How to make a proper tea
in Heaven
In light of this article: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/tea-microwave-boiling-water-better-a4517091.html, which states the obvious, the 1 million dollar question is, how to you make a proper tea:
I was told, for black tea, throw at least three tea bags in, and let it steep for at least three minutes no more than five. That will give you the perfect middle between watery and bitter.
I was told, for black tea, throw at least three tea bags in, and let it steep for at least three minutes no more than five. That will give you the perfect middle between watery and bitter.
Comments
(Oh - ETA - re-heat in microwave in the cup, but without milk yet)
I will agree with anyone who points out that teabags basically contain floor sweepings and loose leaf tea is better - I just almost never have time for that, and I'm putting in milk anyway, so there's no point getting too precious about the tea.
Tea Bags? Tea Bags!!! They are only for when I am gone from home for a few days and can't carry the teapot, container of lovely tea leaves and my kettle.
There are so many easy strainers, tea ballers, and filter sacks to put the tea leaves in! It takes like two seconds!!!
Would someone bring my fainting couch, please? The vapors are upon me.
Although somewhat fewer that are actually 100% successful at containing the leaves. (Which is why I gave up on such items - too many occasions ending up with the final mouthful containing tea leaves.)
Ouch - is this Heaven?
But coffee...surely a separate thread.
(16g of illy in an inverted aeropress, stir 40s, press, 1/3 milk added)
Now folk want decaff, or to pick through your collection of herbal teas, or even pinch out herb tips from your garden.
I find i need to write it all down when taking orders.
Unless the water boiling be, filling the teapot spoils the tea.
That’s all you need to know.
We seem to have similar tea habits, except that I side with Ms. Mitford on the milk-vs.-tea-first issue. I did milk first for a long time, but now I think it emphasizes the milkiness too much.
I rarely use a strainer, which may just be a sign of colonial barbarism.
I had to Google "mashing" in context of tea. On this side of the pond, it's something you only do to potatoes, and the mental picture that was forming in my mind was very strange.
Heh, I'm with you. Tea leaves are so much nicer. I don't bother filtering - they sink to the bottom of the mug and continue to infuse, and I can add more freshly boiled water.
Also, for me, the perfect cup of tea has no milk. Just the pure taste of the tea. Occasionally a squeeze of lemon.
I normally just keep a box of Yorkshire Tea bags and I make it in a mug when I have guests round. Is that too uncouth for the tea afficionados?
If I were to go to a non coffee drinking home, I'll take instant it that's all they've got.
Fill kettle with fresh cold water; set to boil.
Take out 3-mug brown pot.
Fill ceramic tea ball half way with loose tea leaves.
When kettle boils, fill pot and let sit.
Fill kettle again and set to boil.
When burbling, remove from hob.
Empty now-scalding pot; add tea ball.
Pour hot water into pot over tea ball & wrap in tea towel.
Let steep 5 minutes while fetching the paper from wherever the &^$!! hell the paper carrier has flung the damn thing this time.
Remove spiders, beetles, other wildlife from newspaper; remover tea ball from pot.
Pour.
Sniff.
Sip.
Come to grips with the fact that Another Dawn, All Unbidden, Has Broken, But All Will Be Well:
You have Tea.
When just one of us is making a cup of tea, we don't use teabags at all. Instead of putting loose tea into a pot, we use a small infuser, just under half-filled with leaves, put into a largish cup or mug, and boiling water poured over it. Stir a couple of times then allow 5 minutes to brew. Stir again. Every bit as easy as a teabag and you get a good cup.
Whether it's pot or infuser tea, we always drink it black.
My favourite tea-pot has the end of its spout broken, but still pours OK and retains the leaves by means of several small internal holes, so that a strainer is not necessary.
just to start the day you see.
Then round about eleven, my idea of heaven
is another cup of tea.
I like another cup of tea with my dinner
and other cup of tea with my tea
Then about this time of night
what goes down a treat, you're right
It's another cup of tea
As to paraphernalia, I collect teapots, so there’s always a nice pot... the strainer, cosy etc is up to you. I just like the ritual of making tea, so have this stuff. It doesn’t matter.
As a non- coffee drinker, I have a small amount of ground coffee beans, and a plunger for guests. Is that enough? I do at least know to avoid offering instant!
In our house, where no-one really likes coffee much, the instant-for-guests sits in a cupboard and sets like concrete in the base of the jar. Bring your Kango hammer
That's my way too.
Question though: does anybody else who does this, re-use teabags? I always used to throw them away after one use, but since lockdown I tried saving a bag and reusing. I found the second cup of tea was acceptable if you mashed it for a few minutes.
Tea leaves go well in the compost, or even (when cool) as mulch for roses in tubs etc, I'd imagine that tea bags would also compost.
