Ostfriesentee - The Art of an East Frisian Tea Ceremony

I was lucky enough to be invited by my neighbor Gabi to learn about the Ostfriesentee Ceremony. She and her husband are from Ostfriesland and were gifted this authentic East Frisian Tea Service that you can see in the pictures. The porcelain depicts the East Frisian rose. She invited another friend to join us and together they told me all there is to know about Ostfriesentee.

Legend

According to a popular legend, a sailor from Hamburg capsized between the East Frisian beaches of Langeoog and Baltrum. He lost all of his cargo, including a box of tea. The Frisians found the tea leaves and thought they looked like dried vegetables and thus prepared a soup with bacon and tea.

History

The Frisians were introduced to tea by their Dutch neighbors. In the 17th century Holland was one of the most successful tea exporters. The East Frisians also took so well to tea drinking, because their drinking water quality was so bad. The water, which was naturally brown because of the boggy peaty soil and had to be boiled off before consuming.

Tea War

How much the East Friesians loved their tea is evidenced by the tea war around 1768. Friedrich II tried to prohibit tea drinking, it would be better for the German economy if local herbal tea or beer were consumed. He called the tea "Chinese dragon poison". So the East Frisians turned to smuggling the tea and continued drinking it until the Prussian King relented.

After the Second World War, not only was food rationed in Ostfriesland but also the citizens would receive their tea in rations.

Where to buy East Frisian Tea

There are four famous tea manufacturers in Ostfriesland: Bünting and Thiele, Onno Behrends and Uwe Rolf. However, I could not find places to buy them abroad so I have looked up some options on Amazon. I divided them into the USA and UK.

USA - options for Ostfriesentee

Steenbergs East Frisian Loose Leaf Tea 80g box - medium breakfast tea

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Teekanne Ostfriesen Gold

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(affiliate link)

UK - options for Ostfriesentee

Black-Line East Frisian Broken 250 g

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Steenbergs East Frisian Loose Leaf Tea 80g box - medium breakfast tea

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(affiliate link)

How to drink tea like an East Frisian

1. Before cooking the tea, rinse the teapot out with boiling water to heat it. Then you add the tea leaves to the pot. The tea is quite strong and in Ostfriesland you use this saying to measure the tea: "Einen Teelöffel pro-Tasse und zum Schluss noch einen für den Pott". (One teaspoon of tea per cup and one for the teapot) Pour boiling water on the tea, just enough so the tea leaves are covered. Then leave it to brew for at least 3 minutes.

1. After the three minutes are over, fill up the rest of the tea pot with boiling water.
2. To serve the tea you first add a piece of rock sugar (affiliate link) called "Kluntje" in the cup. The sound of the rock hitting the porcelain is the signal that the tea ceremony is beginning.
3. Now hold a tea sieve over the cup and pour the hot tea on the sugar. You should hear a little crackling, as the sugar dissolves in the heat.

4. Last but not least you take a special cream spoon called "Rohmlepel" and carefully pour in the cream from the rim of the cup. It is important to pour it anti-clockwise- this is to top time, and make time for East Frisian Coziness. The cream will rise to the top and look like a cloud. This is called "Wulkje" in East Friesian. Important! Ostfriesian Tea is not stirred.

The role of the spoon

You may think that the spoon is just there for decoration. But no - I was told Gabi that the spoon is used to scoop up the leftover sugar after you drink up your tea. After three cups of tea, the tea ceremony is usually completed. But you need to place your tea spoon in the empty cup to signal to your host that you are finished. Otherwise, your host will keep on pouring you more tea.

What to serve to Ostfriesian Tea

My neighbor told me it was traditional to serve "Krintstut" (known as Rosinenbrot in the rest of Germany) with their tea. It is a type of yeast bread with raisins and currents that can be eaten with butter or jam. Because it does not contain as much sugar as a cake, it is ok to eat it every day.

My neighbor Gabi told me that her husband (a retired priest) would be offered Schnapps after the tea ceremony. The drink I was offered was a Gin called Jonge Genever from a famous spirit manufacturer called Wolff from the East Frisian Town of Leer. The Tea Museum, however, told me it was not a widely known custom, so maybe a very regional ritual.

How to make Rosinenbrot (Krintstut)

Jump to the printable recipe card for exact measurements.

Ingredients:

• milk, instant yeast, sugar, flour, salt, butter, currants, raisins

Recipe Steps

• Add the yeast to the lukewarm milk. Leave for the yeast to activate (approx. 10 min). You should see some small bubbles forming on the surface. 
• Now mix the yeast-milk mixture, flour, butter,  sugar and salt. Knead with a dough hook, using a hand or stand mixer for 5 minutes. Leave the dough to rest for a further 5 minutes. Then knead the dough again for another 5 minutes. (The total kneading time should be 10 minutes in total).
• Pour boiling water over the raisins, then drain them well and add them to the dough. Knead again for about one minute (not too vigorously as you do not want the raisins to burst. 
• Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for at least 1 hour.
• After this time the dough should have roughly doubled in size. Remove from the bowl and place into a greased loaf form.
• Brush the top with a little milk and bake it at 180 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

If you want to learn more about Ostfriesentee and happen to visit the region, you can visit the Ostfriesisches Teemuseum in Norden. Here you can also experience the tea ceremony for yourself.

I also sent my blog post to the museum to verify all the information in this article.

Recipe