@cadadr's Turkey AMA coffee commentary got me curious about what coffee consumption and cultures look like among Tilders.

If your principal national beverage is tea instead of coffee, feel free to comment on why you think that might have arisen.

I spent a bit of time chasing one of @cadadr's mentions about tasseomancy, and it's fascinating, so please describe if your coffee culture has any comparable rituals.

I grew up with my mother's Montreal Canadian coffee-drinking standards: starting around age 8 or so, a half-cup of stovetop percolated coffee with a half-cup of milk added, eventually graduating to full cups of strong black coffee by my teenage years. For most of my life, the commonest means of consuming coffee was via the Bunn restaurant coffee maker - a drip coffee maker with an electric burner that held the brew scalding hot, near-burnt.

The commonest U.S. home coffee preparation still uses a drip coffee maker. "Pod" coffee makers that use prefilled cartridges and a pressure boiler (lower pressure than espresso, but similar) are increasingly popular.

Practically all coffee in the U.S. is made from imported beans, with robust global supply chains. There's minimal boutique coffee production in the states of Hawaii and California, but the territory of Puerto Rico grows coffee for local use and premium export. Coffee is taxed at the same rates as other food products, and no import duties are levied, so it's incredibly cheap - usually $5 - 10 per 450g.

In the U.S., at least, there are now widespread corporate coffee shop chains - Starbucks, Peet's, Caribou, and others, which produce very standardized, uniform coffee, in pressure-expressed, brewed, and cold-process variations. They're often prepared with flavored syrups, and typically have dairy added, either as plain or steam-heated and frothed milk. Average cost for the fancier variations is around 5 USD, though a cup of plain brewed coffee is usually $1.50 - $2.00.

Even tiny villages have neighborhood coffee shops that serve plain brewed coffee and espresso drinks, teas, baked goods, and simple sandwiches. Local coffee roasters are relatively common, too. The coffee shops may feature their products, or the roaster may have its own cafe'. Most of the larger bookstores also serve coffee, teas, and espresso drinks in their own cafe's.

We usually drink our coffee relatively strong, around 10 - 15g of ground coffee per 200 ml of water for brewing, and dark roasts are preferred over mild ones.

Most U.S. cities support thriving international food and beverage cultures, so we get to try coffee variations from around the world. My personal favorites (aside from the obvious Italian espresso culture) are Turkish-style with cardamom, Ethiopian, and Cuban colada.

There isn't much of a national tea tradition here, though there's a common practice of herbal tisane use for health purposes.

I've visited around 43 of the 50 U.S. states and haven't noticed really distinctive regional variations, except for New Orleans chicory-flavored and New Mexico piñon-flavored coffee. My spouse adds chicory to coffee at home, and piñon coffee is delicious. We'll treat ourselves to shipments a couple of times a year. Hawaiian Kona variety beans are boutique-premium and there's some fakes, so we don't go out of our way to get it when fair-trade Ethiopian or Guatemalan varieties are better and cheaper. I try very hard not to think of the carbon footprint of any of this...

For my daily tea-drinkers: What are you drinking today? Where'd you get it? How would you rate it?

For my non-tea drinkers: Feel free to ask any questions you might have about the most widely consumed beverage in the world (next to water). Share a time you had a good experience or a bad experience.

Masala chai (commonly and somewhat falsley abbreviated to just “chai”) literally means “spice mix tea” – and this is what this review is about. I got myself a selection of Vahdam’s masala chais and kept notes of each one I tried. Some came in the Chai Tea Sampler and others I either already bought before or were a free sample that came with some other order.

Classical CTC BOP

CTC BOP is usually cheaper than more delicately processed whole leaves. Although the common perception is that it is of lower quality than e.g. FTGFOP or even just FOP or OP for that matter, the fact is that they simply a different method with a different outcome. You can get away with breaking cheaper leaves, though, than whole.

Also bare in mind that while BOP is the most common broken leaf grade, there are several more.

