I was first introduced to Britannic Afternoon Tea by my ex-pat British friend Christine who insists on stopping at 4 pm on backpacking trips to make a pot of tea and munch on Pepperidge Farm chessman. I don't mind doing this in her company because she's such a delightful companion, but I'd have never considered doing it on my own until last year, when I hiked across Scotland.
While the Brits have some funny ideas about a lot of things, they do know their tea, and once introduced to the practice, I became a willing instigator. I'm not particularly choosy about the tea I brew and find regular Lipton tea bags to be just fine, especially since I drink from the same pot as I boil things in. There is the added baggage of carrying out wet tea bags though which can be a pain, even though I seal all of my dry and damp trash in used ziploc baggies and rarely have leaks.
In addition to the shot of caffeine, which helps invigorate me during the final hours of daylight, it's nice to kick back for about 45 minutes and admire one's surroundings during a tea interlude, sit on a sun baked rock, air your toes, jot a journal entry or dry out damp gear from the prior night.
After rushing around at home all week, it doesn't make much sense to rush a hike too. Have a brew and a cookie, chat about nothing important with your hiking partner, and make some time to watch the ants. It changes the whole pace of your day.
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10 Responses
Even as a leave no trace camper, you don't really need to pack out the whole teabag. The contents are bits of dead leaves, both biodegradable and invisible in almost anyplace with vegetation.
Open up the bag and cast the wet leaves widely, then let the paper bag dry on a log or rock while you are enjoying the tea. Pack it out, or use it in your wood stove.
And please, try some better tea. Maybe Jackson's. If you like campfires, some lapsang souchong is a fun option.
I'm a big fan of Earl Grey tea on a trip!
I've taken to having my cuppa after dinner – to do a final sterilization of the cookpot/cup. I agree about scattering the tea leaves.
Also a useful habit to get into if you are hiking through bear territory. Cook your dinner at the same time and then hike a few more miles to camp. That way bears won't be attracted to where you sleep. Common practices on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Ah afternoon tea. Got turned on to this excuse to take a break by Colin Fletcher in his numerous books. Funny as he was a "bloke" and liked Lipton also.
Funny – if you scroll through the contents of the Complete Walker IV, you'll see a section titled "Britannic Afternoon Tea" which was the inspiration, along with Christine, for this post.
I really do like Lipton tea, BTW, and it's cheap. I also like Colin Fletcher enormously.
When Colin was writing those books, I expect the only choices were Lipton and Twinings, with the Twinings only as loose tea.
Lipton makes great iced tea, but I'm not a fan of it for hot.
At least Lipton has finally started calling it "black tea" instead of "orange pekoe". Orange pekoe is not a variety, it is a grade, essentially the lowest grade of whole-leaf tea. Also the most common grade.
Try some Jackson's Earl Grey. Really. Excellent leaf with just enough bergamot to enhance it, not overpower it.
My other tea is Jasmine Pearl – opens into these pretty little flowers and requires no tea ball.
I started drinking tea some years ago when a hiking companion who was trying to decaffinate himself offered me some White Tea with Orange Blossoms at our noon rest stop…I was immediately hooked when nibbling on a Pecan Sandy and the flavor of the Orange in the Tea made a blend on my tongue that I just craved thereafter.. I buy my Tea from "The Republic of Tea" a mail order group out of I believe San Bernadino Ca. I've been a happy customer for over 17 years now and they have a lot of different varieties and are good at coming up with new varieties and flavors. Plus I found out White tea has the highest number of anti-oxidents in it, even more than Green Tea…
I forgot to add, if you are bothered with carrying out the Tea Bag, use a metal Tea Ball and buy your tea in bulk,or if you drink enough tea on the trail like I do, I found a small Resturant individual size Tea Pot which holds about two cups of water at a Resturant supply store made of Aluminum with a removeable wire basket that weighs less than 4 ounces. I also use it to Boil water for freezed dried meals or for oatmeal etc. etc on my Sno-Peak Stove.Sometimes it works out I only need a cup to rehydrate a meal and the other cup I make the Tea with, so it is a two for one deal…Lol's…Oh the White Tea with Orange Blossoms goes very well with my version of Logan bread…