View Full Version : Tea in the wild?
jackrim1
07-01-2005, 19:38
Hi all, was wondering what everyone did for a nice cup of tea whilst in the wild? I know theres the obvious ones like pine needle, elderberry, nettle etc. but does anyone go to the effort of taking a flask and fresh-(ish!) milk? I know its not very lofty wiseman like but I dont think that anything can beat a nice cup of PG tips to relax with - what solutions can you guys come up with?
Thanks - Jack
TheViking
07-01-2005, 19:45
Cocoa for me and if it's available with a spoon of sugar and milk, but I never carry it on longer expeditions, for example to Sweden. Last thing you would wan't there is extra weight. :wink: So in the 'wild' I drink it as it is, also the easiest. Have a look at this (http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=4181) thread. It might be of some help. :biggthump
Quite simple. A t-bag, one of those little milk cartons you 'acquire' from hotel rooms, and a small stove. Fresh brew tea is far better than thermos stuff.
powdered milk and earl grey for me :rolmao:
tastes fine in tea..
you will find most people round here arnt very lofty wiseman like!
Tea bag, powder milk, no sugar, an old bean can as a pot and a wood fire
what can be better
John
Bob Hurley
07-01-2005, 20:40
A tea bag and water just off the boil, no milk or sugar. I prefer coffee, but it's a lot more bother.
Many of our evergreen trees in the U.S. yield a nice tea from the needles/leaves, white pine especially. Most places here in the Smokey Mountains wintergreen ("teaberry") is abundant, the leaves make a good tea and the berries are good to eat plain. There's wild ginger here and there, and sassafrass root bark is good but you have to dig up the sapling to get to it so I don't. Birch bark peeled green from small shoots makes good tea and is refreshing just to chew as you walk, like a woody chewing gum.
Orange Pekoe tea bags. I love that tea (I know, it's got nothing so special, but I just grew up drinking it...). Brown sugar cubes and a film vial filled with powdered milk for sundays :D
David
There's nothing wrong with BOP. Its a great tea!
Lift Apple tea and a thermo of hot water - works for me!!
whitebuffalo
07-01-2005, 21:43
Being half American I like coffee, its easy when its black :biggthump
ChrisKavanaugh
07-01-2005, 22:50
Whoever started this business of 'roughing it' is either a masochist or hopelessly misguided. We don't fly airplanes standing up, so why make bushcraft needlessly difficult. The old canadian survival regulations even listed tea in the kit. A brew up can be just as emotionally needed as a traumatised child holding to a teddy bear. I located chinese brick tea in a re enactor catalog. It is a valued piece of my survival kit. I won't discuss which blade geometry best shaves it either :nana:
Moonraker
07-01-2005, 23:11
65% Ceylon BOP and 35% Earl Grey, my personal mix I have drunk for 25 years :-) from here:
Gillards of Bath, England (http://www.gillards.co.uk/)
The best tea you will ever taste whatever the blend (especially the EG. The Mango scented tea is heaven too) and a lovely old family business with the luxury of being able to order it online from France :wink:
Another favourite is freshly picked wild mint tea especially in the hot summer. Served very hot with lots of cane sugar, like in the Middle East; very refreshing. Also the whole village picks lime tree flowers for tisanes and wild camomile.
Black tea with a spoonful of honey or Twinnings Blackberry and Nettle.
For foraged teas I like Pine needles or Ribwort (Plantago lanceolata). But the Ribwort needs about 4 days to dry.
RovingArcher
08-01-2005, 00:47
I carry coffee singles, cocoa and tea.
Hi,
I used to take powdered tea but decided it wasn't the real thing and didn't taste that nice, so I now take Blackcurrant and Apple tea bags. I find it very relaxing waiting for the tea to infuse sitting next to a fire under the stars, need I say more.
Brian
BIG-TARGET
08-01-2005, 11:28
Earl Grey and the great outdoors just goes together!! :pack: :wink:
I always drink tea black no sugar anyway so it's no hassle for me.
BIG-TARGET
08-01-2005, 12:08
Quite a few here may consider this blaphemy/herecy, but I like "Sweet-n-Low in my Earl grey!!!! :biggthump
Chriskavanaugh wrote:
"...as emotionally needed as a traumatised child holding to a teddy bear..."
