Texas Tea House - How to find the best locations for a Texas tea house

2. Texas Tea House
The Difference Between English Tea and Chinese Tea
When visiting a Texas tea house, you may want to know the difference between
English tea and Chinese tea when ordering from the menu. Knowing the primary
differences between them can save you a lot of time in getting what you really
want and making your experience more enjoyable.
So, let's summarize the 2 teas for a better definition:
English Tea
“English" tea is mostly black tea either from India or Ceylon (Sri Lanka), or the
Yunnan, Fujian, or Anhui provinces of China. These places are where a vast
majority of black tea is produced. No tea is actually produced in the UK. There
may be different blends or brands of tea produced there, but the actual tea is
grown in Asia (or in some instances, in Africa).
Chinese Tea
"Chinese" tea would be really any of the types of tea, but brewed traditionally
without any addition of sweeteners or milk as with English teas. These types
include White, Green, Yellow, Oolong, Pu-erh, and Black. They are all made from
the same plant, but processed differently. For example, oolong would be oxidized
longer than a white tea and would therefore be "stronger" and it would have more
body. Some types of black tea (especially from the Darjeeling region of India) can
even be pretty light in flavor and body.
How To Make Tea Like You'd Find In A Texas
Tea House
In order to make tea at home like you would find in a Texas tea house, you will
need a good quality loose leaf tea, a teapot, and a tea kettle (for heating water).
 First, heat enough water to use plus a little extra until boiling (not in the
actual teapot). Pour a little of the hot water into the teapot (without leaves
in it) and swish it around for a while to warm it.

3.  Pour this water out and then measure out about one teaspoon of leaves
for each cup of water and put them in the teapot. Wait until the water has
cooled to about 82-93 degrees celsius, and pour the water in the pot until
full. Cover it and wait about 3 minutes. While waiting, make sure you have
your cup(s) ready as well as some sort of strainer to place over your cup
while pouring the tea to block the leaves.
 When the time is up, make sure to pour all of the tea out of the pot, even if
you aren't going to drink it right away. This will assure that all of the tea is
the same in strength. Oolong tea can always be steeped again, usually
about 3 times, depending on the quality of the leaf.
The History of English Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh
Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would
become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon.
The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late
at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch
and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and
butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea
of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room
during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting
friends to join her.
The Best English Tea In Central Texas
If you’d like to experience the very best in English tea in the United States, you’ll
find it in the Central Texas area at King’s T&U in Harker Heights, Texas.
Their location has changed (as they moved
from their previous address off Hwy.190
and they are now located at 1608 FM
2410).
Experience English Tea in a Texas Tea
House along with a healthy assortment of
finger sandwiches, scones and deserts that
will delight the palate and leave you
wanting to return again and again.