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

[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.