This is also what tea in the wild and elsewhere is for me...well a foreigner totally addicted to the British "cuppa"..
I hate tea bags, will never surrender to them, don't understand how the British could so easily give up on tea leaves! :rolmao:
So tea for me is infused organic tea leaves, milk, no sugar.
In the wild I indulge to this little tea ceremony: a drain the right size staying in a mug and then removed. The leaves thrown out, no harm to the environment. Then powder milk because of its light weight.
Alternatively, organic green tea leaves: got myself used to not having milk with these.
I have tried pine needles: do you have to crush them first? Just broken in tiny bits doesn't seem to give much taste/colour to your drink. Does anyone know more on this?
Chriskavanaugh wrote:
"...as emotionally needed as a traumatised child holding to a teddy bear..."
Chris this is also what tea in the wild is for me...well a foreigner totally addicted to the British "cuppa".. :chill: :cup:
I hate tea bags, will never surrender to them, don't understand how the British could so easily give up on tea leaves! :rolmao:
So tea for me is infused organic tea leaves, milk, no sugar.
In the wild I indulge to this little tea ceremony: a drain the right size staying in a mug and then removed. The leaves thrown out, no harm to the environment. Then powder milk because of its light weight.
Alternatively, organic green tea leaves: got myself used to not having milk with these.
I have tried pine needles: do you have to crush them first? Just broken in tiny bits doesn't seem to give much taste/colour to your drink. Does anyone know more on this?
Coffee in the wild: although a good morale booster, only if local supply of water is unlimited. Otherwise not a good idea as coffee makes you thirsty. I am surprised to see coffee as part of survival kits in some survival manuals (Lofty's? I think I have seen this in his :confused: )
Moonraker
08-01-2005, 16:04
Chriskavanaugh wrote:
"...as emotionally needed as a traumatised child holding to a teddy bear..."
This is also what tea in the wild and elsewhere is for me...well a foreigner totally addicted to the British "cuppa"..
I hate tea bags, will never surrender to them, don't understand how the British could so easily give up on tea leaves! :rolmao:
So tea for me is infused organic tea leaves, milk, no sugar.
In the wild I indulge to this little tea ceremony: a drain the right size staying in a mug and then removed. The leaves thrown out, no harm to the environment. Then powder milk because of its light weight.
Alternatively, organic green tea leaves: got myself used to not having milk with these.
I have tried pine needles: do you have to crush them first? Just broken in tiny bits doesn't seem to give much taste/colour to your drink. Does anyone know more on this?
Quite agree nomade except for the sacrilege of using powdered milk :wink:
A cup filter is also useful as a water filter before purification. It can also be used well with pine needles, mint etc etc for a tisane.
Tea bags are nasty things with basically the floor sweepings of the tea at best and require carrying out with you.
The needles and tender twigs of the pine can be gathered at any time of the year and cut into one inch sections after which they are covered with water and gently simmered in a pot with a tight fitting lid for about twenty minutes. The resulting tea will be delicate and lemony in flavor and high in
vitamin C. Pine resin is also antiseptic, Pine needle tea will be helpful for sore throats, for gum diseases and as a wound wash.
In old Russia peasants would make a Pine needle wash for the sore legs of horses. Try it as a foot bath when your feet and legs are tired after a long hard day.
BIG-TARGET
09-01-2005, 00:41
Without sweet-n-low in my tea,,,,,,we're in trouble!!! :yikes:
i used to have a little metal tea ball, which i lost on the trail about two years ago, brilliant gadget, if anyone knows where i can get a new one....great
pine needles best very finely chopped and infused
BIG-TARGET
09-01-2005, 03:28
i used to have a little metal tea ball, which i lost on the trail about two years ago, brilliant gadget, if anyone knows where i can get a new one....great
Any kitchen supply shop on the planet. They even sell them in any local Walmart :wink:
The problem BT is that he is in England and Wall-Marts are few and far between, I have a diffuser that it is a spring with two mesh cups, one mesh cup filled with tea is great and when he waters it, it fills both.
