Quote from: escafeld on June 02, 2017, 05:34:45 PM

Quote from: NeMo on June 02, 2017, 05:05:42 PM
George Orwell is always a good read, and his essay entitled "A Nice Cup Of Tea" is one of his shorter and most accessible essays.

So Orwell doesn't think you should add sugar because it 'destroys'  the flavour, but adds milk  . If tea was that good you wouldn't need either of them and without adding milk would stop the disagreement about which to put in first.

A fair point! I guess the issue is that people who add sugar might be tempted to add a lot, in which case what they're tasting is a sweet drink of some sort, not the tea. Whereas milk has a much milder flavour, and presumably Orwell believes that this complements the tea rather than overpowering it.

But since I add neither milk nor sugar, I have no opinion either way! I definitely agree that good tea is excellent on its own, and doesn't really need additional flavourings. Not against a bit of lemon but generally have tea black, but not strong. My one essential is tea leaves, not bags! All sorts of gizmos available now for brewing a bug of tea with leaves rather than bags, and it's much more economical, too.

Cheers, NeMo

Our chemistry teacher told us that tea contains tannins, which cross-link proteins.

Milk contains proteins, so adding milk to tea removes the tannins which react with the milk proteins.

If you drink tea without milk the tannins react with the proteins in your mouth, which explains that dry, furry, sensation you get when you drink tea without milk.

Best regards,


Joe

Quote from: daffy on June 02, 2017, 04:30:14 PM

Even so, I really should get shot of the physical albums.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Do you have a turntable, Mike?
It's wonderful to gently slide the album in its paper sleeve from the gatefold cover and then ever so carefully remove the vinyl from the paper sleeve to slowly place it on the turntable before altering the speed of the turntable and lowering the cartridge (no needles here, don't you know) onto the edge of the album to hear the 'thunk' before the recording starts up.
Somewhere in the loft I have a portable cassette tape player similar to the 'Walkman' but with a graphic equaliser, and a portable CD player I used to take on planes with me before the advent of the iPod.
Somewhere in here I also have a model railway layout as well.

Yes Mick,  I have a turntable. It's a Technics one from way back when that's never been used since I bought it new cos the system I was going to connect it to had a.... er.... mishap and died, and its replacement was a Sony CDP750 CD player.

So now the turntable is just sat in the attic, another nice thing I now have no use for as I have no suitable amp to connect it to anyway.

I'm afraid I'm an easy listening kind of guy - easy to put on a CD and easy to listen to through my new Denon player. (One day I may even graduate to newer digital media - I have my entire CD collection on memory sticks as it is but only use them in the car where the reduced quality is not an issue).

Do I miss the thunk of the cartridge, the crackle of dust and scratches, the 15 to 20 minute period of listening before I have to get up to turn it over, the interminable cleaning, the worry of scratching the record?

No.

But I do miss reading the sleeve notes and having the words of the songs to look at (without having to strain my eyes (as with CD insert) or locate them on the www only to find the twerp who placed them there got them wrong.

Tea bag in mug, give it a whirl then add milk, no sugar, still use a butter dish with proper butter, don't posses a microwave, don't 'nuke' anything for fear of getting that ready brek glow!

QuoteYes Mick,  I have a turntable. It's a Technics one from way back

I've got a Technics SL-DL1, hooked up to a Technics receiver driving a pair of KEFs, also feeds into the PC for ripping, and the PC feeds playlists to the receiver, 2 way traffic!

Will NEVER give up my records, cassettes, cds. I love having the physical item, to open, look at, return to its place.

And, IF I ever grow tired of them (or expire before the wife does) she can pay for a nice cruise by selling them all off to others like me. Can't sell off a digital collection.

I'm "only" 43, but I find great comfort in holding on to things that are a little older, a little slower.

I want my medicine 21st Century
I want my surgeon 21st Century

Most else? Sometimes older is better.

Quote from: Jimbo on June 02, 2017, 09:18:37 PM
don't posses a microwave, don't 'nuke' anything for fear of getting that ready brek glow!

