THE HOME.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2704, 7 December 1882, Page 4

THE HOME.

THE ART OF TEA MAKING. After the housewife has done her utmost in the selection of tea, its des+iuy depends very much on the way in which it is made. And the manner in which this is often done by the carelessness or ignorance of servants is such as to ruin the infusion by the extraction of the coarser flavors, which overpower those of a more delicate and less powerful nature. The difference between a cup of good tea carefully made and one made same tea in defiance of the proper directions is extreme, and if the difference were thoroughly realised, ladies would be more careful to insist on the tea

being made so as to give its finer properties their due effect. As assisting to this object, let me extract from a little book that has come into my hands, “ The Art of Tea Blending,” the following directions given on the authority of skilled experts for making a good cup of tea: —“ Since almost as much dissatisfaction is caused 1 from tea being carelessly browed as from the use of inferior teas, retailers would do as well to impress upon their customers the following facts : First—That the water used should be as soft and pure as can be obtained. Second —That the water should be boiled as quickly as possible, and used at boiling point ; it must boil, but it must not overboil, for, should it he allowed to simmer even for a few minutes, it will not extract the full strength and flavor from the leaves. Tea-tasters are most particular in this respect; they have their kettles watched, so that the water may he used the instant it boils ; and if any water is left in the kettle, it is turned away, for the effect of using water that has been boiled a second time is the same as that of water whicli has been allowed to overboil. Should some junior, from carelessness or want of knowledge, use water that has overboiled, or that has been boiled a second time, the taster will detect.it at a glance, all the infusions being thin, and the whole batch having a peculiar appearance which is termed ‘ unhealthy.’ How often is all this entirely overlooked, and the water in the kettle allowed to boil all the afternoon, and when the tea is brewed (no matter how fine it may be —the finer it is the more it suffers) it altogether fails to please ; and small wonder, for instead of the lively aromatic flavor being reproduced in the teacup, a large proportion of it is lost, and the beverage is neither so palatable nor so refreshing as it would otherwise be. Third —All that portion of the tea that can be dissolved is extracted before the expiration of ten minutes; five or six minutes is generally sufficient. The infusion is then at its best; from that time it gradually loses part of its flavor, until, if allowed to stew for half an hour or an hour, it becomes dull and mawkish.”