Drinking Tea in Egypt

[LovelyLadyLux]

Guess I'm a creature of habit and one habit I definitely enjoy is my cup of tea. Tea with milk no sugar. I like black teas and am ok with green tea however not too keen on herbal teas. What I enjoy about my tea is that I make it in a big teapot where it can steep until it gets to a desired doneness.

One of the things I truly missed in Egypt was my cup of tea. I just could not get used to drinking tea out of glasses with the tea bag hanging off the side. Finding milk there was another story.

Am curious if you found it comforting and enjoyable to drink tea the Egyptian way? OR do your tastes run to having a brewing pot of tea?

[Jayway]

I only drank the tea to be polite .. here I do have tea in the winter just to warm me up. Here I make teas from my garden bushes,with honey, no milk, and keep in the fridge. Not a fan of hot drinks,frozen fruit slushies I love in the summer. Sometimes coffee in the mornings with ginger biscuits for breakfast but usually fizzy water - -

[Horus]

Tea for me most of the time, but it has to be fresh and quite strong, a tiny bit of sugar and a dash of milk (none of that skimmed or low fat rubbish). Most importantly though is it has to be fresh brewed (usually tea bag) none of that stewing tea in a pot for me or leaving the tea bag in the cup.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I don't like leaving a tea bag in a cup WHICH was the 'Merican way. They have no idea how to make a proper pot of tea and I do emphasis pot. I'm good for most any type of tea I can put milk in which is basically black - english breakfast is my favourite (red packet). Don't mind earl grey or darjeeling but they do run quite a second and usually only if I'm offered or run out. Don't mind the green teas though but all the herbal concoctions are NOT my cup of tea.

My biggest thing is I have to brew a pot. Dipping and playing with a tea bag in a cup isn't me. Don't mind loose teas if I'm in the mood to do the cleaning later on. Tea bags you can throw away were a terrific invention.

I drink quite a few cups of tea per day and just never adapted to the Egyptian style of tea bag in a glass cup.

[Ruby Slippers]

The only time I would ever drink tea would be if I need to vomit! I hate the stuff! Give me a pot of coffee any day!

[LovelyLadyLux]

Ohhhhh I LOVE my coffee too - mornings. Afternoon and evening is tea time. Just can't DO coffee in the evenings. Dunno why I'm a coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon habit.

Don't like the herbal mixes though. Don't like the taste.

[Scottishtourist]

I LOVE drinking tea in Egypt.
Always surprises me though,that my Egyptian friends put so much sugar in it!
I go to coffee shop with one friend in particular,and he loads FOUR spoonfuls of sugar into the small glass.
I gave up sugar in tea when I was aged about 10.I stopped taking it one year during "Lent"(that was my abstinence that year)and never went back on it!
Then I acquired the taste for it without milk either.My Scottish "papa"(grandfather)would drink his that way and much to dismay of my granny,would pour some of it into his saucer and "slurp." We all wanted a taste of it...because that's what grans and papas did...totally indulge,humour and amuse their grandchildren.
So,when in Egypt,my tea is just like the stuff papa used to drink,and it's wonderful.Prefer it made with "loose"tea though,not a teabag.
Totally hate when they float a mint leaf in it...can't abide the taste then!

[Grandad]

Unlike you ST I DO like the addition of a mint leaf and fairly sweet but certainly not four spoons We drink tea a lot when in Egypt but also frequently drink Turkish coffee. The best we ever had was in a grotty little restaurant in Aswan, the coffee was black sweet nectar

A close second also in Aswan was during a cruise around the islands of the cateract and stopping along the way for coffee to be made from roasting and grinding the beans, adding spices and making the brew...the whole coffee process. Here is a snap from that occasion.


Oh Dear! I am drifting this topic away from tea but I DO like proper coffee

[LovelyLadyLux]

I've never had a problem with Drift Grandad AND your photo is fascinating. You DO have a knack for posting an interesting photo that tells a whole story.

What is the stuff in the spout? And were those little cups/mugs really that little? REAL Turkish Coffee mugs? AND - last questions - in the Japanese Tea Ceremony there is LOTS of ritual. Any rituals or 'must dos' associated with your coffee tasting?

As for coffee I like drip coffee (not the frappe dappa latta frivolous poo) Just plain old drip coffee - fresh medium roast served in a well balanced pottery mug. I really love my pottery mugs that FIT the hand. Whole milk tops the morning drink off - just a bit of cream content that is in the whole milk but not too much.

I find it quite interesting the rituals we enjoy related to our tea and coffee drinks, the when we drink, what we prefer and how we were introduced to our tea or coffee.

Like ST my Papa used to drink really strong tea in the morning - full loose leaves in the pot. He'd often drink from his saucer too slurping away. Can remember this really clearly too. Good memory you brought back to me ST!

[Grandad]

Slurping tea from the saucer sounds disgusting but I too can join you as having that experience when a lad and it was regarded as perfectly normal. (Not in posh company of course ) I think the idea was that the tea would cool quickly in the saucer if it was very hot.....

