaf, liquor, character or flavor of the component parts. ”

“ As we look to France for the best coffee, so we must look to England for the perfection of tea. The tea-kettle is as much an English institution as aristocracy or the Prayer-Book; and when one wants to know exactly how tea should he made, one has only to ask how a fine old English house-keeper makes it. ”

“ A glance through this book will show that the spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort, and refinement. As these qualities are all associated with the ways of women, it is to them, therefore--the real rulers of the world--that tea owes its prestige and vogue. ”

“ Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things. ”

“ You see, therefore, how greatly we are indebted to our brilliant luminary for the enjoyment of our tea-table. Not only has the sun given us the coal and the tea, but it has actually provided the means by which the tea was carried all the way from China to our own shores. ”

“ St. George brought a deck cushion and tucked it in the willow steamer chair and said adoringly that he would have tea. Tea. In a world where the essentials and the inessentials are so deliciously confused, to think that tea, with some one else, can be a kind of Heaven.
"Two lumps?" pursued Olivia. ”

“ Tea is no article of food, but it possesses the qualities of coffee; it warms the blood, increases the activity of the heart, and produces a certain freshness of the mind, which is a good remedy against ennui and sleepiness in a company or party. ”

“ Still, tea in itself is always a pleasant function, and up-river picnics are not the penitential feasts that they once were.
‘The invention of the Thermos flask,’ observed Uncle Tony, ‘has lightened the labours and brightened the life of many an arthritic fuel-gatherer; and the tea itself no longer tastes like a decoction of dead leaves and tepid pond water. ”

“ for tea, though ridiculed by those who are naturally of coarse nerves, of are become so from wine drinking, and are not susceptible of influence from so refined a stimulant, will always be the favourite beverage of the intellectual: and, for my part, I would have joined Dr. ”

“ I know people of both sexes, who are constantly seized with great uneasiness, anxiety, and oppression, as often as they take a single cup of Tea, who nevertheless, for the sake of company, drink several cups of warm water, mixed with sugar and milk, without the same inconvenience.
A physician, whose acquaintance I have long been favoured with, and who, with some others, was present when the preceding experiments were made at the college of Edinburgh, has a remarkable delicacy in feeling the effects of a small quantity of fine Tea. ”

“ The Major’s wife and the daughter’s been to Europe, and my wife tells me since they got back they make tea there every afternoon about five o’clock, and drink it. Seems to me it would go against a person’s stomach, just before supper like that, and anyway tea isn’t fit for much—not unless you’re sick or something. ”

“ And the nature of man's treatment and manipulation determines in large measure not only the desired flavor, but the distinguishing character of the tea, its rank as a green, a black, or an "English Breakfast Tea," all three of which may be evolved by skilful manipulation from the same tea bush, at the same time. ”

“ If the tea is given in spring or summer, green and white are liked. Have candles and shades match the color scheme and place silk or satin of the color used under the mats and doilies. On the table have cut glass or fine china dishes filled with candies, chocolates, salted nuts and candied fruits. Tea may be served from one end of the table and an ice from the other. Have a friend pour tea. Place before her the small cups, saucers, spoons. She fills the cups and hands them to the guests or to those assisting in the dining-room. ”

“ AT TEA The kettle descants in a cozy drone,
And the young wife looks in her husband’s face,
And then at her guest’s, and shows in her own
Her sense that she fills an envied place;
And the visiting lady is all abloom,
And says there was never so sweet a room.
And the happy young housewife does not know
That the woman beside her was first his choice,
Till the fates ordained it could not be so . . .
Betraying nothing in look or voice
The guest sits smiling and sips her tea,
And he throws her a stray glance yearningly. ”

“ The chief art in successful tea-blending is to combine body, strength and some particular and distinct flavor in one, so as to please the majority of that portion of the public for whom the tea is prepared, and at the same time so arrange its constituent parts in such a manner that this desirable result may be obtained at the smallest possible outlay. ”

“ SIFTING TEA. The worthy Dean's denunciation of tea-drinking formed the subject of numerous leading articles in the press, followed by letters from correspondents, several of whom referred to the difficulty of finding any satisfactory substitute for the fragrant and refreshing beverage which, during the present century; has come to be regarded almost as a necessary of life in English homes, both rich and poor. ”