I love it to bits, but I also spent a long time in the military and did not have time (a lot of the time) to brew using this, as a result I drank coffee more often than not (black with sugar) because it was easier.
I am now trying to remedy that fact, I love my Earl Grey (was even nick named Lord Earl Grey by some of the guys that I worked with) and used to drink it whenever I was in camp along with russian tea with lemon, which is a most refreshing drink (commie Leon would not of gone down very well with me and probably still won't). :wink:
BIG-TARGET
09-01-2005, 11:35
You mean walmart has store in the most remote areas of China, but none in England.
Go figure !!!!!! :shock:
You can't beat nettle tea, paticulary if it's fresh. I've not tried pine but I've heard that's nice too.
Paganwolf
09-01-2005, 12:36
You can't beat nettle tea, paticulary if it's fresh. I've not tried pine but I've heard that's nice too.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm nettle tea perfect, im bringing some herbal teas back from Oz as they seam to have tonnes of the stuff out here, also coffe in a tube! its like coffe toothpaste :naughty: yummo :biggthump
Coffee in a tube...that comes out like toothpaste...Wow...that's got to be a caffine freaks idea of heaven surely.
COFFE IN A TUBE, get your kicks whilst cleaning your teeth... :shock:
BIG-TARGET
09-01-2005, 12:40
You can't beat nettle tea, paticulary if it's fresh. I've not tried pine but I've heard that's nice too.
Dumd confirmation question, for pine needle tea, just pluck the needle from the tree, right??? :?:
Paganwolf
09-01-2005, 12:43
Dumd confirmation question, for pine needle tea, just pluck the needle from the tree, right??? :?:
Crush and steep as you do most teas..
As far as I'm aware, yes....don't know if different types of pine taste different though...hey, you could have your 'morning breakfast' pine, with a 'earl grey' pine for later in the day, and your bog standard 'builder's' pine for whenever you wanted.... :-P
BIG-TARGET
09-01-2005, 12:51
Crush and steep as you do most teas..
THANK YOU!!!! :wave:
BIG-TARGET
09-01-2005, 12:53
Thank you!!!!
Now I don't have to carry teabags into the pine barrens!! :wave:
I normally carry "monkeys" bags but also a few Earl Gray bags too. My favourite refreshment on the trail however is -Water Mint Tea - I often make little detours to boggy areas looking for those little purplr/blue flowers. Just bruise the leaves and stem and steep in boiled water for five minutes it is just perfection.
Neil
jackrim1
09-01-2005, 13:18
Great amount of replies thanks,
Kim's comment about how the standard pine is like the builders tea struck a chord, being a builder myself (of sorts) I hadn't realised how dependant I am on it. In fact I'd go as far as saying that my body clock has been programmed that 10 o clock is time for tea!
What I'm looking for in particular is a granular or instant tea that doesn't require milk, I remember having a brand called 'New Leaf' a while ago whilst on a scout trip, it was a kind of apple tea and did the trick very nicely however can't for the life of me track it down...has anyone else tried it and know where I can get it?
Thanks, Jack
Carcajou Garou
09-01-2005, 15:24
Cedar, pine teas are high in vitamin C also Bonus!!!
just a thought
a granulated tea that does not have to have milk is called QT
use it myself, does not taste too brilliant but welcome on cold winter camps
Moonraker
09-01-2005, 16:32
Great amount of replies thanks,
Kim's comment about how the standard pine is like the builders tea struck a chord, being a builder myself (of sorts) I hadn't realised how dependant I am on it. In fact I'd go as far as saying that my body clock has been programmed that 10 o clock is time for tea!
What I'm looking for in particular is a granular or instant tea that doesn't require milk, I remember having a brand called 'New Leaf' a while ago whilst on a scout trip, it was a kind of apple tea and did the trick very nicely however can't for the life of me track it down...has anyone else tried it and know where I can get it?
Thanks, Jack
Jack, isn't that the same as Gary mentioned earlier?
Lift Apple tea and a thermo of hot water - works for me!!. Made by Premier Foods who also make Typhoo Tea.