[Horus]

I'm with Grandad on the strong turkish type coffee I don't get to drink it very often, but really enjoy it when I do.
On the subject of 'slurping' tea from a saucer, I think it was quite common at one time and I wonder if it may have had it's origins elsewhere? often when you see them tasting Tea or Wines it is accompanied by a good 'slurp' in order to increase the amount of air that is mixed into to liquid, so maybe it improves the taste of the tea? On the other hand it does look very uncultured when viewed with todays rules for politeness and manners, but I always smile when Compo (a character from a popular UK sit com) slurps his tea from a saucer.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Until you mentioned it Grandad I never thought about the 'why' this was done. My memories are of seeing it done but know I never queried the why behind it. Don't think I ever saw a woman doing this though. Think way back when it was a man thing.

I think the being able to slurp in a cooler taste of tea might be the reason. I know the 'mix' of sugar/milk was done in cup and then it was poured and slurped up. Am sure that habit stopped here cause here it is almost impossible to find people using cups and saucers.

I have to admit I have my collection of extremely pretty and fragile tea cups with wild flower decorations but they sit only in the china cabinet. More decoration than utilitarian. I can't wash my teacups in the dishwasher and have to handwash them. Not that handwashing is totally onerous - well yes it is

Coffee drinking for me is a pottery mug and tea is in a bone china tea mug. The shape of my teacup is a mug - just made out of different material. I'll also admit to taking or bringing coffee with me if I'm out of the house early in the morning. I'm one of the many who now imbib their morning coffee in the car while driving sooooooo I also have the stainless steel coffee mugs too. Must admit I really don't like drinking out of lidded stainless steel mugs (tall with NO handle) but I do.......GEE the requirements I have in order to drink a cuppa

[Ruby Slippers]

The coffee in Aswan is absolutely delicious! It has cardamom in it. The straw/grass in the spout acts as a filter because the cups are minute - a bit like Chinese rice wine cups - and it filters out the coffee grounds. I agree with Grandad. Best coffee I've ever tasted!

[Scottishtourist]

This is such a lovely topic and also evokes nice memories for me LLL.
My papa was a miner,he worked "down the pits."
I remember clear as day that he took little tin canister to work with him every day.
It was small,cylindrical in shape,and divided into 2 sections.He took loose leaf tea in it every day(think the other section was for sugar)but he didn't need that.
In his latter years,he suffered greatly from bronchitis,congestion of the lungs,and finally succumbed to lung and stomach cancer(a lifetime legacy of breathing in coal dust and particles.)
He used to get medicine from the doctor,and that too was diluted with boiling water before he drank it.He'd put full teaspoon of it in small glass,then top it up and sip it.
Not wanting to get all "maudlin"here...but there's never a time in Egypt that I have glass of tea and don't think of him.

[Grandad]

Sorry LLL, I forgot to answer your question but RS has done the honours for me. Thanks RS

Yes, the idea was that the coffee would be prepared absolutely from basics. The cardamon was there as well as some other spice RS. The roasted coffee and spices were roughly ground in a pestle and mortar hence the need for the dry grass to filter out the largest grains.

A really lovely experince.....and a copious supply of coffee

[LovelyLadyLux]

Two things :

#1 - SINCE ST brought up the slurping from a saucer have you been tempted to do this? Has it crossed your mind to try it? I'll admit it has crossed my mind but I don't have a saucer........

Have you thought about this or have you actually gotten out your saucer at tea time and slurped up or quaffed a cuppa?

#2 - Cardamon.........is it a spice? I'm not really sure I know what it is? What does it do for coffee? Add a flavour? Remove acid?

[Horus]

I doubt that there is anyone in the UK who has not slurped out of a saucer at some time in their life.

[Grandad]

@LLL We have the same problem LLL, no sawcers these days but we DO have a nice china service that rarely sees the light of day.

Must get a cup and sawcer out and try slurping again

And the cardamon LLL, this is the description from a BBC food page 'An aromatic spice indigenous to south India and Sri Lanka, cardamom seeds come from a plant belonging to the ginger family. They are contained in small pods about the size of a cranberry. Cardamom has a wonderful aroma and an enticing warm, spicy-sweet flavour. The whole pods can be added to dishes, or the seeds can be extracted and either added whole or ground."

Just a hint is used in the coffee along with another spice that I don't know. I am quite good on herbs but not so good on spices But they are both SO important in cooking.....and I do like food

[LovelyLadyLux]

I don't know if Cardamon is used in any of the coffees here and I'm referencing the Starbucks type. I've long suspected the Starbucks and other fast food coffees are more chemical than real coffee. Cardamon is definitely not a spice I've seen in our grocery stores. I know I've never purchased it but it sounds really interesting.

Coffee is definitely BIG business here. Coffee shops abound and we even have a plethora of small (like 6' x 6') wooden boxes with roofs by the side of the road where one can drive up and order a coffee to go. These places tend to have Baristas who will mix whatever coffee concoction you want - the mocha frappa lappa non dairy soy with a twist and 3 flavour type coffees.

I did pull up to one once and asked for plain old drip coffee and was told they couldn't make it.........(wondered to myself what they WERE making then?)

I have a really nice tea service set too. Does get used a bit but not that much although I definitely have mug style cups for tea and heavier heartier mugs for coffee.

[LovelyLadyLux]

This fellow must be trying to revolutionize the Turkish Coffee Market: