Teatime... an Eastern Frisian ritual, and my grandma's recipe for everything in life. There is always a good reason to have a tea break besides breakfast, cake or dinner time. Welcoming a visitor? Offer a cuppa tea. Are you sick? Grab a cuppa tea. Got problems? Let's have a cuppa tea and talk about it. Reading a book? It goes with a cuppa tea. Relaxing on the patio? Well, you get the idea.
Teetied...Zeit für Tee, das ostfriesische Ritual und die Antwort meiner Großmutter auf alle Fragen des Lebens. Neben Frühstück, Kuchen oder Abendessen gibt immer wieder einen Grund für eine Tasse Tee zwischendurch: Du bekommst Besuch? Begrüße ihn mit einer Tasse Tee. Du bist krank? Eine Tasse Tee hilft. Du hast Sorgen? Nimm dir eine Tasse Tee und lass uns darüber reden. Du liest gerade ein Buch? Dann gehört eine Tasse Tee dazu. Du entspannst Dich auf der Terrasse? Na, Ihr wisst schon...
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| Tea time, just because... |
It all started in the 17th century when tea was imported first by the Dutch East India Company. And tea has been popular in the area ever since. It even replaced the beer as the preferred beverage. The specific ceremony around tea preparation has been proposed to become an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2016.
You need:
An original Eastern Frisian Blend (for me that's Thiele)
'Soft' boiling water (low water hardness is key)
A tea pot on a heater ("Stövchen" = little stove)
Sugar rocks "Kluntje" (not cubes!)
Cream (soy cream works as well)
China tea cups
The preparation:
1. rinse pot with hot water
2. put a measured amount of tea leaves into the warm pot ("one for each cup and one for the pot")
3. fill up pot to its half with boiling water
4. Steep tea for 3 to 4 minutes with lid closed.
5. Fill up pot to the top.
6. Put a Kluntje into the cup.
7. Use a sieve to filter out the leaves and pour the tea over the sugar rock. It will make cracking noises while partly melting.
8. Add a spoonful of cream, counterclockwise, along the rim, because this will stop the time. It's very soothing to watch the cream making clouds in the tea.
Do not ever stir! This concoction is savoured best by drinking it in its layers: first the herbal taste of the tea, then the milky flavour, and the sweetness on the bottom at last. The sugar rock will last several servings of tea. Drinking three cups is the polite minimum. Here's what you need the tea spoon for: Spoon up the last sugar pieces, and put it into your cup if you do not want more tea.
(left: my cream spoon and sugar tongs - Sahnelöffel und Zuckerzange)
(left: my cream spoon and sugar tongs - Sahnelöffel und Zuckerzange)
There is a video on YouTube explaining the tea ceremony in German.
In deutscher Sprache wird die Beschreibung der friesischen Teezeremonie sehr schön auf dem DuKanal beschrieben.
I am a committed tea drinker but have not appreciated the ritual involved. I rush to the end that involves sitting and drinking. Watching the video I see how the ritual could build expectation and perhaps allow the mind to clear and focus a bit first. The sand timer was a great touch.
ReplyDeleteConfessing -- I use tea bags at home. I have loose tea but never seem to choose it. I'll have to revisit. In cafes I sometimes get tea brewed from loose leaves but it's not often available as the focus is on that bitter, nasty liquid called coffee.
Thanks for sharing this. Another place I need to slow down...
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
Steve, I have to admit that in everyday life, more often than not, it's a tea bag thrown in the mug, but the real tea ceremony is often enjoyed during family visits. At my mom's place I wouldn't want to have it any other way.
DeleteMeine Teezeit ist schon länger vorbei. Aber damals war ich sehr auf Tee...eigentlich ist bei mir nur der Pfefferminztee und der stark und kalt als Kindheitserinnerung im Kopf geblieben.
ReplyDeleteAlso ohne Tee könnte ich nicht. Dann eher ohne Wein... oder Moment, das doch nicht. Pfefferminz mag ich eigentlich immer.
DeleteCool stuff SonjaM, rituals are important aren't they? And here I thought it was the British who "brew a cuppa" for all events ....
ReplyDeleteIt's one ritual that got stuck with me, Dom, although I am usually the one breaking traditions rather than embracing them. And all I learned from British tea culture is tea bags and boiling (!) water directly from the tap (which I found quite dangerous).
DeleteMost excellent Sonja! You could have been talking about my own grandmothers in the UK, and there was always home-made cake, no matter what time of day! I grew up with loose tea - no such thing as tea bags then. Love the idea of sugar rock although I haven't had sugar in tea since my early 20's. We still have some loose tea which only gets used now and again as a friend brought it all the way from Harrod's in London!
ReplyDeleteRituals are indeed important and when we're at home, you'll find us sitting on the deck mid-afternoon with a book, a cup of tea and a piece of cake or a nice biscuit! Mornings usually involve coffee to stir the old bones!
Thank you Geoff. There was one tea room we visited in London, where they seemed to brew tea in the proper way. Otherwise my British experience with tea (bags) was more ore less related to business trips or family visits, and they all put milk and white sugar in it. Coffee... well that's another story to be told. Did you know that Germany has a whole coffee culture going? Not as fancy as the Italians, I might add.
DeleteThat's a pretty interesting video. I must admit that loose tea is only occasionally enjoyed at home but usually with honey and very occasionally cream. I have never even seen the sugar rock except as sticks for stirring in what I had always assumed was coffee. Interesting. Now it feels like time for some tea...
ReplyDeleteRichard, I have also never seen those sugar rocks outside Germany. We brought them along after a visit or had friends/family send them over when we were living in Canada.
DeleteEcht, Tee ist TypicallyGerman? Der kommt bei mir eindeutig direkt nach Kaffee ... auf meiner Grusel-Liste :-D Aber gemütlich sieht es aus in der Küche. Ist das bei euch zu Hause?
ReplyDeleteAber klar doch, zumindest im Norden geht ohne Tee gar nix ;-)
DeleteDie gemütliche Ecke gehört zu dem kleinen Studioapartment, dass wir in Stade über Airbnb angemietet hatten.
Like Dom, I thought tea was a British thing. Interesting ritual.
ReplyDeleteWell, the region is called Lower Saxony... there must be some relation to the Anglo Saxons. And tea might be the common denominator ;-)
DeleteGood point! :-)
ReplyDeleteYummy. The ritual is pretty neat.
ReplyDeleteWe've gone almost exclusively to tea and only drink coffee about once a week when we are out. We don't even have coffee in the house anymore, too many good teas out there.
Same here, Brandy. I drink coffee only once a week, at weekends, Roland brews one for me.
Deletelove this tea ceremony, but can't stand milk in my tea :-).
ReplyDeleteMilk? Never!
DeleteOh ja! Tee ist ganz wichtig! Interessanterweise bleiben die Blätter ja in der Kanne. Das kann nicht jeder ab...
ReplyDeleteUnser Tee ist traditionell Bünting Grünpack. Den gab es bei meiner Großmutter schon.
Siehst Du wohl, und meiner Uroma ihr Tee war schon immer Thiele.
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