A cuppa tea!

[velvetpage]

I read with surprise that someone on my friends list, who shall remain nameless, was actually surprised to find that tea tasted better with milk than with cream. I asked myself: self, how is it possible to not know this? And my self answered: this poor unfortunate soul did not grow up with the benefit of a very-English grandmother to show her how to do it properly. My self pointed out that I was in a perfect position to enlighten this sad state of ignorance.

Accordingly, then, How To Make a Proper Cup of Tea (with variations)

1. Boil the water, preferably in an electric kettle. It must be actually bubbling when you go on to the next step.
2. Put tea bag into the teapot. (Note: teapot and kettle are two separate items. Do not simply insert tea bag into the kettle!)
3. Pour still-bubbling water over the tea bag. Number of tea bags varies according to taste, but the rule of thumb is one tea bag for two cups of tea.
4. Put the lid on the teapot and allow tea to steep for two to four minutes, again depending on taste. Any longer than four minutes and it will get bitter. Any less than two and you might as well just be pouring the water over a teabag in a cup. (Who on earth makes tea like that? Sheesh!!)
5. This is important enough to warrant its own step: do not squeeze the teabag or stir the tea to make it stronger. It will certainly make it stronger, but it will also make it bitter.
6. Pour steeped tea into a teacup. (Purists say the cup requires a saucer. My only requirement is that it be the right size. I often use coffee mugs for this. My grandmother would be spinning in her grave at that admission, but there you have it.)
7. Add sugar, milk, or lemon juice to taste. (Note: cream does not appear in that list, nor does whitener. Cream overpowers the flavour and brings out every last bitter note in the tea. It's just gross. Nothing heavier than 2% is acceptable for a good cuppa.) Certain flavours of tea require less of these items than others. I do not, for example, put milk in Earl Grey. I put extra milk in Chai.)
8. Drink when it is just cool enough not to burn your tongue.

Warning: do not use leftover tea by warming it up in the microwave. It will be black as tar and very bitter. The only acceptable uses for cold tea are watering African Violets and staining paper for history projects. It works very well for both of these, though.

So there you have it. Velvet's English Black Tea Method, from a second-gen British emmigrant.

Comments

[hillarygayle.livejournal.com]

I do wonder if I'm "Nameless", seeing as how I discovered milk in tea this week. However, I've not been using cream: I've not been using ANYTHING. I was drinking it with sweetener only--no milk or cream at all. Milk definitely adds some complexity!

I'm very proud to say that according to your steps, I'm doing it right! Yay! On the other hand, I DO squeeze the bag...I'll have to cut that out. You are correct; it does add bitterness. Except at work, we have mugs, hot water in the cooler, and tea bags. So I stick a tea bag in the cup and get hot water from the cooler. Blasphemous, but fast.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

*hangs head in shame* At work, at seven a.m., when caffeine is much more important than taste, I often do the same thing. I try not to squeeze even then, and there are enough old-school British-heritage people on staff that we have both milk and cream in the fridge, for the tea and coffee drinkers. Oh, well. It's still better than coffee. Coffee is icky.

I'm going to try beer for the first time tonight! And I don't have to guess at it - a friend's bringing over something he thinks I'll like! As far as my church is concerned, I'm now thoroughly corrupted! Isn't that great? :)

[anidada.livejournal.com]

One of us! One of us! ;D

[athelind.livejournal.com]

You'll have to give us a full report. Any idea what brand of beer? I do hope it's not some American soda-pop lager; I've met more people who insist they can't stand beer because they first encountered Bud or some similar swill.

Being in Canada, you have a better chance of decent beer.

Me, I'm a fan of DARK beers. If it gets much lighter than Guinness Extra-Stout (which of course I had to drink for St. Paddy's last night), I just find it nasty. But I'm strange that way -- my coffee preference runs to decaf Sumatra, black. Oddly, my PRIMARY beverage of choice is purified ice water -- I guess it all averages out.

I don't squeeze my teabags, but I DO let them steep probably longer than I should. I found a really tasty brand of Jasmine Tea at the local Asian market. quelonzia is trying to local Crysantemum tea, which we've had in a few local Chinese restaraunts -- no luck so far.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

It's rainwolf who is bringing it. Given that he spent a significant period in England drinking something which I've heard is much more palatable, I've decided to trust his judgement on this one. He's told me he's bringing a European beer, but he wouldn't say anything else.

I promise a full report tomorrow, though I don't know enough about beer to give it in proper terminology.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Oh, and as for sweetener - Splenda leaves much, much less aftertaste than anything aspartame-based. Just in case you hadn't discovered that on your own, yet. :)

[hillarygayle.livejournal.com]

I have been a devoted Splenda girl since it came out. Daddy likes "the pink stuff", Grandma likes Equal (and that's what I used before Splenda), but Daddy declares Splenda gives him gas, so he sticks with his old...whatever's in that stuff. Yes, Splenda has been one of those things that's made Weight Watchers much, much easier for me.

