Clearing palate before tea?

Good question:

I experimented with different things in the past, just let me mention some of them:

- brushing teeth with baking powder/ seasalt

- some fruit juices, diluted with water seemed to help too

- chewing on a tablespoon of olive oil for 15 minutes each morning after getting up (google for instructions, many people do it), works excellent for smokers, like me

- using a tonguebrush in the morning was pretty efficient too ...

... but then I'm soo lazy

PS: some professional tasters and tasting students in Kolkata prepare themselves for extensive tasting sessions (300-500+cups) 4 days in advance by drinking lots of very strong, adstringent tea. Each of the following days they drink less and less strong tea so their palates are in shape when they need them. Now I wonder how that's supposed to work ...

Karsten / Darjeeling

Ferris92 wrote:

Good question:

I experimented with different things myself in the past, just let me mention some of them:

- brushing teeth with baking powder/ seasalt

- some fruit juices, diluted with water seemed to help

- chewing on a tablespoon of olive oil for 15 minutes each morning after getting up (google for instructions, many people do it), works excellent for smokers, like me

- using a tonguebrush in the morning was pretty efficient too ...

... but then I'm soo lazy

PS: some professional tasters and tasting students in Kolkata prepare themselves for extensive tasting sessions (300-500+cups) 4 days in advance by drinking lots of very strong, adstringent tea. Each of the following days they drink less and less strong tea so their palates are in shape when they need them. Now I wonder how that's supposed to work ...

Karsten / Darjeeling

Ferris92 wrote:

I have found that "one" bite of a salty snack helps me with this. For example I might eat "one" wheat thin or pretzel or something similar. I find that plain basic grain snacks without any cheese or other seasonings tend to work the best for me.

Mike

Wash down any undesired taste with the first cup, repeat as needed, enjoy the next cup. Big Red Robe is known as a grease cutter which means more pizza not more tea taste.

Jim

Ferris92 wrote:

I was going to make the same suggestion basically. That first cup ought to pave the way for the next and the next and the next, assuming lots of steeps. Mike's suggestion about salt and grain in moderation without added yummies might work just fine, but I shy away from it.

Michael

this is gonna sound weird, but a sip of warm (not hot) coffee will do the trick.

Ever wonder why they have little cups full of coffee beans at the perfume counter? It's cuz hte smell of coffee clears the olefactory sensors, and sipping it clears the palate.

Interesting, indeed! I will have to try this. I assume it is weak coffee , right?

Mike Petro

More tea.

Seriously.

The first sip of tea is a throwaway.

I don't get the real flavor until many sips into a cup. Sometimes it peaks only after the 3rd cup.

Now, if you're talking a serious palate skewing, you may not get to a decent place to drink a subtle tea. It can take hours for capsaicin to dissipate, for instance.

So keep drinking beer like the rest of us.

Makes me wonder what tea most Indians drink, considering that Indian food is full of strong, long-half-life spices...

--Blair

yes, straight, black, bland, generally weak coffee. swish in mouth.

Coffee, even if it is weak coffee, swishing it in the mouth will 'contaminate' the taste, not clean out the previous tates. Smelling coffee beans, or tabacco, do clears the olfactory sensors, but having them in the mouth is a different story.

How many of us have asked for a sweet or a piece of gum after drinking coffee? & Why?

Mike snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com/9/06

Hi guys,

I recommend a little cup of hot water. This is not a joke, it's what my friends here do. Something inside of me balks at the idea of using coffee to clear the palate.

Michael

In article ,

Masala tea. Imagine cheap assam, steeped very long, and full of strong long-half-life spices. It's best with lots of clove and cardamom, I think.

--scott

Scott Dorseydq0j02$ki6$ snipped-for-privacy@panix2.panix.com1/10/06 10: snipped-for-privacy@panix.com

It cuts through some of the hottest, most burning foods I've ever eaten, and I've eaten many; and it's delicious exactly as Scott describes it, full of milk and jagary (sp?). Brings back memories. Yum.

Michael

Having returned from India three days ago, let me add: "Sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. With a bit of sugar added to taste."

Joss

It's funy that you mention this. I grabbed a couple pieces of leftover pizza in the office before having a cup, and I must say, not a great pairing... Probably the best bets are time and maybe water or milk. Milk has kind of a coating action and seems to bond with and clear out flavors. I used to work in a Chili restaraunt that served "firebrand" chili that was so hot, if you ate a whole bowl, you got your name on the wall. ANyway, milk, or even buttermilk were preferred drinks. Water just spread the hot around. I'm thinking milk would be a good purge before delicate tea also.

Capsaicin dissolves in fats. Milk, being about 4% fat, would be a good palliative.

May explain Thai iced tea, with the sugar and the cream in it.

But here's the rub: the pH of tea is about 4 to about 6.5. Similar for milk itself. And a slightly acidic environment like that will exacerbate the effect of capsaicin. So what the milk doesn't remove from your tissues would be enhanced by both the milk and the tea...

What kind of spice did they use in that Firebrand chili?

--Blair