December 10, 2012
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Tea
Delightful December #6
Insipired by @BohemianLotus and this post
As many of you may be aware tea is the national drink of England (Disclaimer: I have no idea if that is officially the case but I am saying that it is and therefore it is). It is drunk hot, with milk (and occasionally sugar) and most commonly at around 3pm. I actually do not do this terribly often, in fact I mostly drink tea on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at around 7.45 am and then again at 10.30 (very specific, I know). However, if asked I would say tea should be drunk at 3pm precisely, (hence the term ‘afternoon tea’).
Making the perfect cup of tea is a difficult procedure. Everyone has slightly differing opinions on what is ‘perfect’ and there are so many questions to consider….
….. made in the cup or made in a pot?
….. which kind of tea? leaf tea, tea bags, and which brand?
….. how much milk? none, a drop, a splash, half a cup?
….. how strong? a vague taste of tea, a medium taste of tea or a strong taste of tea?
…. how much sugar? none, 1/2 a spoonful, 1 spoonful, 1 1/2 spoonfuls, 2 spoonfuls?
….. what kind of cup to have it in? (you may wish to read this post for more information on that) The traditional cup is of course a teacup such as this….
… but it is now considered perfectly acceptable to use a mug, unless of course the Queen is visiting. You cannot give the Queen a mug.I will take you through how to make the best cup of tea in my eyes (which are the best eyes when it comes to tea).
I choose to make it in the cup. I have no issues with making it in a teapot but it is certainly easier in the cup.
You will need: a suitable cup for your tea drinking needs, a tea spoon, a tea bag, boiling water, milk
Instructions:
1) Place the tea bag into the cup
2) Pour the water from the kettle into the cup as soon as it is boiled. I like to ensure the water is hitting the teabag as it lands in the cup because it looks nice.
3) I often leave it for a minute ‘brewing’ and then I use the spoon to stir the water, squeezing the tea bag against the edge as I do to ensure there is a nice strong taste of tea (I see no point in tea that tastes like water, you may as well drink water).
4) Before removing the tea bag I carefully tip the milk bottle to pour an ever so tiny droplet of milk into the cup (I do not want my tea to taste like milk either, you may as well just drink milk) which takes the edge of the bitterness.
5) Stir one more time, squeezing the tea bag against the side again then removing it from the cup and placing it in the bin.
6) The tea is now ready to be taken to the place you wish to sit and placed somewhere nearby while it cools to the perfect temperature ready to be drunk.
7) Dipping biscuits (cookies) into the tea is also pretty scrummy.
Choosing your tea:
There are now many types of tea. I personally use teabags rather than leaf tea because it seems like less work (I am very lazy). I only choose teabags that have just tea in them, but I have no preference of which brand. My Husband likes Yorkshire Tea so that is what we have…
… there are also other kinds of tea such as Earl Grey which many people love, however they have other ingredients (bergamot in Earl Grey’s case) giving it a flavour other than tea. I just like my tea to taste of tea.
How do you like YOUR tea?
Comments (6)
Indeed a very detailed entry on preparing tea! Love this!
I like my tea as coffee.
I am a huge fan of loose leaf tea. I have a special tea pot with a strainer for it
One of my favorite flavors is white peach with just a few pieces of rock cane sugar added to it. But I’m also pretty crazy about chai and spicy teas with milk.
P&G tips all the way…with a bit of cream and sugar. Now I’m off to make a cup for myself. Pity I have to wait for it to cool off today, I just had a tooth pulled so no hot drinks or food today :-
I enjoyed this post.
Since tea is “the thing” over in the UK I am always interested in a UK native’s perspective on it. Although I am often told I’d be laughed at because I prefer honey over sugar. I also use coconut milk over real milk, another supposed “no no”, LOL. I haven’t had it with real milk yet, I am reluctant to try it because I am afraid I will like it too much, and I need to stick with coconut milk for health reasons. One time a few years ago I was in a restaurant, and this lady saw me squeezing my tea bag at the end of the steeping – she rushed over with a very strong British accent “No! no! Never squeeze the bag! You might as well throw the tea out!” Well it frightened me so much I haven’t squeezed the tea bag since. Admittedly, though, the tea was better without squeezing the bag – less bitter. Whatever way I have my tea, though, the addition of shortbread cookies (tea biscuits to you I think) makes my tea experience sublime. The only thing I wonder is, how do those delicate tea cups not crack when they get boiling water poured into them?
You know, now that i really think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever had tea in a proper teacup. My parents only have old fashioned teacups and saucers for show in a display case. We always used mugs. When I got married someone gave us a set of dinner dishes that came with matching teacups but I’ve never used them. It’s just always been easier to grab a mug, and I think you can fit more in a mug than a teacup anyway. Also, I used to like lots of milk in my tea, but now I like to taste more tea than milk so I hardly put any milk in anymore. Mmm tea. And I find bags easier than loose leaf too.