Barista Tips & Tricks
Archive for April, 2010
Creamer with Tea.
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
There may be one thing that I enjoy more than a great cup of coffee. And that is a great cup of tea. Enjoying cream in tea is a centuries old tradition that dates back even further than cream in coffee. When using cream in tea it is important to start out with the right kind of tea. While White Teas, Green Teas, and Oolongs are so amazing in there own right. They do not take as well to creaming. The thickness of the cream overpowers the tea, not letting the subtle nuances shine through. For cream you need a good strong Black Tea, Pu-Erh can hold up to cream nicely also.
For the best tea I recommend steeping your tea loose leaf in a pre-heated teapot. If you prefer to use the teabag and mug route, pre-heat your mug and cover it during steeping. Be sure to add the creamer after your tea is done steeping. To get the best flavor out of your black tea you need to keep it as hot as possible for at least 4-5 minutes. Black Tea should be steeped with water just off of the boil (around 205° F) adding cold creamer to that right away will drastically lower that temperature and will not allow your tea to steep properly.
Some good examples of tea for creaming are: English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast (my Favorite), Masala Chai, Earl Grey, and just about any kind of Assam Tea. If you have a tin of estate grown Darjeeling or Lion Mountain Keemun go ahead and drink those on their own.

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