[kianir.livejournal.com]

I've never had the slightest problem with Splenda. Aspartame/nutrasweet really flakes out my digestive system though, in ways I'd rather not mention. Plus it tastes awful.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

The thing about squeezing the tea bag is that it leaches more tannin into the water -- you're also increasing the caffeine content, as a result, but the tannin is what makes it bitter. Higher-tannin red wines are also rather bitter tasting, IME.

As for the blasphemy of mug/bag/instantly-hot water... one does what one has to do. The important thing is getting your morning cuppa! :)

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how few people know about the squeezing.

What drove me nuts was when my ex (and this was in LONDON, so you cant blame it on him being American), and even some stores/cafes, would put the milk in first and let the teabag sit in the milk whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.

One place that did make nice tea had sort of a pitcher of concentrate they made, and they would then add more hot water to it. A very busy cafe.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

When the local coffee chain (Tim Horton's) came out with steeped tea a while ago, I jumped on the bandwagon. Of course, they steeped it too long, but it was better than having to ask for the milk on the side to avoid having it added at the same time as the boiling water. Ug.

[jadecat.livejournal.com]

Huh... When I was in Ireland (eons ago. *sigh*) I gres to like tea... then I came home and discovered I no longer liked it. I think I have now, thanks to your illuminating post, figured out why. In Ireland I was adding milk and sugar. Here I was using creamer and sugar...

And woe is me, we have *niether* kettle NOR teapot! When the Beau and I joined homes we discovered that we had both been dependent on roommates having those items. So now we have none.

Oh and coffee... I've taken a liking too- IF it has enough cream and sugar in it. And by that I mean a LOT of both. And I'm a sugar person, none of that fake stuff. ;) Anyhow, what I really like to do is take a packet of hot chocolate and add coffee to it instead of hot water- instant Mocha. :)

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

That's probably the reason. That, and not brewing it correctly. I know very few Americans (jinzi is one) who do it correctly.

A decent electric kettle should cost less than $30, but if you can't find one, try hopping the border some weekend. You can get them at any discount department store for $30 cdn, and teapots are everywhere.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Creamer? DEAR GHOD! Vade retro rotten white powder in a packet. I went on a residential course years (about 19 years actually) ago and found myself provided with this vile creamer muck. So I went out and bought a pint bottle of milk. Now as the older ones amongst us will know, if you haven't got a fridge in the room (and Marconi College didn't) milk will stay cool and fresh if stood in water half way up the bottle. A damp (clean yech) handkerchief draped over the bottle wicks up the water and cools by evaporation.
I would come back after classes to find the water drained, the handkerchief neatly folded and dry, and the bottle of rancid milk stinking on the draining board.
That's why I got into drinking coffee black (sorry, without creamer). I drink most things without creamer.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

WHUFF! just noticed. Milk is added to coffee...
but with tea, we natives pour the milk into the mug/cup then pour in the hot tea. This reduces the temperature to a pleasntly hot from *ACK MY TONGUES PEELING!*

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

As was just pointed out to me elsewhere, the reason people started pouring the milk in first was because Victorian china was of such poor quality that the cup might shatter if hot liquid were poured in directly. The milk cooled it down enough to prevent that. Nowadays, pouring the milk in afterward will have the same effect.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Seen it (excellent work) but frankly don't give it much credence. Been milking first all m'life, nearly half a century of excellent tea....

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

That's a good trick to know. I'm going to file that one away.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

This reminds me - you don't live that far from us at the moment. When are you coming to visit and meet my little angel?

[jadecat.livejournal.com]

Hmm, perhaps sometime this summer? Or, the beau and I are talking about taking a honeymoon weekend in Toronto (in October likely, posibly November)- so we'll be much closer and will perhaps intrude. :)

[anidada.livejournal.com]

What?! You don't warm the teapot first?! ;D

I was utterly amazed when Martha Stewart showed how to make a proper pot of tea on her show one day. I watched in disbelief as she said "I like to warm the teapot, first" -- because seriously, I thought everyone did that (in any case, warming a teapot is not a Martha invention!!!). More to the point, I figured anyone who drinks tea knows how to make a pot of it... but obviously not.

But that probably comes from being not-too-far-removed from the Old Country -- Scots drink as much tea as the English, that's for sure!

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Huzza! Warm pot = true tea drinker.

I like my tea in a ceramic PINT mug. Or a BIG (yes 1 pt) cup. And I take my time over drinking it. Cold tea tastes OK when you are thirsty.

My grandfather used to take a jug of tea down into the Anderson shelter at the end of the garden during the Blitz so I've been told. Generates a family liking for cold tea.

As to teabag in the cup and pour on hot or worse boiling water...damnit those people deserve the scalded tongue that results.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

So I forgot a step. So sue me.

