Tea on Board

[Dockhead]

Our boat runs on tea. With lots of guests and crew from the UK and former USSR on board, tea is made at least once per watch and often more often than that. We have a dedicated tea locker


Most of the tea made on board has been made from standard tea bags, but I have been evolving in my tea making practices on land, and some of that evolution has spilled over to the boat. I have particularly enjoyed tea made the Chinese way, that is, with more tea leaves brewed for a much shorter period of time and drunk in a much smaller cup. And of course with correspondingly better raw materials. I have an all-in-one Gong ** pot on board now (brewing chamber above, with a push button which lets the brewed tea down into the lower chamber after the right brewing time), which is very good for this, but unfortunately it's cheap and flimsy and I already destroyed the one I was using on land, and don't anticipate that the boat one will last much longer.



Alternatively you can kind of make this work with a good tea sieve, but then you need to use bigger cups.



Anyone grapple with this? No way do I want to keep the whole set of traditional vessels and tools on board (gaiwan, fairness cup, all the other stuff). I'm actually very happy with the push button pot (it's like this: https://i-tea.club/en/dishes/button-...tea-pot-tp-140), but it's just too flimsy for use at sea. Maybe someone makes something like this in a more robust construction? More robust and with insulation would make it perfect.


Or how do you do it?

[Kettlewell]

For us, we start the day with coffee made in a French press, but follow up with a morning cup of tea or two made the simple tea bag way. We often brew up a pot of tea using the metal French press coffee pot, doubling as a tea pot. We aren't fussy about either our tea or coffee, but I do like Twinings Earl Grey. Stored in a stainless steel container the tea bags last years onboard without noticeable deterioration. We do carry a tea ball and occasionally purchase some loose tea, but haven't used it in years. We also carry an array of other tea bags: SleepyTime, Lemon Ginger, Green Tea, etc.

[dlj]

I just use tea bags. I have a variety of teas, different folks like different teas. I find it easier to let each have their own tea bag for their particular taste in tea. I use a whistling tea kettle to boil the water. Otherwise I'll forget I put it on..

dj

[Macblaze]

What an intriguing concept. A quick google shows a lot of glass options

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Easy+Push+...ges&iar=images

I might have to give one of these a try...

[kayakerChuck]

I'm bit of a coffee snob and a tea troglodyte.

A good French press covers both.

[Windpilot]

Well my French press on board hasn't been used in years now.
Somehow I learned to love tea bags and instant coffee in a seaway while underway, with scalding hot water from the water heater if the engine recently ran, I'm only left with a cup and spoon to clean.
However, this thread now, it being winter and I'm mostly at a dock sparked my interest in finding some loose tea, fancy coffee beans and pulling out that press again, time to upgrade for a while.
Cut out those chicken pot pies too, lol

[Knotical]

Like the OP, we are big-time tea drinkers, and our boat name has a reference to tea making.

We "cook" tea - mix loose tea leaves, water, milk, herbs, spices, sugar, etc. in a pot, bring it to a boil, and let it sit for a couple of minutes to extract every last flavor out of those delicious ingredients, filter it in a bowl or cup with a sieve, and have the best time of our day indulging in the finest flavor on earth.

The kind of tea leaves, herbs, and spices are selected based on the time of day, mood, etc.

[HopCar]

Ted Lasso and I agree about tea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJn17lwukCc

My ex-wife actually wrote three books about tea and was tea sommelier for the historic St. Regis Hotel located in New York City. Might explain some things.

If you’re interested her name is Elizabeth Knight. Look for Tea with Friends on Amazon. Dockhead, you might try to contact her for advice on your problem.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001K8DHAQ/about

[krid2000]

I've been using one of these for a few years, including on the boat. Quite sturdy!

HTH
Dirk

[requiem]

On land, we've used a cast iron teapot with a stainless steel mesh infuser. It's probably sturdy enough to use on a boat.

For mug tea a folding infuser like this works well.

[Knotical]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Ted Lasso and I agree about tea.

HopCar, I can change your mind in 1 tea session

[wsmurdoch]

We are one of the troglodytes with tea bags. Our efforts have been spent on boiling the water faster over a LPG flame. The evolution has been from an aluminum camping kettle to a stainless with copper bottom Revere kettle to an all copper Revere kettle to a larger diameter Turkish hand made all copper kettle and finally to a Chinese made anodized aluminum kettle with (Jet Boil - like) fins on the bottom. https://www.amazon.com/Bulin-Camping...st_sto_dp&th=1 But I still drool at a Simplex Kensington chrome over copper kettle... (We lived in England for five years.)

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Ted Lasso and I agree about tea.

My ex-wife actually wrote three books about tea and was tea sommelier for the historic St. Regis Hotel located in New York City. Might explain some things.

If you’re interested her name is Elizabeth Knight. Look for Tea with Friends on Amazon. Dockhead, you might try to contact her for advice on your problem.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001K8DHAQ/about

Cool! I'll check out her books.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

We are one of the troglodytes with tea bags. Our efforts have been spent on boiling the water faster over a LPG flame. The evolution has been from an aluminum camping kettle to a stainless with copper bottom Revere kettle to an all copper Revere kettle to a larger diameter Turkish hand made all copper kettle and finally to a Chinese made anodized aluminum kettle with (Jet Boil - like) fins on the bottom. https://www.amazon.com/Bulin-Camping...st_sto_dp&th=1 But I still drool at a Simplex Kensington chrome over copper kettle... (We lived in England for five years.)

You don't use an electric kettle? It's been quite a few years since I used stoves for making hot water, either on land or on the boat.



The latest Chinese ones allow you to actually set and hold a temperature appropriate for different drinks.



I also notice that Bosch now makes an induction one, which is handy.

[leecea]

My wife is the tea drinker and we just use a stainless tea pot with Tetley British Blend and Green Tea bags put in together.

Not the same as your pot but maybe more sturdy: https://shop.zojirushi.com/products/sekae