Hacker tea (was Re: Late Nights and Caffeine)

From: Derek Peschel <dpeschel_at_u.washington.edu>
Date: Tue Aug 17 02:37:55 1999

Sean Conner mused:
> It was thus said that the Great Eric Smith once stated:
> > Max Eskin <max82_at_surfree.com> writes:

> > > You should try loose tea. For one thing, I must say that green tea,
> > > either bagged or loose, is excellent, sometimes better than other colors.
> >
> > For hot tea, sure.
> >
> > For iced tea, nothing beats Lipton. It's amazing. When I left home and
> > went to college I tried absolutely everything, and simply couldn't find
> > anything that made decent iced tea. Finally I called my grandmother, to
> > ask what the secret was. I was totally astounded.
>
> Well, I guess we need some method of getting caffiene to work on our old
> computers, and tea has been around for longer than 10 years, so I guess this
> is marginally on topic 8-)
>
> I've found the best way to make iced tea is to fill a clear gallon
> container (glass or plastic, but it has to be transparent) with water. Put
> in 6 tea bags (doesn't matter what type---I use the local supermarket brand
> (Orange Pekote) with good results) and set outside on a sunny day in the
> morning. Let sit all day. At dusk, bring it in, remove tea bags. Enjoy
> with ice and store remainder in refridgerator.
>
> It's not bitter, and it doesn't cloud at all.

I've never tried that method (though I've heard of it in a couple of
places). The method I'm familiar with for iced tea is simply to make a pot
of tea using twice as many tea bags as usual, stick a sprig of fresh mint
into the hot tea, put ice in, and drink when cold. Sugar helps because the
tea is unfortunately pretty bitter. But the mint is great.

Now if I only knew how to make masala chai like they make at Indian
restaurants... I have a recipe somewhere, I've seen it done, but I've never
tried it. It basically involves boiling tea with milk and spices for a long
time, and it's REALLY good. If you've had chai at the espresso stand and
found it cloying, you had it at the wrong place. True chai is not sticky or
super-sweet like the impostor stuff.

To keep this on topic... The RT-11 (or RSX-11?) installation program
determines whether your machine is using 50Hz or 60Hz power. If 50Hz, it
tells you to make a cup of tea (because the installation takes a long time).
If 60Hz, it tells you to make a cup of coffee.

-- Derek
Received on Tue Aug 17 1999 - 02:37:55 BST