It makes for a stronger brew and a more robust flavour– ideal for breakfast teas. The down-side is that it can coat your tongue. But if you want to recycle it, the second steep will be much lighter.

Original Chai Spiced Black Tea Masala Chai

The quintessential masala chai – the strength of the CTC BOP, paired with the classic mix of spices. A great daily driver and a true classic, but for my personal taste a tiny bit too light on the spice.

Ingredients: CTC BOP black tea, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, black pepper

Double Spice Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

Same as India’s Original Masala Chai above, but with a bigger amount of spice. Of the two I definitely prefer this one.

Ingredients: CTC BOP black tea, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, black pepper

Fennel Spice Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

Due to the fennel, the overall taste reminds me a lot of Slovenian cinnamon-honey cookies[^medenjaki], which we traditionally bake for Christmas. The odd bit is the cookies do not include the fennel at all, but most of the other spices in a classic masala chai (minus pepper). I suppose the fennel sways it a bit to the sweet honey-like side.

In short, I really liked the fennel variation – could become firm winter favourite of mine.

Ingredients: CTC BOP black tea, fennel, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, black pepper

[^medenjaki]: The Slovenian name is “medenjaki” and the closest thing the English cuisine has to offer is probably gingerbread.

Saffron Premium Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

When I saw the package I thought that saffron was more of a marketing gimmick and I would only find a strand or two in the whole 10g package. But no! The saffron’s pungence punches you in the face – in a good way. It felt somewhat weird to put sugar and milk into it, so strong is the aroma.

Personally, I really like it and it does present an interesting savoury twist. It is a taste that some might love and others might hate though.

Ingredients: CTC BOP black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, saffron, almonds

Earl Grey Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

I am (almost) always game for a nice spin on an Earl Grey. In this case, the standard masala complements the bergamot surprisingly well and in a way where none of the two particularly stand out too much.

The combination works so well that it would feel wrong to call it a spiced-up Earl Grey or a earl-grey’d masala chai. It is a pleasantly lightly spiced, somewhat citrusy and fresh blend that goes well with or without milk.

Ingredients: CTC BOP black tea, bergamot, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper

Cardamom Chai Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

Now, this one is interesting because it only has two ingredients – black tea and cardamom. While not as complex in aroma as most others, it is interesting how much freshness and sweetness a quality cardamom pod can carry.

I found it equally enjoyable with milk and sugar or without any of the two.

Ingredients: CTC BOP Assam black tea, cardamom

Sweet Cinnamon Massala Chai Black Tea

Similar to their Cardamom Chai, it is a masala chai with very few ingredients. The cinnamon and cardamom get allong very well and while it lacks the complexity of a full masala/spice mix, it is a very enjoyable blend.

Recommended especially if you like your masala chai not too spicy, but sweet.

Ingredients: CTC BOP Assam black tea, cardamom, cinnamon

Ortodox black

What is described with “orthodox” usually means a whole leaf grade, starting with OP. These are much weaker than CTC, but therefore bring out the more delicate flavours. It is a bigger challenge therefore to make sure spices do not push the flavour of the tea too much into the back-seat.

Because the leaves are whole, as a rule you can get more steeps out of them than of broken leaves.

Assam Spice Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

The more refined spin on the classic masala chai – with whole leaves of a quality Assam, it brings a smoothness and mellowness that the CTC cannot achieve. Because of that the spices are a bit more pronounced, which in my opinion is not bad at all. The quality of the leaf also results in a much better second steep compared to the CTC.

Most definitely a favourite for me.

Ingredients: FTGFOP1 Assam black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper

Tulsi Basil Organic Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

I have not had the pleasure of trying tulsi[^basil] and regarding masala chais, this is a very peculiar blend. The taste of the Assam is quite well hidden behind the huge bunch of herbs. In fact, for some reason it reminds me more of the Slovenian Mountain Tea than of of a masala chai.

In the end, the combination is quite pleasant and uplifting.

