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Orwell is silly. You want your tea strong? Certainly. You want your tea pure, tasting like tea? Definitely. You want your tea bitter? ... While I can appreciate

Orwell is silly. You want your tea strong? Certainly. You want your tea pure, tasting like tea? Definitely. You want your tea bitter? ... While I can appreciate that for anyone who has to deal with the exigencies of war and rationing there is no real alternative, really good tea, made from the better parts of the tea plant, is not bitter even when exceptionally strong. It does, however, taste wonderfully of tea. Try the Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (aka "far too good for ordinary people") some time. :P

ctdonath 12y ago
I find the same with coffee and beer: notions of "acquired taste", "bitter", etc are the consequence of bad product or production; like tea, good coffee & beer isn't bitter.
- elsherbini 12y ago
  I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that beer shouldn't be bitter. Hops are added early in the boiling of the wort in order to impart bitterness. You can skip this step, but the beer will be sickly sweet with no balance. All of course contingent on the other ingredients, steps, and desired style of beer.
  - ctdonath 12y ago
    I meant to clarify: if you want bitter, as the choice of an educated palate, that's fine - and is usually a factor of certain quality beers. I was focusing on poor-quality mass-produced products that much of society assumes is representative and can't see past.
pasquinelli 12y ago
i disagree. the bitter flavor gets a bad rap, but i find bitter tastes, in general, refreshing. obviously, you can have too much bitter, just like you can have too much sweet or sour or any other taste, but bitter isn't bad in and of itself.
foldr 12y ago
Black tea does get bitter if you infuse it for too long because of the tannins in the leaves. (The higher molecular weight tannins infuse more slowly and are the ones that have the bitter aftertaste.) It's got nothing to do with the quality of the tea.

ctdonath 12y ago

I find the same with coffee and beer: notions of "acquired taste", "bitter", etc are the consequence of bad product or production; like tea, good coffee & beer isn't bitter.

elsherbini 12y ago
I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that beer shouldn't be bitter. Hops are added early in the boiling of the wort in order to impart bitterness. You can skip this step, but the beer will be sickly sweet with no balance. All of course contingent on the other ingredients, steps, and desired style of beer.
- ctdonath 12y ago
  I meant to clarify: if you want bitter, as the choice of an educated palate, that's fine - and is usually a factor of certain quality beers. I was focusing on poor-quality mass-produced products that much of society assumes is representative and can't see past.

pasquinelli 12y ago

i disagree. the bitter flavor gets a bad rap, but i find bitter tastes, in general, refreshing. obviously, you can have too much bitter, just like you can have too much sweet or sour or any other taste, but bitter isn't bad in and of itself.

foldr 12y ago

Black tea does get bitter if you infuse it for too long because of the tannins in the leaves. (The higher molecular weight tannins infuse more slowly and are the ones that have the bitter aftertaste.) It's got nothing to do with the quality of the tea.