Brewing

[Mirimaran]

My stock answer for those who question coffee, tea, tobacco, potatoes, and turkey in Middle-earth is simply that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are translated works, from what were essentially dead and forgotten languages that took a genius like the Professor a lifetime to work from journal entries, second hand accounts, family history and events of pre-history into a narrative. It is a well known fact that names were translated from their mother language, sometimes more than once, to give us the names that we have come to love so well, like Bilbo and Frodo. Since I personally have never read any of the source material for LOTR in the original, I haven't a clue where if pipe-weed is mentioned what the original word was, but the Professor used a word that was most associated with that which was mentioned. Tobacco is actually used once, I think, in LOTR and is more than likely an editor's mistake than anything else. So, tea and coffee might not be exactly what we know as those things today, but close enough for association.

Just my two-cents!

Ken

[Manveruon]

That's an intriguing concept! One I hadn't thought of before! Thanks for the input!

[E.MacKermak]

I personally just don't care to give up my coffee in the name of accuracy. Just a little anachronism.

[Rhys ap Ieuan]

And let's face it, no one around us wants us to give up the coffee either.

You could always brew your coffee in the Greek fashion - a very fine, spiced, grind that settles out as you drink it. You can stop when you get to mud or not. At that fine a grind, the grounds don't taste bad!

For tea I use a cloth bag, as has been mentioned. They can be easily made from linen or cotton, but I'd avoid synthetic fabrics, and rinse it through with quite a lot of boiling water first, in case the fabric was treated with something.

[Eric C]

And let's face it, no one around us wants us to give up the coffee either.

You could always brew your coffee in the Greek fashion - a very fine, spiced, grind that settles out as you drink it. You can stop when you get to mud or not. At that fine a grind, the grounds don't taste bad!

For tea I use a cloth bag, as has been mentioned. They can be easily made from linen or cotton, but I'd avoid synthetic fabrics, and rinse it through with quite a lot of boiling water first, in case the fabric was treated with something.

Let's face another fact as well. No one around want's ME to give up coffee either!

[herbcraft]

tea balls break. Always. Yes, they can be repaired easy enough, and a strainers nice to have, but woven cloth makes a better filter for fine grinds like coffee. For leaves/roots/barks, a quick strainer can be made out of grasses, stems, or other plant materials. Cleavers - galium aparine, can just be bunched up and it'll stick to itself to form a sieve, but that's a seasonal commodity. If you wanted to buy something for tea, bamboo tea strainers are nice, and look period appropriate (google pictures, and you can see how you could easily and quickly weave one on the spot). ~If~ weaving from plants on the spot, you've need to know your local flora... some of the best plants for braiding are poisonous (such as dogbane), and you could definitely kill yourself and your friends by pouring hot tea through water hemlock.

As for boiling water, if you didn't have a fire hardy pot, a stone (size appropriate to the container) can be heated into the fire, removed and dusted off well, and added directly to your container.

[mcapanelli]

How would a Ranger go about brewing his coffee or tea in the wild? Would he be able to filter the dregs/leaves from the drink after brewing, or just have to put up with them? How do y'all manage it?

Thanks.

Sorry I caught this thread late. You don't really need a tea bail as the tea leaves at the bottom of your cup won't be a bother unless you gulp your tea. If you drink as hot as I do you'd your mouth would have to be asbestos lined to gulp anyway. As a rule, Coffee floats, tea sinks. I put my loose earl grey leaves right in the bottom of my mug, break off a little piece of my cone sugar, and pour the water right in. If Im home I'll add just a tiny drop of cream. until the very last sip I don't have any problems. If your tea floats it's not good quality, at least as far as english tea is concerned. Now coffee can be a problem. I'd say it's best to brew it in a kettle, lie you would in a perk pot. Be wary though as the coffee will bloom out of the pot a little and make a mess. When you pour just take your time and use a spoon in front for he spout. Yo uphold, till the last cup at least, get a minimal amount of grains in your cup if any at all.

[Greg]

Now mind you, Tolkien's Middle Earth also included things like potatoes and corn, which are indigenous to the Americas, and weren't introduced to the Old World until the Renaissance themselves...

I have been looking for a corn reference for nearly a month. Where on earth did you find that? I mean, I've gotten to the point where I'm about ready to call corn Numenorean, but it'd be great to have some concrete backing.

[Eledhwen]

With coffee I get the water to a rolling boil, then drop it in; it will sink to the bottom when the brewing is done and the pot is removed. That is how I've been doing it at any rate.

Eledhwen

[Jonathan B.]

Now mind you, Tolkien's Middle Earth also included things like potatoes and corn, which are indigenous to the Americas, and weren't introduced to the Old World until the Renaissance themselves...

I have been looking for a corn reference for nearly a month. Where on earth did you find that? I mean, I've gotten to the point where I'm about ready to call corn Numenorean, but it'd be great to have some concrete backing.

The Fellowship Of The Ring :Chapter three: "Three is Company"
"The Shire had seldom seen so fair a summer, or so rich an autumn: the trees were laden with apples, honey was dripping in the combs, and the corn was tall and full."

The Two Towers :Chapter Four: "Treebeard"
"After the Darkness was overthrown the land of the Entwives blossomed richly, and their fields were full of corn."

The Two Towers :Chapter Six: "The King Of The Golden Hall"
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?

The Return Of The King :Chapter Eight: "The Scouring Of The Shire"
"But since Sharkey came they don't grind no more corn at all. They're always a-hammering and a-letting out a smoke and a stench, and there isn't no peace even at night in Hobbiton."

The Return Of The King :Chapter Nine: "The Grey Havens"
"In the Southfarthing the vines were laden, and the yield of "leaf' was astonishing; and everywhere there was so much corn that at Harvest every barn was stuffed. "The Northfarthing barley was so fine that the beer of 1420 malt was long remembered and became a byword."

There are more references in The Two Towers.
Now an argument could be made for Tolkien not meaning maize but rather some other cereal crop as "Corn was originally the English term for any cereal crop.".

[Manveruon]

Thanks Jonathan! I always remembered the Rohirrim poem in reference to corn, but I didn't remember all those others.

[Jonathan B.]

No problem.

[Ringulf]

Outstanding job of referencing Jonathan!

Is there a particular souce you use when researching textual reference for Tolkien's work? I have noticed that your replies to such queries are always plentiful and exhaustive. It almost looks as though you have a Tolkien Concordance!

[Jonathan B.]

Outstanding job of referencing Jonathan!

Is there a particular souce you use when researching textual reference for Tolkien's work? I have noticed that your replies to such queries are always plentiful and exhaustive. It almost looks as though you have a Tolkien Concordance!

Ringulf, It's just that I have a good portion of Tolkien's work as e-books which allow me to search for all instances of a particular word. I then copy and paste the context as best I can and site the book and chapter.

[Ringulf]

Wow that is cool and makes a lot of sense. Do you keep ebooks stored on the computer or in a reading device like a kindle or something? if it is kept in the computer it would be a very good case for me downloading certain books I enjoy refrencing. Pardon my technological ignorence but some of the is just never really occurs to me unless it is pointed out. How would I get an ebook if I were to keep it in my computer?