A nice review here
Lift Instant Apple Tea - Review (http://www.ciao.co.uk/Lift_Instant_Apple_Tea__Review _5307063)
Not my cup of tea though :-)
I normally carry "monkeys" bags but also a few Earl Gray bags too. My favourite refreshment on the trail however is -Water Mint Tea - I often make little detours to boggy areas looking for those little purplr/blue flowers. Just bruise the leaves and stem and steep in boiled water for five minutes it is just perfection.
Neil
I dare not ask wat 'monkeys bags are' :yikes: some jungle speciality no doubt, or another army lingo :-)
Yep, like I said it is one of my favourite wild treats to make mint tea like they serve in Turkiye and great for a refreshment on hot days :biggthump
It is one reason I find a cup size tea filter so handy. Because you can chuck tea leaves in or gathered and chopped leaves in, fill with hot water, leave to seep for a few minutes then simply pull out and you have nice leaf free drink.
I also use it to filter out bits from water before boiling etc ( I put some charcoal in the actual filter which helps to sweeten the water as it filters) so it is dual purpose.
You can get all sorts of tea filters. I prefer these as they allow proper contact of tea leaves with the water; I find the smaller diffusers are OK but not as good to extract full flavour quickly. They come in all sizes and in plastic or metal mesh or even gold plated for posh people :lol: I also us this for making coffee. Simply put the grounds into the filter in the cup and pull out after a minute. Nice and easy and simple to clean too.
A few examples:
( all from Fantes - Tea Infusers (http://fantes.com/tea_infusers.htm) which is an American site but with lots varieties most of which you can get in the UK)
Large Mesh Tea Ball
http://fantes.com/images/3344tea_infusers.jpg
Heavy-Mesh Snap Tea Infuser, 2.5"
http://fantes.com/images/7614infusers.jpg
Stainless Infuser/Strainer for Mugs
http://fantes.com/images/7618infusers.jpg
SwissGold Tea Ball (gold plated foild. Not the most expensive :wink: )
http://fantes.com/images/17101tea_infusers.jpg
Stainless Mug with Lid & Infuser Basket
http://fantes.com/images/120573-1tea_infusers.jpg
I dare not ask wat 'monkeys bags are' :yikes: some jungle speciality no doubt, or another army lingo :-)
Heavy-Mesh Snap Tea Infuser, 2.5"
http://fantes.com/images/7614infusers.jpg
Monkey Bags = PG Tips since it is advertised by chimps (not just the ones on-screen)
I used to use one of those tea infusers, they are a really good bit of kit as long as you don't have morons about that think it would be a bit of fun to release the leaves from it :wink:
they are the little beauties, where, when, how much, gimme gimme, want one....
I can picture it now.....200 hardened bushmen sitting round the camp fire in Ashdown Forest......DUNKING TEA BALLS :rolmao:
saying: i have pine needles in mine ole chap!! how about you..
PurpleHeath
15-01-2005, 00:18
has anyone never used rosehips for tea?
I'm a coffee drinker myself. Strong... I figure if I can survive my cup of coffee then nothing else can kill me that day.
In the wild I'm very fond of sassafras root tea. It really can't be beat as long as you have a little sugar. Silver birch bark is mighty good too. Mac
has anyone never used rosehips for tea?
Yep made some about a month and a half ago, quite nice and refreshing :-)
Yes, I've made rose hip tea but I can't say I'm a big fan of it. I much prefer birch-sap and pine needle or just a straight nettle tea to be honest.
:-)
Ed
ooh birch sap.. ive not tryed that... will have to do it at ashdown as i hear there an abundance of birch there! does it taste good?
ooh birch sap.. ive not tryed that... will have to do it at ashdown as i hear there an abundance of birch there! does it taste good?
tomtom, there are birch and pine there in quite large numbers :-)
ooh birch sap.. ive not tryed that... will have to do it at ashdown as i hear there an abundance of birch there! does it taste good?
It tastes great, quite sweet. There have been a few threads in the past about tapping birch trees for their sap. Have a search about for more info on how to do it.
:-)
Ed
Great Pebble
16-01-2005, 17:31
I've been known to fill a began side pocket entirely with the round Tetley bags... No point asking me to do anything without having a brew first and one after, and maybe a couple "during".