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BS: Lifeboat Tea.
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Subject: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 22 Jan 14 - 03:50 PM It is by far my favorite tea that have had in the USA. Full rich flavor, lots of Caffiene! Hardy and strong! and 7p goes to the RNLI Drink Lifeboat, for a truly good cup of tea. Anyone have any Lifeboat Tea stories? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 22 Jan 14 - 09:03 PM Never heard of it, so I looked. They sell at least five blends of their tea under the Lifeboat name. Also several crus. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 22 Jan 14 - 09:21 PM Did not know that. Ours is Kenyan. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: gnu Date: 23 Jan 14 - 06:39 AM Morse's King Cole Orange Pekoe fer me. I have had Red Rose and the ads embarrass me*. Tetley is equally distasteful... to me. There ads picture Brits sipping it and saying, "Only in Canada you say? Pity." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: gnu Date: 23 Jan 14 - 06:40 AM theIR ads... need more tea! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Eldergirl Date: 23 Jan 14 - 07:30 AM Lifeboat CRU's? Really? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Musket Date: 23 Jan 14 - 09:42 AM There used to be far more tea, but you buggers carelessly dropped it off the side of the boat in Boston Harbour. Really. You just can't introduce culture to some people.... The Indians now, they got the idea of the value of tea, although they make it too milky and flavour it with cardamom pods, so how the hell they taste the tea is beyond me... True story.. When we go skiing your side of the pond, we always take a supply of Yorkshire Tea teabags. I don't give a rats because I'll drink anything but Mrs Musket is rather particular. That's how she ended up with me. (That said, two places stand out, one in each country that I have really enjoyed a brew. Deer Lodge hotel at Lake Louise and a hotel I can't remember the name of but could easily find in Santa Barbara CA, we stayed in overnight on our honeymoon a few years ago. Before anyone wonders where the chairlifts are in Santa Barbara....) I'm staring at a cuppa my secretary just brought through in my favourite mug. I reckon you could stand a spoon in it. Has the appearance of that stuff you used to use to stick down Formica. Need to drink it and get on with saving the planet. Just thought. Talking of skiing, we go tomorrow to France for two weeks. No North America this year sadly. Bad enough they don't know how to make tea in France either, although the coffee is cracking. The altitude in Tignes is such that water boils far too low to extract any taste even if they did. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 23 Jan 14 - 12:14 PM http://www.lifeboattea.co.uk/default.asp |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: gnu Date: 23 Jan 14 - 12:30 PM "That's how she ended up with me." Hahahahaaa. Good one. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Bill D Date: 23 Jan 14 - 12:45 PM I too had never heard of Lifeboat... they at least have several choices, though they seem to be in bags only. These days, I drink far more coffee than tea... partly because it is hard to find the tea(s) I prefer at reasonable prices. For almost 40 years, I drank mostly tea, and 99% of that was loose tea, from either respected importers in tins, or bought in bulk from shops specializing in tea. I have won a couple of bets that I could pick out one cup made with teas bags from 4 others made with loose tea. I have had Yorkshire tea... in tea bags, of course, and it was decent tea... but I will always prefer loose tea sch as Keemun, Assam, or one of several commercial blends called by various names... 'Russian Caravan', 'Queen Mary's Blend', "Prince of Wales Blend"...etc by Twinings or Fortnum & Mason. I used to have 4 shops I could browse, but they have gradually gone away due to the coffee onslaught. The one I know is still there is upscale to an absurd degree, and their prices are startling! (There may be a new one near, but have not been able to check it out yet.) I do NOT like anything in my tea except a little sugar... (I can't imagine how one can even identify a type of tea awash in milk) I intend this year to pursue a good source for bulk tea, as coffee sometimes treats me badly. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 23 Jan 14 - 01:47 PM Looking at their website, Apparently all of the Williamson teas come from Kenya. They offer "mini cru" teas including Purple Blush and Zinga Black. Also loose teas inc. "Fine Tippy Assam Blush." They seem to like odd names, but so do the Chinese. The only tea we have in the cupboard is called Nine Bend, Dragon, which comes as a loose tea. Quite strong. We brew it for the odd visitor who asks for tea. We rarely drink tea, much preferring mountain grown Chiapas or coffee beans from adjacent parts of Guatemala. Milk doesn't belong in either coffee or tea. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 23 Jan 14 - 04:11 PM Bill D. Q has given me an idea that might be good for you too. Next time I am at the Asian Market, I'll check their teas and see what the Vietnamese lady who owns the place drinks. Do you have an Asian market nearby? I'll bet they have drinkable teas at affordable prices. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 23 Jan 14 - 07:10 PM I remember my grandmother drank tea. In depression days she got a tea that had some small stem bits along with the leaves which was cheaper than the better teas. These were tied in small bundles. It came from a Chinese "variety" store. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Stanron Date: 23 Jan 14 - 07:21 PM Bill D I've been pipped by one post! I was about to suggest trying an Asian Deli. The one I go to is in Longsight Manchester. Lots of stalls on the street front selling all sorts of vedge and herbs and the main shop inside with a super range of goods from salt cod to 5 gallon pans to catering size chilli bags to gallons of Ghee. Also a wide range of teas and several loose green and black teas. My favourite is Gunpowder Green tea, but beware of brewing it like black tea. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Bill D Date: 23 Jan 14 - 08:32 PM Several Asian stores near me have almost discontinued black teas.. which I prefer. I can get Puer-eh tea... *blech* and a couple types of green.. and of course LOTS of Jasmine. I do know about Gunpowder & panfired & basketfired green teas, and can tolerate them, but I really want my selections of good quality black teas. I really must drive further afield... or take to ordering online. (and, like Q, I have a fondness for Guatemalan coffee.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST, topsie Date: 24 Jan 14 - 03:39 AM I don't think tea bags existed when I was a child, so we always used loose tea. Sometimes there would be a bit of stalk floating in your cup. My grandmother said it meant you would receive a letter in the post - it was not long after the war, and a letter was very important to people with family members away in the armed forces. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 24 Jan 14 - 04:32 AM No, there weren't teabags when we were young, topsie. And my Irish mother used to 'read' our tea leaves for us. You drank the cup down to the dregs, she tipped it upside down over the saucer, turned it three times then looked inside. A stalk meant a visitor according to her. But she interpreted shapes, such as ,"I see two people carrying a bag. There's money in it!" I like a drop of milk in my tea. It's a good idea as milk is a good source of calcium. Aren't those stupid little teeny weeny teabags in some cafes the pits? All they produce is tea like gnats' piss. Sorry, forgot the Lifeboat tea. Have never heard of it, but we always contribute to the RNLI. We both hate the sea and are terrified of it, so any brave people who do that voluntarily have my unreserved admiration. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: banjoman Date: 24 Jan 14 - 05:44 AM Lifeboat tea is the best anywhere, but we have not been able to find it in our local shops for a while. In olden days, before tea bags were invented, we made do with 2 types of loose tea: Co- Op tea branches everywhere and in every cup Shamrock Tea - only 3 leaves per cup |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Musket Date: 24 Jan 14 - 06:23 AM As a lad, we used to drink loose tea rather than teabags. My mum used to buy Glenghetti. I thought it was no longer available till I was in South Wales the other year and it seems to be in every shop. Still, means going to Wales to get it and there hangs the problem. Out of interest the local water has an effect. Where we used to live, Mrs Musket bought Yorkshire Tea for hard water, but it didn't taste as good when we moved to where we live now, and the water is fairly hard, but nowhere near as hard as before. We moved to common or garden Yorkshire tea and it is much better. We have some loose tea in, mainly Earl Grey and a bark based one which is about as close as it gets to the wonderful slurp we enjoyed when in Azerbaijan a few years ago. They drank it black and spooned jam into their mouths to sweeten it. Don't go that far, but worth a thought all the same......... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 24 Jan 14 - 08:34 AM Ah yes, the water quality is very important. In Glasgow the water was soft, and the tea gorgeous. I used to buy bottled water for making tea when we first came to Norfolk, where the water seems to be hard. But it costs too much. We drink Typhoo. My husband amazed me by telling me his family in Ivory Coast drink 'Leep-ton' (Lipton's) tea. But horribly weak, those tiny teabags on a string. He pours gallons of evaporated milk into his tea - YUK! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 24 Jan 14 - 08:43 AM We use filtered water for tea and coffee. removes 99.9 % of impurities. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Charmion Date: 24 Jan 14 - 08:46 AM When I was a child, we drank well water that was as hard as granite and tasted wonderful. Our parents drank Twining's Earl Grey tea on high days and holidays; IGA house brand (Top Valu) stuff that came in a brick the rest of the time. When we moved to the city, where the water came from the river and was treated with chlorine and God knows what else, they switched to Lapsang Souchong, which has a strong smoked flavour. That is still my favourite. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Charmion's brother Andrew Date: 24 Jan 14 - 11:38 AM Lapsang souchong remains my favourite; I make it with filtered water (if it's available) steep it for four minutes and take it black without sugar. It is so smoky that, when I make some at work, colleagues out in the hall wonder what might be afire. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Bill D Date: 24 Jan 14 - 11:39 AM When I worked in a coffee house in... ummm.. 1965ish... the menu was shishkabob and humus & felaffel... etc... and I was in charge of tea, and bought only loose tea...including Lapsang. One night a group came in which included the blackest man I have ever seen. He immediately ordered Lapsang. Turns out, he was from Madagascar, and explained he was a minor member of the 'former' ruling family, which was persona non grata at the moment. So... he finished his tea, then came up to the counter and asked me.."Please.. may I have another pot? But make it twice as strong this time!" I had this momentary worry about dissolving the pot... but sent it over, and he was quite happy. "THAT'S the way we drink it at home!" I like Lapsang sometimes, but not at double strength. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 24 Jan 14 - 12:56 PM We quite liked jasmine tea when we were in Tunisia. Back to the Lifeboats, weren't they wonderful during the recent coastal surges and storms, rescuing utter twits who got washed into the sea by standing gawping at the waves? Imagine the anxiety of the crew's families, praying for their safe return. We love visiting the Lifeboat station at the end of the pier at Cromer. There's a super RNLI shop in Sheringham, and I often buy keyrings and pens etc, but I've never seen Lifeboat tea for sale. I'll have a special look next time, as I'd like to try it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 24 Jan 14 - 01:26 PM Well I am sorry that there are not more Lifeboat Tea stories, but the Tea Stories and the Lifeboat Stories are making me enjoy this thread. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 24 Jan 14 - 03:19 PM Hahaha Jack. We could perhaps just have 'Stories'; it would open it up a bit! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Ed T Date: 24 Jan 14 - 05:35 PM Are Morses and King Cole two different black tea brands, gnu. I like both, but prefer gauze tea bags to paper and like itstrong. I drink cofee mornings,, black tsa in the afternoon and speciality teas (some cafeen free) in the evening. In the summer, I Drink iced teas. I enjoy white tea, berry teas, gorgi teas, hibiscus, melon, marigold petals, rosehip and citrus blends. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Bill D Date: 24 Jan 14 - 08:20 PM *begin nit-picky definition* To be very precise, those drinks made of just various flowers & herbs are not 'teas', they are just 'infusions'. Tea is made only from the Camellia sinensis plant. *end nit-picky definition* (I do understand, Ed T....☺ and you probably do too. I just have this compulsion to get as many people as possible to refer to the stuff correctly.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST, topsie Date: 25 Jan 14 - 05:15 AM The infusion or "tisane" that brought back so many memories to Marcel Proust is usually translated as "tea" - "The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea." |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 25 Jan 14 - 06:29 AM A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu. Didn't Hercule Poirot love tisanes? Maybe it's good for the little grey cells. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Ed T Date: 25 Jan 14 - 07:23 AM While technically correct, Bill D, I suspect , from a marketing perspective, it is hard to get folks interested in buying "infusions". That sounds more like a medical procedure (or something that Keith Richards did). I suspect that is why many of the trendy tea houses increasingly refer to all of 'em as teas. Regardless, thanks for the correction. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST, topsie Date: 25 Jan 14 - 09:54 AM My 'Shorter [2 volumes] Oxford English Dictionary' gives a definition of 'tea', as the third option, with the qualification that it is usually used with a specifying word: 'An infusion made in the same way as tea from the leaves, flowers, etc., of various other plants or from any other substance', examples given are beef tea and camomile tea. As a literary example, there is the camomile tea given to Peter Rabbit by his mother after he escaped from Mr McGregor's garden (Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Bill D Date: 25 Jan 14 - 02:46 PM Yes, 'tea' is easier to use and convenient for folks who want a short word to categorize stuff made by soaking vegetation in hot water..... sort of like using 'folk' to refer to all sorts of styles of music... *grin* |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 25 Jan 14 - 02:49 PM I think more like using folk to describe music that has many of the elements of folk. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 26 Jan 14 - 05:24 AM We had a colleague at the school where I taught for many years. She was really into these herbal teas. She had boxes and boxes of the ghastly stuff, and would make herself a cuppa at every opportunity. There was quite a selection, but every one smelt like an infusion of old socks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: EBarnacle Date: 26 Jan 14 - 06:46 PM Speaking of old socks, my two favorite "last cuppa the day" teas are pu erh and dark smoked lapsang. I generally alternate them. The pu erh takes a little learning, as it has a rich, earthy taste that most tea drinkers are not accustomed to. However, if you limit the infusion time to three minutes, it is a good way to end the day. I have a tin of Lifeboat Tea that I got in Massachusetts. After the first drink I realized that the bags were suitable for making a pot rather than a cup of tea. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 26 Jan 14 - 06:56 PM Lifeboat is strong tea. I've never seen it in a tin. I would buy such a tin. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Ed T Date: 26 Jan 14 - 07:11 PM I don't know what your colleague was Infusing, Eliza. But, no teas that I dring have an old sock smell. Maybe it was not herbal tea at all- but was old sake? I know if I was teaching, I would need more than strong tea.:) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: robomatic Date: 26 Jan 14 - 07:33 PM (In Boston) I once bought a four ounce tin of English tea which represented itself as descended from the fine tea that was unceremoniously used to flavor (flavour) Boston Harbor. On one side of the metal cube was a reproduction of the tea owners' request for reimbursement of damages to the Government. I think it was named "Boston Harbour" and underneath in parens (BAWSTONAWBA). Good tea. Lasted for years. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 27 Jan 14 - 05:39 AM LOL Ed! She was a very staid and old-fashioned gal, a bit like Nanny McPhee, and sat knitting horrible dingy sweaters during tea breaks. She also liked all sorts of weird foods, so I've no idea what she put in her tea. Floor sweepings? Nose pickings? Mouse droppings? You're right about teaching; a can of Adnam's Ale would've suited me for my break time, but alcohol was quite rightly banned from all parts of the school! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 27 Jan 14 - 08:10 AM Just found Lifeboat Tea on Amazon. £7-67 for 50. I might give it a try! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: GUEST,Julia L Date: 27 Jan 14 - 11:13 PM WE LOVE Lifeboat tea- first had it in Cornwall and "turned on" our local variety gift shop The Granite Hall Store here in Round Pond, ME. There are now addicts all over town and clandestine deals for the last box of the season (the store closes in the winter). It's the best for coastal Maine fog and cold. And we love to support our seafaring cousins across the water Cheers! Julia |
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Subject: RE: BS: Lifeboat Tea. From: Jack the Sailor Date: 28 Jan 14 - 09:14 AM Its a cold and dingy day here with a forecast of sleet today and snow tomorrow. Perfect Lifeboat Tea weather. |
