Cooking RecipesSimple and Easy Cooking Recipes

As you learned in your schoolbooks, there are literally hundreds of varieties of tea. The quality varies according to the soil, climate and altitude n which it is grown and the age and size of the leaves when they are picked.

The tea you buy is a delicate blend of some 20 to 30 varieties, carefully selected by expert tea tasters to maintain in high quality of color, flavor, aroma or body of each brand.

Despite all these varieties, tea ca be classified into three broad types: black, oolong or green.

Black tea undergoes a special processing treatment in which the leaves are allowed to oxidize. This turns the leaves black and produces a rich brew. Over 97% of the tea consumed in the United States is the black type.

Oolong tea is semi-oxidized. It leaves are partly brown and partly green. It brews light in color, and a growing number of Americans have come to prefer its delicate flavor.

Green tea is not oxidized, so the leaves remain green. The brew is pale green in color.

Automatic: Follow manufacturer’s directions for selecting grind of coffee, measuring and brewing the coffee and holding the coffee at serving temperature. Special grinds of coffee are available for automatic coffee makers.

Drip: Measure cold water into kettle and heat to boiling. Meanwhile, preheat coffeepot by rinsing with very hot water. Measure drip grind coffee into cone holding filter paper or into filter section of coffeepot, depending on the type of drip pot used. Pour measured fresh boiling water into upper container; cover. When dripping is completed, remove  upper container and filter section and simply pour the coffee.

Vacuum: Measure fresh cold water into lower bowl and heat to boiling. Place filter in upper bowl; add fine or drip grind coffee. Remove boiling water from heat; reduce heat. Insert upper bowl with a slight twist. Return to heat. Let water rise into upper bowl; stir. Remove from heat. Coffee should return to lower bowl within 2 minutes. Remove upper bowl and serve coffee.

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It is hard to make a bad cup of coffee if you remember these following steps:-

1. Start with a coffee maker that is thoroughly clean. Wash after each use with soapy hot water and rinse well with hot water; never scour with an abrasive pad. When washing an automatic coffee maker, follow the manufacturer’s directions.

2. Always use fresh coffee and freshly drawn cold water. Never use hot water, especially in automatic coffee makers; it changes the percolating time. Keep your coffee tightly covered, air dries out coffee and causes it to lose flavor.

3. Serve steaming hot coffee as soon as possible after brewing. If necessary to let coffee stand any length of time, remove grounds and hold coffee at serving temperature over very low heat. Keep coffee hot but do not boil.