Tea.... a different way.

We have on hand at least three ways to brew coffee.  Today, let's look at the Percolator.

This thing works by heating water in a small chamber-like space, and squirting the boiling water up a tube to where it rains back down  through a basket full of coffee grounds.   It continues doing this until the whole pot is up to temperature, where upon a thermocouple trips and it switches over to just keeping the coffee hot.

Hey!  Them pipples in the 1800's were pretty schmart, ya know?

Anywho, my (Himself) folks used a percolator... because back then It Was The Way.  We use a percolator now because we like the coffee that comes out if it. It tastes traditional.  Strong, flavorful, and no apologies.

Yet, there is still room to think, learn, and grow.

Today, after the morning coffee is only a memory, we have re-purposed the percolator.  This afternoon, we make tea!

Three bottles of spring water, and three heaping tablespoons of Earl Grey loose tea.  Plug it in, and let 'er go.  As the house fills with the fantastic aroma of real Earl Grey black tea, we can almost taste the richness we'll have in 10 minutes or so.  Just in time, a nice cuppa with a dab of raw honey.  Tea so strong and full of flavor, it's almost stunning.

We buy our bulk tea mostly from Amazon, but there are many local shops too.  Any loose leaf tea will lend itself to being percolated, but be aware it must be a strong tea to stand up to the process.  Delicate herbal's may be smothered by the percolator, and are better left to being steeped a serving at a time with a tea ball.

This being a chilly day at the end of November, a cup of this tea by the fire is pure food for the soul, but what about during the Summer?

For Summer iced tea, using a percolator is a no-brainer.  Loading the basket heavy with loose tea, the same leaves can make three or four pots of tea in a row.  Blend the first strong tea with the weaker brews after it if you wish.

Using the percolator for iced tea is a snap, compared with brewing big pots of tea and straining the leaves out. I've gone so far as to line the percolator basket with bagged tea, in the iced tea making game.  It worked, but few bagged teas can hold a candle to a good dark English Breakfast blend.