I usually do warm the pot, but I do it because I'm cleaning the old tea out of it before making the new pot.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

After drinking tea, rinse pot but never never scrub or scour inside pot. A veteran pot will acquire a black patina inside which enhances the flavour of the brew.
We had a chap at work who applied the principle to his tea mug until the Health & Safety officer condemned it. This would be the late '70s early '80s when political correctness infested H&S thinking....

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Sorry, can't handle that thought. I do occasionally scour inside my teapot. When I can no longer figure out what colour it was supposed to be, that's when I take a scrubbing pad to it.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Mum has a habit of cleaning mugs with a scouring pad. Once scoured, ceramics and melamine always retain that "just used yesterday and not washed yet" look. It's part of the same mindset that advocates scraping off a nonstick griddle with a knife and complaining that it just isn't non stick...and after a while it isn't....

Sorry. it's one of those habits that Mum has stuck to throughout her life and the life of every nice damned non stick pan I've ever bought.

Oh, and our teapot is a dark brown traditional Sadler of a type no longer made.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I usually rinse the teapot with warm water, because nine times out of ten I'm emptying a previous pot of tea while the kettle is boiling for the next pot. I've never rinsed with a bit of boiling water though, because that means the water isn't boiling anymore by the time you pour it over the teabag.

My Scottish cousin-in-law drinks tea almost constantly, and the same way the rest of the family does. It was one of the things that brought them together - they were two ex-pats in the States, and the Americans laughed at the way they made tea!

[anidada.livejournal.com]

That may explain why Martha had to outline the process on TV! The thing I find really funny is that so many of my American acquaintances only know tea in iced form ("sweet tea") -- and they're not all from the South. Surreal.

I understand about the pot-after-pot method of warming. It speaks to your love of the leaf. :)

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Well, the other side to that coin is that I use leftover tea to water my african violets. Since I never can tell when I'll get around to making a pot of tea, I tend to always have some old stuff on hand for that purpose. I do love tea, but I drink a lot less of it these days than I used to. It was a ritual at my dad's house - after-dinner tea. He gets a bit annoyed when I skip it now, because I don't want the caffeine that late in the evening. Besides, his pot has a little too much patina for my taste.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Patina = tannin -- I'm with you on that one. :P

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I need to pick up a proper teapot from one of the local Asian restaraunt supply places. Ah, the joys of living in the SF Bay Area.

I should note that "cold tea" is not the same thing as "iced tea", which stems from an entirely different cultural tradition than Hot Tea.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

I like coffee milk shakes....using "Camp" brand coffee (for many years the only quick coffe you could get in the UK) which is a brown goo with coffee and chicory. Instead of hot water, you add a couple of capfuls of Camp to a pint of full fat milk and add vanilla ice cream before beating it to within an inch of it's life. Pour, serve, and drink. Yum!

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Camp rocks! Over a bowl of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, it's ambrosia. :)

But it costs a small fortune. My MIL found it at a local Italian grocers (go fig) for $10 CDN, and that's the only place I know that has it right now. :(

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

No, iced tea is very different, but you can make it starting with the same steps.

Basically, steep the full four minutes, and use one teabag more than you would for the same amount of hot tea. When it has finished steeping, pour it over ice in a good ceramic jug, one that won't be ruined by mixing very hot with very cold. Add lemon juice and sugar to taste. Homemade iced tea is easy. It's a staple of my fridge in the summer.

[stripedsocks.livejournal.com]

I shared this post with an Irish friend of mine who is quite the tea fiend. He felt compelled to write his own tea directions. May I direct your attention here? (http://www.livejournal.com/users/moogintroll/22489.html)

Just don't be drinking your tea while you read it. ^____^

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

That was hilarious! Thanks!

[stripedsocks.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

I don't quite make a good cuppa according to your directions either. I must confess that I'm too lazy to make it in a pot....it always gets made straight into the mug. And I'm generally not a milk kinda girl. ^_^

I do love tea, though!

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

In that case, I'm glad i didn't live in NS long enough to acquire some of the tastes that go with it. :)

[ruiskafleck.livejournal.com]

What do you mean?

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I just can't picture drinking ten-minute tea with cream. If that's standard in NS, thanks very much but I'll remain the Ontarian snob. :)

[ruiskafleck.livejournal.com]

You do that.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I'm confused. Wasn't there a comment in there about lengthy steeping times and cream, courtesy of your Nova Scotian grandmother? Are you playing with my head or am I just certifiable? (Why am I asking you this? You probably won't tell me anyway. . . )

[ruiskafleck.livejournal.com]

You are definetely certifiable *grins impishly*

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

You're mean. In the most fun possible way. :) Ever played a shrink whose goal in life was to see how fast they could screw with people's heads? Because you just proved you'd be really good at it.

The funny thing is, I answered your first comment some seven hours ago and only just now figured out what you'd done.