How To Make a Decent Cup of Tea

January 2, 2011

Ignore Yoko Ono and John Lennon, and heed George Orwell's tea-making advice.
By Christopher Hitchens

"Now that "the holidays"—at their new-style Ramadan length, with the addition of Hanukkah plus the spur and lash of commerce—are safely over, I can bear to confront the moment at their very beginning when my heart took its first dip." Read More (Slate)

11 comments:

HJ said...

Decent!

:D

Anonymous said...

I love him.

Anonymous said...

A thoroughly, utterly enjoyable article:)

Anonymous said...

of course, the best thing about a proper cuppa is the englishman in the morning making it.

Anonymous said...

What an ignorant approach to coffee!

FGFM said...

Pretty hard-hitting article there.

FGFM said...

Tea For One.

Roland said...

I'm a little disapponted to learn that Yoko deferred so readily to an Englishman on this question, as the Japanese are reputed to have their own venerable and militant tea-prep philosophies; indeed, it was they who elevated 'The Way of Tea' to the level of a national ritual and (for what it's worth) a facet of Zen Buddhism.

EnsilZah said...

I wonder what his take on adding lemon would be, I vaguely gather the English are not into that sort of thing.

Anonymous said...

Hitchens and his fans may like to try a totally different kind of tea - Milky Dood Patti - which is common in South Asia.

For a pictorial demo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daudpota/5367107211/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daudpota/5367107341/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daudpota/5367107539/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daudpota/5367718624/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daudpota/5367718788/

Isa Daudpota
Pakistan

Anonymous said...

Thank you for speaking up for tea drinkers. Many upmarket cafes in Australia pride themselves on their coffee.
"Our baristas have a 3 year degree in coffee-making. Our beans are picked by virgins under a full moon, then gently roasted using finest rare rainforest timbers, and brewed with Tasmanian rainwater at the perfect temperature (within .0001 degree variability. Sorry, did you say you wanted tea? Oh I'll bung some tepid water on some stale dust in a paper bag."
Truly it is not that hard to make decent, nay even very good tea. A pot or infuser with a mid-priced leaf and some boiling water. That's it. Not hard, nor expensive. It makes coffee-making look like a chore.
I am opposed to terrorists and needless violence, but on being treated as a second class citizen, and clearly an idiot who would pay good money for something that disgraces the name of tea, I think I can begin to see where their rage comes from.

 
 
 

Christopher reads from Hitch-22: A Memoir