TAE! what would we do without it? It’s a drink that begins friendships, breaks silences, soothes exam stress and nerves, or as a greeting when someone enters your house. Irish people as a nation consume on average about six cups of tea a day, that equates to 3.2 kg (7lbs) a year!
But what of the history of the cuppa, well Tea drinking came about due to Ireland’s association with the British Empire, and tea in loose form was imported in 1835. Only the most affluent drank it due to the high import price. But as the popularity and thirst for it spread the price dropped and tea houses opened up all over Ireland.
Tea was sold loosely in grocery stores for all to buy, in shops such as Barry’s grocery store in Cork. There was a lack of enthusiasm for bagged teas due to the belief they were of inferior blend and quality but J. Lyons & Co. (Ireland) improved the quality of the blend and the popularity for bagged tea increased.
There are three basic types of tea:
Black tea is fully oxidized as part of its processing. Most Irish teas are of this type and yield an amber-coloured beverage with a hearty flavour. There's good reason for that. It's often said that a good Irish cup of tea is "strong enough for a mouse to trot on."
Green tea isn't oxidized, has a more delicate flavour and is lighter in colour.
Oolong tea is partly oxidized and has a distinctive taste that is different than either black or green tea.
If you are a serious tea drinker, you will understand the negligible but glaring differences in tea taste! The question springs to mind, are you a Lyons or Barry’s person? The difference in taste stems from the origin of the tea leaf or blend which in Irish terms is sourced from East Africa and Sri Lanka. Did you know that there are three grams of Tea in a tea bag and 50 thousand litres of the stuff is drunk per person per year in Ireland.
Many other black tea brands exist on the Irish market to include Tetleys, Tesco, Aldi, and then there’s the green teas that elicit a very wry guffaw from my direction when talked about.
Another question springs to mind in the make up of a cuppa, are you a strong tea drinker with the tea bag squeezed to an inch of its life or a weak tea drinker who prefers the dip and lift technique of lightly coloured or what I like to call pissy tea.
And then there’s the absolute ultimate question whether you are a biscuit dunker or not, I have gotten many strange looks from people when dipping a biccie in a cuppa, but god man, if you haven’t tried a sufficiently dipped and tea soaked biscuit or piece of chocolate in a cup of tea then you cant really call yourself a tea appreciator.
There’s a precise point called soakage limit or break off point that you need to know to be a successful dunker. If you go over this stress/strain point or if the limit of proportionality is breached, you will end up with fatigue failure and burnt fingers trying to fish the biscuit out if there isn’t any spoon. It can get very complicated as there are many types of biscuit out there, but all it takes is practice and a little experienced dunking. So go forth and drink tea and dunk like you have never dunked before.
Trevor Seery.
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