Microwaves are a completely different range of electromagnetic waves to gamma rays (the "radioactivity waves" in the EM spectrum). Microwaves actually sit at the other end of the spectrum, i.e., at the longer wavelength end of the spectrum, between radio waves and infrared waves. So despite the slang term "nuking" to refer to cooking food with microwaves, visible light is actually closer to gamma rays in terms of wavelengths and frequencies -- and nobody gets paranoid about kitchen lights irradiating their dinner!

In terms of nutrition, medics and scientists agree that microwaved vegetables contain more nutrients than vegetables boiled to an equivalent degree of cooking. Microwaving also uses less energy, so costs you less.

Cheers, NeMo

Quote from: Dorsetmike on June 02, 2017, 09:26:36 PM

QuoteYes Mick,  I have a turntable. It's a Technics one from way back

I've got a Technics SL-DL1, hooked up to a Technics receiver driving a pair of KEFs, also feeds into the PC for ripping, and the PC feeds playlists to the receiver, 2 way traffic!

The unused one I have is an SL-DD33.

Pie funnels.
Enamel plates.
Pudding cloths.

Whistling kettle

I used to have one of those enamel mugs for work, blue and white I think it was. Some lads had like a tall one, but I remember tricks played with those mugs. Like drilling a small hole part way down from the lip so it dribbled down you mouth when you drunk from it. One lad had his mug nailed to the table in the canteen, his so called mate said I have poured your drink out for you. By the way it was not me, I was too small to try stunts like that.

Quote from: Gary Burcombe on June 02, 2017, 06:58:47 PM
To all those who make tea (and it doesn't brew, it steeps) in a mug I say, "heathens!"  I always steep my Yorkshire tea bags (other brands are available, but not as nice) in a teapot.  It allows the tea to aerate when poured (also why it is considered good form to slurp tea to promote aeration) which improves the flavour.  And yes, it must be boiling water.  And as to the vessel I drink it from, a mug I'm afraid, or in the case of my first cuppa, a bucket may be a closer description.

Have to agree with you on the teapot thing, though I can rarely be bothered these days.

Always wondered how they get the tea to grow in the Yorkshire climate though.

It's going to show my age, but one thing that I DO miss is genuine 'Silver Service' (which some of the membership might also know as 'High Tea'), and all the ritual (aka 'dramas') which went with it.

I was introduced to the 'event' by my maternal grandmother who emphasisied that to participate was considered a 'privilege' and not a 'right'; and that one must be 'invited' to participate, rather than merely 'arrive in hope'. The latter was simply not done ('bad form' and all that) and to do so lowered the event's tone more than somewhat.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon has now passed into history and  is now regarded as 'quaint', and worthy only of imitation at fete's, galas and sundry fund-raising events where what was once commonplace for a certain sector of society is now regarded as being both comedic and curious.

Definitely something from a time long gone. Some might remember it.

High Tea. I sadly remember it. My "Auntie" Alice (in reality an old friend of my mum) used to hold court and distribute largesse over said repast. A right old bag she was too. She owned an hotel in London west end somewhere (long time ago so all a bit hazy) and High Tea was always a summons to misery for us kids. Not a fond memory as there were always good looking cakes to be eyed hungrily, but we had to eat our fill of sandwiches first, so there was rarely room for any cake. I swear the old b used to put the same cakes out day after day, as we were never able to get near them! Still, my gran used to make up for it with tea in a pot and proper fruitcake.

Tea doesn't brew...debatable.

Something that gets mentioned on here frequently is IPA.  The version that is enjoyed by the pint is said to have been first brewed by an Allsop's brewer Toby Philpott. He is said to have made his experimental brew in a large teapot, with the pale malt infused within. This is how it was "brewed"

I can only imagine that the term brewed for tea was derived from this, and Pale ale certainly took the U.K by storm. I speak to a friend from Burton On Trent, birthplace of Pale ale, and he always refers to having a quick brew (cuppa)

Tea and me, I like to brew from the leaf when I get up. Two pint mugs of the lovely stuff is my usual to start the day off. Now, the kettle...