“ Thus prepared, the tea is an economical and healthy beverage. It is drunk continually and at all hours of the day, even just before going to bed. Its effect is never an exciting one. Apropos of this, one of my compatriots has said that the Europeans, and specially the English, do not know how to make tea. ”

“ Already an old man, he ventured on his Highland tour; and his heart, bound with triple brass, did not recoil before twenty-seven individual cups of tea. ”

“ Paint me, then, a room seventeen feet by twelve, and not more than seven and a half feet high, ... and near the fire paint me a tea-table; and (as it is clear that no creature can come to see one on such a stormy night) , place only two cups and saucers on the tea-tray; and if you know how to paint such a thing, symbolically or otherwise, paint me an eternal teapot—eternal à parte ante and à parte post; for I usually drink tea from eight o'clock at night to four in the morning. ”

“ The scent that rises from the cup when the tea is ready is most exquisite, and a cup of this tea not only produces a feeling of great bodily comfort, but also has a most exhilarating effect on the mind. ”

“ An examination of teatime behavior and a consideration of what utensils were used or thought appropriate for tea drinking are of help in reconstructing and interpreting American history as well as in furnishing and re-creating interiors of the period, thus bringing into clearer focus the picture of daily life in 18th-century America. ”

“ Firing and Colouring.—When the teas are half roasted, powdered Prussian blue, plumbago, gypsum, and turmeric are added, except to that tea ordered pure and free from all mineral facing powder.
That all classes of the community in this country have derived much benefit from the persistent use of Tea, is placed beyond dispute. It has proved, and still proves, a highly prized boon to millions. ”

“ There are two different phases of the tea-ceremony, the regular course and the simplified course, known among us as the 'Great Tea' and the 'Small Tea.' In either case, it might be defined in its present form as a system of cultivating good manners as applied to daily life, with the serving and drinking of a cup of tea at its centre. The main stress is laid on ensuring outwardly a graceful carriage, and inwardly presence of mind. ”

“ Sliced lemon should be at hand for any who prefer the creamless, sugarless Russian tea with a slice of lemon floating on its amber tide.
Some ladies invite several young girls to help serve and entertain, and, in the eyes of the masculine half of creation, this adds greatly to the beauty of the picture; for ever since tea became famous in our society, men have found much to admire in a girl who can serve it gracefully.
A kettledrum and an elaborate five o'clock tea are precisely the same form of entertainment. ”

“ Tea being an infusion, not a decoction, it should be brewed, not stewed, the object being to extract as much of the theine or refreshing principle and as little of the tannin or astringent property as possible, without, at the same time, either boiling or overdrawing. ”

“ who with tea amused the evening, with tea solaced the midnight, and with tea welcomed the morning." ”

“ Iced tea, liberally dosed with lemon, is eminently refreshing to mental as well as physical man, and after his third tall glass of it—for Roger was as confirmed a tea toper as any old woman—he drew a long breath and surveyed the scene with peaceful eyes. ”

“ Nevertheless, as I have often observed that drinking Tea, particularly the most highly-flavoured fine green, proves remarkably relaxing to many persons of tender and delicate constitutions, I was induced to prosecute my enquiries farther.
1. To this end I distilled half a pound of the best and most fragrant green Tea with simple water [78] , and drew off an ounce of very odorous and pellucid water, free from oil, and which on trial (Section I. Experiment II.) shewed no signs of astringency. ”

“ No redrying process follows; the Tea is simply filled back into the chests when seven days of neglect have done what mischief is possible. Is it to be wondered at that samples drawn from such a break of Tea a few months after it has been bulked in London will have lost all their freshness and malty smell? ”

“ We were received with every token of welcome by the owner, who at once busied himself to provide for our refreshment. We found it an excellent plan to carry with us a supply of tea. It is often easy to get boiling water when it is hard to get other things. Tea is swiftly made, and, on a hot journey, is most refreshing. ”

“ We shall now endeavour to follow him, regularly, through all his observations on this modern luxury; but, it can scarcely be candid not to make a previous declaration, that he is to expect little justice from the author of this extract, a hardened and shameless tea-drinker, who has, for twenty years, diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant; whose kettle has scarcely time to cool; who with tea amuses the evening, with tea solaces the midnight, and, with tea, welcomes the morning. ”