# How do you make a good cup of tea—and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2010, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746 "2010-05-17T11:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/41 "2010-05-18T15:26:25Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > 1. Fill stove top kettle with cold water from tap. Other than using good tea and making sure the water boils, this is an absolute key one that many people forget. Each time you make tea, empty the kettle out and refill it fresh from the cold tap. Re-boiled water makes tea taste flat. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/42 "2010-05-19T10:29:27Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > Most Brits, myself included, take milk in tea. Unless it’s Earl Grey or a fruit tea (which I don’t drink, see above). I put milk in Earl Grey. Not a lot, just a dash, but it definitely improves it. I’m sorry if that means I have to hand in my Great British Tea Drinker’s card. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/43 "2010-05-19T20:07:01Z")
I love coffee, but it’s one of my known IBD triggers. So I drink tea just about exclusively. For teabag tea, I mostly drink Twining’s English Teatime tea, though sometimes I’ll drink Plantation Mint for a change of pace. I’ve tried PG Tips, but I don’t care for it. When I make a trip to the fancy shmancy organic food store, I pick up Republic of Tea’s Raspberry Sage tea, and glory in it. Dear Og, but that’s some mighty fine tea. Iced tea is usually my drink of choice when I eat out. I want something a little more flavorful than water, but I can’t handle all the sugar of regular soda, and I find that diet sodas are repulsive. If I get iced tea, though, I can use a combination of artificial sweetener and sugar. Half a packet of sugar will kill or at least mask the foul taste of the artificial sweetener. And while Americans might suck at making hot tea in restaurants, here in the South, we generally make very good iced tea. I also like the various herbal blends that Celestial Seasonings puts out. The Sleepytime Tea is particularly good, both for relaxing and for soothing various ills. I can count on it to help ease a stuffy head or queasy stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/44 "2010-05-19T20:30:28Z")
Isn’t southern iced tea generally pre-sweetened, though? And I agree that Celestial Seasonings makes some wonderful herbals. My favorite is the Black Cherry Berry. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/45 "2010-05-19T20:45:51Z")
Irish tea brands include: [Punjana](http://www.punjana.com/shop/) (I like the Fairtrade tea bags for a caffeine fix at work). [Bewleys](http://www.buy4now.ie/Bewleys/category/Traditional_Black_Teas/2.0) While Lyons and Barry’s are very popular- Nambarrie is the local tea of choice in Belfast. It’s usually the brew on offer at work during the night shift. I’ll do my little walk around the wards at 3am and get a cup of Nambarrie and a piece of buttered toast from the nurses (night shift nurses use full-fat milk and real butter). So good. Irish tea is heavy on the Assam and brewed strong with lots of milk added by the drinker. Even the stingiest B&B owner would be sure to serve good tea, so it was probably one of the better brands. ---
**Author:** ![big\_alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@big\_alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_alex)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/46 "2010-05-19T21:52:03Z")
We get Ringtons tea. Once fortnightly the tea man calls and delivers us two packets, and tries to sell us biscuits ( their caramel wafers are better than Tunnocks) I think they sell online for those outside the North East ( and Britain) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/47 "2010-05-19T22:00:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Isn’t southern iced tea generally pre-sweetened, though? > > And I agree that Celestial Seasonings makes some wonderful herbals. My favorite is the Black Cherry Berry. Usually, you can specify “Iced tea, sweet” or “Iced tea, unsweet” in the local restaurants. If it’s a national chain, sometimes you can get presweetened tea, sometimes not. Local chains usually do have sweet tea. If you don’t specify, you’ll usually get unsweetened tea these days. Back when I was younger, though, the default was sweet tea. I think the change came about because so many diners want to use artificial sweeteners, if they want a sweet tea at all. I’ll have to try the Black Cherry Berry. ---
**Author:** ![Nightsong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nightsong/32/3083_2.png) [@Nightsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightsong)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/48 "2010-05-19T23:36:23Z")
> [@pythonzzz](#): > > I’ve repurposed an old Braun Aeromaster coffee maker to being my teamaker. The original glass carafe has been replaced with a stainless steel one. Someone else who does what I do! Works quite well with loose-leaf tea as well. Put tea leaves in filter (amount depends on type of tea), dump water into the water tank, etc. It doesn’t work too well for most green teas though, or so I’ve found. I think the water is too hot and it makes them bitter. So for those, I use the coffee maker to heat the water, then let the carafe sit for a bit off the heat until the temperature comes down slightly, then plunk in the tea bags, or if using loose leaf tea, transfer the water to something else so I can pour it over the filter basket. * * * \<\< Instead of using a loom, we’ve going to wind all the yarn into balls and adopt an infinite number of kittens. \>\> ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/49 "2010-05-20T10:15:37Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I put milk in Earl Grey. Not a lot, just a dash, but it definitely improves it. > > I’m sorry if that means I have to hand in my Great British Tea Drinker’s card. ☹ I’m sure you won’t have to, tea drinkers are a tolerant bunch.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/50 "2010-05-20T10:56:26Z")
In many east Asian countries, there are tea ceremonies or specific procedures to prepare tea. I’ve been to a few tea houses where I was taught how to do so. I think [this was the method I was shown.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongfu_tea_ceremony) The result is absolutely delicious. No milk or sugar is involved, just as I prefer it. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/51 "2010-05-20T11:25:18Z")
In my house, tea is always made with freshly-drawn cold water although I do filter mine first because it leaves a very slightly chemical aftertaste which some people dont notice but I do. At work, I follow the standard ‘mug of hot water with a bag in it’ method but if I’m at home then the teapot comes out and I’ll make a full pot - since there’s two of us tea-bellies in the house, a pot won’t last long. We have one of those wall-mounted urn things at work which I refuse to use to make tea because it’s Just. Plain. Wrong. I have insisted that we get a kettle (ok, so I bought the kettle in) so that I can make tea properly. Since then, I’ve noticed that a lot of other people use the kettle to boil water instead to using the pre-heated urn water. Victory! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746/52 "2010-05-20T20:52:54Z")
Wall-mounted urn? I don’t think I’m familiar with the concept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-good-cup-of-tea-and-why/539746.md?page=2)