I am normally a coffee drinker - black, strong and obscene quantities. However, on rare occasions I enjoy a cup of tea. I have only made tea using tea bags. How do the rest of you make tea in camp? Do you use tea bags or make an entire pot with bulk tea in one of those metal tea balls? Are tea bags some kind of American invention that bastardized a sacred ritual? I have visions of the Brits having a good laugh over this one - "The Yanks can send a man to the moon, but don't know how to make a proper pot of tea." For what it's worth, I purchased a metal tea ball, but have not yet gotten around to using it; I need to use up my tea bags first. And, by the way, what time is "tea time."

I'm french Canadian so we tend to drink an inordanate
amount of tea.

In the past and still today in the woods tea was/is in leaf form and was directly placed into the kettle and
let steep.

The water was always started cold boiled then the tea leaves were added to the kettle to let steep.

The steaping tea was almost always on the stove near the back to keep warm but not warm enough to realy heat the tea.

These days it''s a mix of tea bags (mmmm teatley) and leaf style tea making.

Some who do not like thier tea strong will simply use the tea leaves/bag in the cup and pour hot water on it method. However to be honest your in the woods to relax and enjoy a "GOOD" cup of tea so letting it steep is always a pleasure.

In the old days when prospectors and trapers didn't have or ran out of tea. They used the indigeonous Labrador Tea. It does taste like teatley tea with a hint of spruce tree gum. It was/is a very oily tea and takes quite a long time to steep.

Thanks for the chat.

I prefer Broken Orange Pekoe, loose when possible but it can be bought in reasonably good quality tea-bags.
The leaf is coarse so easily strained out or held in an infuser.

Generally:
Making a pot is best but I often make it in the cup if I'm on my own and far from the car. I find the stainless steel tea-spoon type of infuser easiest to clean. A few tiny leaves will always escape.

The stainless steel mesh balls are good for making tea but hard to clean. The MSR infuser is good but ridiculously expensive. Someone told me recently that MSR infusers no longer have a screw on top. Useless!

If you boil water in a dixie with a lid, then just throw the tea in loose. Give it 5 minutes off the boil and pour into your cup slowly. You'll only have to throw out the last 1/4" of tea or so. I used to swing the dixie round in a big overhead loop just like my "Oul fella" showed me when I was a wee lad but I've come to the conclusion, after years of doing it, that it makes no difference, and you're inclined to scald the local wildlife and cattle!

Tea tins: It used to be possible to get a tin that held about a pint with a lid and little spout the spout was sometimes lined with mesh. The tin was tapered like an old milk churn and the tea-leaves settled in the taper as you poured. I think this is the same principle as those enamelled coffee pots.

I haven't seen one of these tins in donkeys ages. Perhaps they are no longer manufactured? I think the last one I saw was made in South Africa.

In this house it's:

7.30am

10.45am

12.30pm

3.00pm

5.45pm

8.30pm

each tea-time lasting approximately 15-20 minutes.

After 9.00pm it is of course Cocoa time.

This of course does not take into account guests calling, medical emergencies, or thirst. We also take tea when arriving home (from anywhere) and just before leaving home (for any reason).

Believe it or not if we want to leave a message for someone in this house we stick a post-it note to the kettle!

Well i was showen how to make tea in the bush (country) Too long ago to think how long.
It was done like this Put water in your Billy (this is any tin with a wire handle), place a grean gum tree twig across the billy (why I don't know), Boil the water, throw the leaf tea in the billy (we throw it in because we always had a log fire and it was hot). Let it boil until you count to 20. Then with a stick about 5 ft long hook onto the handle and >>> BUGGER IT THE DARN STICK BROKE. Now we start again. Albert

The best tea know to man is tea (bags or loose), lots of sugar and nestle sweetened condensed milk (now back in stock at Tesco's in tubes!!! ). Boil it all for a few mins to let it stew well, and enjoy piping hot.

PS
A hob knob or choc digestive bicky goes well with it

Tea bags are very popular in the UK - I can't remember the last time I drank tea made with loose. There is also the devils tea - in a jar with added milk - same principle as instant coffee but white! Not recommended.
I was brought up to make tea in a pot - the pot had to be heated first & then left to mash for 5 minutes. Tea was always poured on to milk - not milk into tea. However after many years of backpacking I gradually got sick of carrying sugar & milk (I sometimes used Nestle tubed condensed milk on the hill) & took to taking my tea unsugared & black, like my coffee - both on trips & at home. When there's a couple of us sharing a stove the teabags go in the kettle for a minute as it reaches a boil - on my own the bags get dunked in the mug to taste. I don't own a teapot at home. I guess I'm a bit of a philistine. I know one old guy who keps his teabag in his mug for at least three brews!
I don't miss the milk & sugar - tastes sickly sweet if someone puts sugar in my tea now & milk always tastse off in tea even when fresh!
Tea time - where I'm from this is nothing to do with tea. This is meal time on an evening. Common question - What shall I have for tea?
Tea time as in the time to drink tea - anytime!
When backpacking it is a tradition with the friends I go with to always have a brew at lunch time - no matter what the weather. One reason I love my Trangia - I can always get a brew even on a windswept mountainside.

Firstly, tea time is when you have tea, whatever time that might be. It's also the meal that follows "dinner" which is usually at 1.00pm at weekends, sometime after work in the week. It's a bit like teaching a kid to tell the time, when the big hand is on the 3 it's 15, when the small hand is on the 3 it's a quarter.....????
Now, the VERY important information on how to make a decent cup of tea (and I sometimes have to make tea for a 20 stone 6 1/2 ft tall truck driver, our very own Kent Shaun). The most important ingredient is the VERY boiling water. Now by this I mean that the water needs to be boiled slowly and to be held at boiling point for a while, unlike an electric kettle that turns off as soon as the water reaches boiling point and begins to lose it's temperature immediately. This has a seriously devastating effect on the brewing (steeping) process. When the water is boiled, if you are using a tea bag, pour the (still boiling) water from a height directly onto the bag, high enough for it to splash a bit. This agitates the leaves that are trapped in the bag and enables them to move about in their restricted area. Leave it to brew (steep) for about a minute, then squeeze the bag with the back of a teaspoon (Stirling Silver preferred for us British!!) turning it after each squeeze. After about 4 to 5 squeezes take out the bag and put on the compost heap (or throw it in the hedge) and enjoy a damned good cup of tea. For loose tea, bung the tea in the previously warmed pot, bung in the VERY boiling water, then leave for about 3 minutes and give the pot a damned good shake (being carefull not to lose the contents), or stir with a spoon (stirling Silver, hallmarked, for us Brit's) then pour it through a tea strainer into your cup/mug.
There'y'go. Try this method and you wont be dissapointed.
This coming weekend I'm roasting a half leg of lamb in me stove top oven. Kent Shaun's cooking the garlick spuds (I think), so I'd better do the veggies to even things out a bit.
"Flying" Cyril.

Young Cyril is quite correct, but to get the best out of your tea drink it from a china cup, making sure you stick your little finger out.
And indeed I'll be making the Garlick roast type potatoes this weekend, they'll be done on my RM with a little help from the trusty 96.
As for the 20st young Cyril! Your incorrect lad, more like 23 stone!!!