What I found fascinating is that it tastes very similar both with milk and sugar, and without any of the two.

Ingredients: organic Assam black tea, tulsi basil, cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom, black pepper, long pepper, bay leaves, nutmeg

[^basil]: For more about tulsi – or holy basil, as they call it in some places – see its Wikipedia entry.

Darjeeling Spice Masala Chai Spiced Black Tea

As expected, the Darjeeling version is much lighter and works well also without milk, or even sugar. Still, a tiny cloud of milk does give it that extra smoothness and mellowness. It is not over-spiced, and the balance is quite well. The taste of cloves (and perhaps pepper) are just slightly more pronounced, but as a change that is quite fun. It goes very well with the muscatel of the Darjeeling.

Ingredients: SFTGFOP1 Darjeeling black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper

Oolong

Maharani Chai Spiced Oolong Tea

Despite the fancy abbreviation, IMHO the oolong tea itself in this blend is not one you would pay high prices as a stand-alone tea. Still, I found the combination interesting. If nothing else, it is interesting to have a masala chai that can be drank just as well without milk and sugar as with them.

Personally, I found the spice a bit to strong in this blend for the subtle tea it was combined with. I actually found the second steep much more enjoyable.

Ingredients: SFTGFOP1 Oolong tea, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper

Green

Kashmiri Kahwa Masala Chai Spiced Green Tea

A very enjoyable and refreshing blend, which I enjoyed without milk or sugar. The saffron is not as heavy as in the Saffron Premium Masala Chai, but goes really well with the almonds and the rest of the spices.

When I first heard of Kashmiri Kahwa, I saw a recipe that included rose buds, so in the future I might try adding a few.

Ingredients: FTGFOP1 green tea, cardamom, cinnamon, saffron, almonds

Green Tea Chai

As is to be expected, the green variety of the Darjeeling masala chai is even lighter than its black Darjeeling counterpart. The spice is well-balanced, with cinnamon and cloves perhaps being just a bit more accentuated. This effect is increased when adding milk.

It goes pretty well without milk or sugar and can be steeped multiple times. Adding either or both works fine as well though.

Quite an enjoyable tea, but personally, in this direction, I prefer either the Kashmiri Kahwa or the “normal” Darjeeling Spice masala chais.

Ingredients: FTGFOP1 darjeeling green tea, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper

Glossary:

• BOP]: Broken Orange Pekoe
• FOP: Flowery Orange Pekoe
• OP: Orange Pekoe
• CTC: Crush, Tear, Curl
• FTGFOP: Finest Tippy Golder Flowery Orange Pekoe
• FTGFOP1: Finest Tippy Golder Flowery Orange Pekoe (1st grade)
• SFTGFOP1: Superior Finest Tippy Golder Flowery Orange Pekoe (1st grade)

Any other puer tea fans?

This is a 250g beeng ("cake") of pressed sheng puer tea by Bitterleaf Teas from the Jingmai area of Yunnan, produced last spring, so it has settled into itself quite nicely.
Dressed
Undressed

Don't know what puer is? Puer tea is a Yunnan, China specific tea that is very unique. It is processed differently than the more common white, green, oolong, and black teas. It is valued for its capacity to be aged for years (to decades) transforming through oxidation and fermentation into something much darker, earthier, smoother, and funkier. It is also consumed young for its fresh, floral, fruity, pungent, bitter, vegetal, and/or pleasantly musky green tea-like qualities. Traditionally, this type of tea was pressed into these cakes for ease of transport, and that tradition has held up (also makes it easier for modern shipping due to the dramatically reduced volume of the tea upon pressing). I use a letter opener to pry away several grams of the tea, and brew using gongfu methods. ( If you're curious, I posted more about this over here on the creative tilde )

This is a very nice tea packed with floral aroma (hence the name "In Bloom"). Great tea from a great producer. I can't say enough good things about Bitterleaf. They can be a bit pricey, but its because of their dedication to producing teas from high quality material.