I was smiling at today's blog until I was stabbed in the heart by the whiny Brit comment. Are Brits the whiniest? Never heard of this stereotyping before, but anyway I still love your blog..it's brilliant!
Love this, Anne! The US embassy letter is gold and love Annette’s comments. I’m about to make my morning tea (Barry’s Irish Tea) so will I try it with salt? Nah…. 😂
I always find it rich when the English get uppity about how other cultures make tea, considering they ruthlessly colonized two continents to form the basis of an exploitative, extractive global tea industry that promotes the lowest quality leaf mulch production to fill their precious teabags. Look in the mirror and ask where “bad” brewing practices started, people!
As usual, late to the comments party as I tend to read a week+ at a time. This is simply facinating! Salt in tea, coffee and cocktails...who knew!? After one week in high school chemistry, I escaped over to Physics...but as an adult, wish I had been made to take BOTH. Alas. Can't wait to try my own taste test in both coffee and tea. Thanks everyone for the laughs I got today reading this!
Anne, I was so excited that you posted about Nancy Silverton’s peanut butter cookie recipe. I bought the book after you recommended it last December, I believe. This cookie is a lot of work but I loved it and felt it was so worth the effort. My variation was to make the cookies smaller so smaller heaps of peanuts and peanut butter. I also substituted the wheat flour for Better Batter all purpose GF flour. The sorghum flour is a tremendous add and I keep it on hand for my GF baking. The cookies baked beautifully and kept their shape. They were wonderful tasting as well. Thank you for sharing the recommendation and while I don’t mind doing a little extra effort at times, I was also thinking I could simplify the recipe for a “plain old” peanut butter cookie. I’ll try yours, GF style!
I had a friend in the restaurant industry, and they always added a tiny bit of baking soda to tea to help with cloudiness, so when I heard about the salt when it came out, I wasn't surprised there could be science involved. I just can't imagine steeping my tea for only one minute.
I have Crohn's Disease and was a support group facilitator for years. We had a Hopkins- educated gastroenterologist visit our group, and he said a bit of sugar was okay because it helped the body absorb the good properties in tea. Though, my gastroenterologist thinks I shouldn't have any--it's complicated. My asthma allergist doctor wants me to drink it. So I drink it in moderation. lol
I have a variety of bagged and loose leaf black tea.
This is so fascinating, Anne! I wouldn't have thought of adding salt to tea. I've read that adding salt to coffee is a common practice in a lot of places (Turkey, Hungary, Siberia & Vietnam, among other places) to cut the bitterness in coffee, so obviously it also works in tea. After reading this post, I had to try it out in my Irish Breakfast brew (from Trader Joe's). But like my Scottish mom (and probably like Annette!), I always add milk. However, in the interest of research, I tried it both ways. Sans milk, the brew was a bit savory--not bad, but not really my taste--I think I actually LIKE a bit of bitterness. With milk, I couldn't really tell the difference. Now, it's on to coffee. I do think those peanut butter cookies would add the perfect amount of salt (not to mention sugar and fat!) to the experience!
Tempest in a teapot, LOL! I enjoyed this deep dive, Anne. I can see all your journalism skills and experience at work. I'm a coffee drinker, but when I came down with a bad cold a few weeks ago, I really enjoyed making myself a mug of hot tea with honey in the afternoon (partial to earl grey, sans salt). YES to salted cookies.
Bar tenders and “mixologists “ 🤮 have long known that a few drops of a simple saline solution elevated cocktails. Why not tea?
With a pinch of salt!
I was smiling at today's blog until I was stabbed in the heart by the whiny Brit comment. Are Brits the whiniest? Never heard of this stereotyping before, but anyway I still love your blog..it's brilliant!
Love this, Anne! The US embassy letter is gold and love Annette’s comments. I’m about to make my morning tea (Barry’s Irish Tea) so will I try it with salt? Nah…. 😂
I always find it rich when the English get uppity about how other cultures make tea, considering they ruthlessly colonized two continents to form the basis of an exploitative, extractive global tea industry that promotes the lowest quality leaf mulch production to fill their precious teabags. Look in the mirror and ask where “bad” brewing practices started, people!
As usual, late to the comments party as I tend to read a week+ at a time. This is simply facinating! Salt in tea, coffee and cocktails...who knew!? After one week in high school chemistry, I escaped over to Physics...but as an adult, wish I had been made to take BOTH. Alas. Can't wait to try my own taste test in both coffee and tea. Thanks everyone for the laughs I got today reading this!
Anne, I was so excited that you posted about Nancy Silverton’s peanut butter cookie recipe. I bought the book after you recommended it last December, I believe. This cookie is a lot of work but I loved it and felt it was so worth the effort. My variation was to make the cookies smaller so smaller heaps of peanuts and peanut butter. I also substituted the wheat flour for Better Batter all purpose GF flour. The sorghum flour is a tremendous add and I keep it on hand for my GF baking. The cookies baked beautifully and kept their shape. They were wonderful tasting as well. Thank you for sharing the recommendation and while I don’t mind doing a little extra effort at times, I was also thinking I could simplify the recipe for a “plain old” peanut butter cookie. I’ll try yours, GF style!
🤦♀️ on the microwave tea concept, and surprised there’s been no whining about this travesty...yet
I loved this, Anne. The salt in tea rings a very faint bell -- perhaps something my elders said they had seen their elders do.
I had a friend in the restaurant industry, and they always added a tiny bit of baking soda to tea to help with cloudiness, so when I heard about the salt when it came out, I wasn't surprised there could be science involved. I just can't imagine steeping my tea for only one minute.
I have Crohn's Disease and was a support group facilitator for years. We had a Hopkins- educated gastroenterologist visit our group, and he said a bit of sugar was okay because it helped the body absorb the good properties in tea. Though, my gastroenterologist thinks I shouldn't have any--it's complicated. My asthma allergist doctor wants me to drink it. So I drink it in moderation. lol
I have a variety of bagged and loose leaf black tea.
I will leave it to the imagination as their language would be very colourful.Remember Yorkshire is THE home to a cup of tea. Julie.
I am certain my Yorkshire family will have opinions on the only way to make a cup of tea!, Julie.
This is so fascinating, Anne! I wouldn't have thought of adding salt to tea. I've read that adding salt to coffee is a common practice in a lot of places (Turkey, Hungary, Siberia & Vietnam, among other places) to cut the bitterness in coffee, so obviously it also works in tea. After reading this post, I had to try it out in my Irish Breakfast brew (from Trader Joe's). But like my Scottish mom (and probably like Annette!), I always add milk. However, in the interest of research, I tried it both ways. Sans milk, the brew was a bit savory--not bad, but not really my taste--I think I actually LIKE a bit of bitterness. With milk, I couldn't really tell the difference. Now, it's on to coffee. I do think those peanut butter cookies would add the perfect amount of salt (not to mention sugar and fat!) to the experience!
Tempest in a teapot, LOL! I enjoyed this deep dive, Anne. I can see all your journalism skills and experience at work. I'm a coffee drinker, but when I came down with a bad cold a few weeks ago, I really enjoyed making myself a mug of hot tea with honey in the afternoon (partial to earl grey, sans salt). YES to salted cookies.
They'll never make it here for driving on the wrong side of the road.
But if they do, I'll nawught tell them a thing, but will break out the bicky-tin, and will witter away the afternoon til tea.
Don’t apologize, I’m still smiling! When all is said and done why don’t we just enjoy what we like to eat and drink and ignore everything else?!