Preparation

Preparation of THIELE East Frisian tea

To prepare THIELE TEA – for authentic East Frisian tea, you should calculate 8 to 10g of tea for one litre of water (approximately 3 heaped teaspoonfuls).

Pour fresh boiling water over the loose tea leaves in a well-preheated teapot so that they are fully covered. Now let the tea steep for three to five minutes – preferably on a boiler or tea warmer.

Afterwards, fill up the fragrant tea infusion with the remaining water. We recommend decanting the tea through a tea sieve into a preheated serving pot and to keep it warm on a tea warmer.

What comes into the cup now is pure delight – exactly the way East Frisians love it. Firstly, put a so-called “Kluntje” into the cup. When you pour on the hot tea, you hear the “Kluntje” make a crackling sound, which gives rise to pleasurable anticipation. Once melted, the “Kluntje” will provide the tea with delicate sweetness.

A few drops of fresh, high-fat cream which – according to the East Frisian way – is not stirred, conjures up a little cloud, the so-called “Wulkje”, making tea indulgence perfect. Make sure to add the cream in an anticlockwise way in order to stop the time symbolically.

East Frisian connoisseurs divide the “unstirred” pleasure experience into three parts: Starting with the first sip of tea with cream, the second step of pure tea enjoyment follows, which finally leads to the “sweet end”, bringing the three-step pleasure to perfection.

Politeness dictates to enjoy at least three cups of tea – the reason why the proverb says:
Dree is Osfreesenrecht (Three is the right of the East Frisians)

By the way, by placing it in your own cup, use the little teaspoon only to give the host the signal that you do not wish to receive a refill.