Red
Full Member
*** On An Indefinite Trip **
Posts: 162
|
Post by Red on Mar 20, 2018 6:59:55 GMT -5
It was almost 60 years ago so I don't remember which filter was used in which catchment, only that there were layers of cotton, activated charcoal, river pebbles, sand, broken ceramic, gravel, and pieces of coconut husks. One filter was without coconut husk and ceramic, but I don't remember which one.
The rainwater in both catchments were cool and clear but the one he used for tea was cooler and fresher. It may have been that the catchment for cooking water was large (4 adults could stand inside comfortably) while the rain catchment for brewing tea was close to portable size, meaning it may be fresher because the rainwater was always new.
The large catchment was built in cement and located in the kitchen, partly covered. Every two or three months, my cousin and I took turn to drain the water through two built-in faucets, then climbed inside to scrub the walls of the catchment with a dry brush and rinsed it off to get it ready for the next rainfall. The small catchment was a barrel and located in the front patio where father drank his tea. He drew water out of that with a large wooden ladle.
I remember he didn't use any metal in his tea brewing and drinking. I didn't ask the reason then, and now is too late.
|
|
|
Post by eggman on Mar 20, 2018 8:01:39 GMT -5
Thanks. 😀
|
|
cocopaz
Champion Member
Cat Slave Extraordinaire, Santa Barbara edition
Posts: 1,126
|
Post by cocopaz on Mar 20, 2018 15:15:53 GMT -5
Don't really drink it myself but I was quite unaware of all the science behind tea. Wow. Egg: I was born and grew up in a country where tea was the everyday drink, more common than water, so I started drinking jasmine green tea daily around age 6 or 7. When my father deemed I was old enough (age 9), he woke me up at 5:00 once or twice every week to watch him brewing his morning tea and to learn how to do it myself. He built a small filtered rain catchment just to use the water for his tea (different from the rain catchment we used for cooking), and he boiled the precise amount of water for each small pot (which was slightly larger than a teacup) over a table-top tea stove. Nothing about tea brewing technique has changed since then except the tea stove, although serious tea drinkers in China and Japan still use it to this day. Wow. That is dedication. Although if it had been MY father who had awakened me at 5am, I would have said, "Lipton pumpkin spice tea bag with Chai ice tea is just fine with me and don't wake me up again." So now you know how important sleeping in is to me.
|
|
|
Post by dirtgirl (TwinCities,MN) on Mar 20, 2018 23:55:38 GMT -5
eggman, One of the local garden centers made their own cistern back in the 90's. The thing is huge, set partly in the ground and collects the water that runs off their greenhouse roofs. Saves them a large fortune for watering the plants that they grow.
|
|
Red
Full Member
*** On An Indefinite Trip **
Posts: 162
|
Post by Red on Mar 21, 2018 0:02:57 GMT -5
Coco: Waking up at 5 was early for North America, but when you lived in a tropical climate, the day started early. In grade school, I left home every morning around 6:30 to walk to school (schools started at 7) so I usually woke up at 6 anyway.
Between 5 and 6 when he left for work was my father's alone time. He needed that when living in a household full of wife, children, and unofficially adopted children (parents had a habit of bringing home relatives' and friends' children and raised them as their own).
|
|
|
Post by yanarich on Mar 21, 2018 0:08:36 GMT -5
Just wanted to make sure I know how to get here! Howdy Y'all!
|
|
Red
Full Member
*** On An Indefinite Trip **
Posts: 162
|
Post by Red on Mar 21, 2018 2:01:06 GMT -5
You've made it. Hurrah for Yanna (hey, it rhymes!)
|
|
|
Post by MaddogUSMC (Jacksonville, FL) on Mar 21, 2018 2:19:11 GMT -5
Hey everyone! Great to see you all! I'm just lurking! I find Red's stories very fascinating, but then again, I love Asia! Thanks for sharing Red!
|
|
|
Post by eggman on Mar 21, 2018 4:48:41 GMT -5
Dirtgirl. I have a large cistern here that was built when this house was built in 1856. It collected rain water from the roof and supplemented the well or was used for drinking/kitchen water?? I don't know. It Was not hooked up or being used when I bought the place (but this place was tumbling down at the time) and I never tried rehooking it back up. At that time I was worried about possible contaminants (bird droppings) getting in the water. By the time I finally figured out why not hook it up all the folks that had any knowledge had passed. So now I'm just guessing. It's not high on my priority list just trying to make a decision for project # 1,704,324. Either hook up the cistern or fill it in. As you can tell from the number it isn't that high in my list. Cause it's on the 2nd list of the million things I need to do.
|
|
|
Post by savmor on Mar 21, 2018 15:42:03 GMT -5
Diablo Tea is blended black tea, green tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, orange peels, cloves, cardamom, natural wild cherry flavor, natural spice flavor, natural cinnamon flavor, dried cherries & rose petals and sometimes safflower. Full of caffeine!!
|
|
Red
Full Member
*** On An Indefinite Trip **
Posts: 162
|
Post by Red on Mar 21, 2018 21:08:36 GMT -5
Thanks, Savmor. Sounds like a tea I would like to try. Now that you described it, I remember you told us about it a couple of years ago. For some reason, I'm thinking the name is Heavenly, or is it Adagio?
|
|
goldie
All Star Member
Posts: 20,212
|
Post by goldie on Mar 21, 2018 23:57:27 GMT -5
Red: "I remember he didn't use any metal in his tea brewing and drinking. I didn't ask the reason then, and now is too late."
I read a newspaper article some years back about tea, brewing it, etc. It was written from the British perspective of tea, and I remember it said never to brew in metal, but I never knew why, either. But it's why I continue to use a bamboo strainer instead of some cute tea ball or metal strainer. Not sure if that even counts as "steeping in metal".
|
|
cocopaz
Champion Member
Cat Slave Extraordinaire, Santa Barbara edition
Posts: 1,126
|
Post by cocopaz on Mar 22, 2018 0:00:59 GMT -5
Diablo Tea is blended black tea, green tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, orange peels, cloves, cardamom, natural wild cherry flavor, natural spice flavor, natural cinnamon flavor, dried cherries & rose petals and sometimes safflower. Full of caffeine!! Hi SAVMOR. It has the dreaded cloves so I'll pass. Nice to know what it is, though.
|
|
|
Post by dirtgirl (TwinCities,MN) on Mar 22, 2018 1:27:08 GMT -5
eggman, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out when you get that far down on the list.
|
|
|
Post by MaddogUSMC (Jacksonville, FL) on Mar 22, 2018 2:10:19 GMT -5
Diablo Tea is blended black tea, green tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, orange peels, cloves, cardamom, natural wild cherry flavor, natural spice flavor, natural cinnamon flavor, dried cherries & rose petals and sometimes safflower. Full of caffeine!! That sounds good! I'll have some of that! LOL
|
|