My urologist suggested I go caffeine free, so I now drink decaf, and as he makes the tea, Darllenwr does too, unless we’re out somewhere and I’m drinking something other than tea.
We both drink it fairly weak, and as “weak” is dependant on the server, we have taken to asking for the teabag to be left out of the pot for us to sort out. We tend to get 2 teabags even when we ask for weak tea, so this way, Darllenwr has a stock of decaf teabags in his bag, and we both get a reasonable cuppa.
Incidentally, for anyone within reasonable distance of Abergavenny, there is a tea merchant at the craft market - he has amazing selection of teas, an
A guest would, of course, accept or decline with grateful thanks whatever refreshment was on offer.
That said, I think the norm in the UK is to expect people to have normal black teabags, and milk. If I didn't have any fresh milk, I'd express my regret to my guest, and rather hesitatingly offer up the fact that I might have some UHT, or some powdered creamer (those things taste significantly enough different from normal milk that they might affect a person's desire for tea. Personally, I drink tea with milk, but if what you have is UHT, I'll drink it black.) Similarly, if all I have is instant coffee (which when I lived on my own, it was, as I don't drink coffee), I'd apologize that all I had was instant (because people who like fresh coffee might prefer tea to instant coffee.)
I was once surprised, many years ago when staying with a friend's recently ex-student older brother, that when I was offered (and gratefully accepted) tea with milk, what came was Earl Grey with milk. If I had known that the tea he had was Earl Grey, I'd have drunk it black - I wouldn't have milked it in a million years.
Here in the US, I find myself offered tea, and when I accept, I discover the dreaded followup question: "I've got chamomile or raspberry", at which point I have to change my mind.
Oh, dear.
I think I remember when that substance first came out (or at least, found its way to supermarket shelves). The brand I remember was Typhoo QT, although there may have been others. The tea itself is pretty wretched, but it's dominant flaw is the overpowering taste of reconstituted powdered milk, which is just vile.
I bought a jar - I'd have been at school at the time, and whilst water and a small electric kettle was easy to obtain, we had nowhere to attempt to keep fresh milk, and it would have been nice to have tea available on demand.
Unfortunately, it was horrible.
I also like coffee and visitors get a decent cup of tea or coffee if they come here - which they don't any more what with the pandemic - although I do have people round to the garden at times.
I remember being very excited upon starting one job to discover that they had a Klix vending machine for drinks, so the tea came with a real teabag in it and was actually drinkable, rather than the awful instant stuff I had had to studiously avoid in previous workplaces.
Or
Good pinch of lapsang souchong in the bottom of a mug. Pour on boiling water. Allow to infuse. Drink. Remove any floating ‘twigs’ as required
Or, when in China…
well that’s a whole different ball game.
I also drink matcha tea, which I whisk in a little bowl.
My husband loved the tea ceremony he had at every business meeting. We have a tea pouring board so that when my husband wants Chinese tea he can pour the oolong over the little cups first, as well as the tea pets.
Ooh. Please let us know more about these tea pets. I think I need one.
I am captivated with the idea of their company for solitary drinking
About microwaving the water - Just. Don't. Back in the bad old days, the French microwaved the water for tea all the time. It makes a scummy foam on the top and it's Not Nice. Tea has become fashionable in France these days, and electric kettles are much more widespread, but if there isn't one, heat the water in a pan on the hob.
Boo. You should be ashamed.
Black tea may also be red. Oolong is a class of tea by itself, as is white. Green teas vary a lot as well. Tea is tea. Other things are something else. See canned capitalism below.
From the tenor and content of some posts on this thread you might consider drinking canned capitalism instead (Coca Cola). Teabag I suppose has its place. There is also real ale and beer made of corn calling itself the king of beers. We might compare alco pop also: just bring me powdered koolaid.
Milk is an idea created to cut through the bitterness of shattered tea leaves which cannot help their bitterness. Lemon is a similar adulterant, designed to mask inferior crapola.
I've been racking my brains for a really good riff on this, because the thread title really does sound like a feed line.
Good quality tea. So long as you have quality it doesn’t matter if it is in a bag. Muslin bags are best. Many quality tea bags contain leaves and stalk. Stalk has a lot of flavour. The tips are the best though. Put tea in pot. Boil water. Water must be boiling to move the tea around which both creates the flavour and allows air into the tea. Steep for 3-5 mins depending on type. For a blend 3 mins should suffice. If using proper tea china put milk in first. Pour tea. Use a strainer if necessary. Charge customer £4:00.
Unless you are serving a specific tea known as white tea then is served black or with milk. Coffee is served black, with hot milk or cream. There is no such thing as white tea or coffee