How to: The Perfect Brew

Brewing times. It’s something the majority of us don’t usually consider when making a steamy cup of tea. Boil water, pour it over the tea bag in the cup, drink. It sounds like the world’s most simple recipe. But there seems to be an art to brewing the perfect cup of tea. You, lucky reader, get to have the secret to becoming a tea-brewing master. 

Green and White Tea:

These delicate teas get special treatment when it comes to brewing. To get the perfect flavors here you should heat the water to just before the boiling point. Water that’s too hot can “cook” your tea leaves(which is not our goal here). Let the green tea steep for 1 minute or less and the white tea for 1-3 minutes. (Matcha tea has the same heating instructions, but no steeping time of course!)

Black and Oolong Tea:

With these two, you can boil the water to your heart’s content before pouring it. Then let each of them steep for 5-7 minutes.

Herbal Tea:

As with black and oolong, Herbal tea can be made with boiling water. However, this time, you can let it steep for 5-7 minutes depending on your preference of flavor strength.

Here's a handy little chart that puts it all together

As for how to remove the tea bag, you can take a look at “The Great Squeeze Debate” to help you make your decision.

And for the very last step: Drink and enjoy! *But be careful not to burn yourself, it always ruins the experience*

-Elizabeth

Guidelines to Reading Classic Literature

We’ve all been there before. And by “there” I mean tried to read a classic novel and found ourselves unable to get through it. For some, it may discourage you from reading anything pre-1900’s again. I’m here to tell you not to give up just yet! Perhaps all you need to get started on your road to being an avid reader of classic novels are a few starter tips.

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  Tip #1: Audiobooks are your friend
  So I’ve found that one of the hard parts of reading older books is getting through all the old language. Of course, if you’re watching a Shakespearean play, those old english words sound beautiful. But when you’re reading, it just becomes a hurdle when you have to stop to decipher the spelling differences. However, when there’s someone to read all the funny words for you (with the right pronunciation, too) it makes it ten times easier to finish these types of books.
  
  
  
  Tip #2: Movies are also your friends
  It may sounds counterintuitive to watch movies, but if you can watch ones with that old english vocabulary in them, it still helps you get used to it. Also, watching good movie adaptations can introduce you to classic stories that you might have previously been too intimidated to attempt reading.
  
  
  
  Tip #3: Start small
  In the same way that runners have to train for marathons, you have to work your way up to reading the more difficult classics. Don’t start with something like Les Miserables(it’s called “the brick” for a reason). If you go for an easier read you’ll find yourself enjoying “old books” and it will build your stamina  and enthusiasm to read more!
  
  

  

  "The Brick"

  Here are a few recommendations:
  Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen(the audiobook narrated by Carolyn Seymour is perfect too!)
  Jane Eyre - Emily Bronte (or the audiobook narrated by Susan Ericksen)
  Sherlock Holmes series - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  The Lord of the Rings- J.R.R. Tolkien
  Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
  The Great Gatsby- F Scott Fitzgerald
  The Narnia series - C.S. Lewis
  
  
  -Elizabeth
  
  

Tea Highlight: The Republic of Tea

So obviously here on Simply Brewed we love tea; all sorts of tea, really. But sometimes it’s hard to find a great variety of teas at any given grocery store. In general, they tend to offer the usual green, black, camomile, etc. And perhaps if they’re feeling a bit crazy you’ll see one with honey or lemon flavorings too.

Don’t get me wrong, plain tea is great, but there are so many other flavor combinations we miss out on if we only stick to the original flavors!Where can we find such unique flavors? you may ask. The answer is: republicoftea.com!

The Republic of Tea is a company that makes a huge variety of premium teas. They have black, green, oolong, matcha, white, herbal, rooibos, hibiscus, and decaf. I can’t even begin to list all of the flavor combinations. Did I mention they also offer it in tea bags as well as loose leaf?

As a bonus, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. It averages $10 for 50 tea bags(20 cents per cup) compared to $3 for 20 tea bags(15 cents per cup) if you get a generic brand. It’s certainly cheaper than someplace like Teavana which can cost almost $1 per cup.

And to top it off, they even take steps to be eco friendly as well. For example, they eliminated the use of staples or glue in their tea bags and the bags are even made out of unbleached tea paper. (I think I’m in tea love)

Head over to their website and check out all the cool info they have on tea health benefits, brewing times, and FAQ's. They’ll even mail you a free catalog!

-Elizabeth

{*Attention* This was not a sponsored post. They're just a great company worth highlighting!}

Audiobooks: A Solution for the Busy Reader

Okay, so of course we all love the feeling of holding a heavy book in our hands and turning the the smooth, white pages one at a time as we get slowly drawn into the story. But let’s be honest, reading isn’t always practical. Sometimes we just get so busy that we don’t have the luxury of curling up with the perfect book (on a rainy day with a hot cup of tea, some comfy pillows, and soft music in the background...if I do say so myself).

Fear not! There’s still hope for the busy book worm. One of the wonderful things that technology has bestowed upon us (aside from Netflix and running water) is audiobooks. While they don’t have the same feel as traditional books, they’re the perfect way to enjoy your favorite stories on the go.

I’ve seen book-lovers cringe at the word “audiobook” and complain that having a narrator “ruins the story” for them. While I, too, have had experience with bad narrators, I have also found some amazing ones as well. The right reader can completely enhance the feel of the story. One example of this that I have to highlight is the audiobook “The Book Thief”, written by Markus Zusak and read by Allan Corduner. Corduner’s voice made a great story even more enjoyable in this case. He was able to perfectly define each of the character's voices throughout all 13 hours and 56 minutes of the story. It literally brought me to tears. (Can I just say I have a love/hate relationship with sad stories?)

If you haven’t read the story yet (or even if you have!), or are just looking for a good audiobook, I definitely recommend getting the audiobook version of “The Book Thief”. It’s a beautiful story and the narrator does a wonderful job of bringing the story of life. It may even change your mind about audiobooks! So go check it out! (Link below)

-Elizabeth

Find the "The Book Thief" audiobook here: http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Book-Thief-Audiobook/B002V00YSK/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1446299376&sr=1-1