The perfect cup of tea

Cafe Society
1

Britain’s Royal Society of Chemistry has released the results of its research on how to make the “perfect cup of tea”. I seem to remember several threads on this topic previously, but I can’t seem to find any of them. (When you can’t search for words less than four letters long, threads about tea are hard to resurrect…) An article is here, http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1516&ncid=1516&e=7&u=/afp/20030625/od_afp/science_lifestyle_tea_030625165521

No real shocking revelations, I’d say. Just about any good book on tea will tell you the same things that the scientists are saying: Use one rounded teaspoonful of loose-leaf tea per cup; steep with freshly boiled, soft water in a pre-warmed, ceramic teapot; and brew for three to four minutes.

Somewhat more controversially, the scientists recommend Assam tea (which is certainly understandable coming from British tea drinkers) and have come down on the “milk-first” side

Me personally? No milk or sugar, please. And give me Darjeeling, if you have it.

2

When I first came to England on holiday I was taught the “milk first” way of making tea. Nice cuppa every time.

On subsequent trips, then moving over, most everyone else I know adds the milk afterwards. Rarely a bad cuppa.

It also depends on the water temperature (yes it is usually boiling but people also just use a hot pot - yuk), the hardness of the water and the length of time the tea bag is left in for.

Many factors involved, thus the difficulty in creating the perfect formula and methodology. Too many “it depends…”

3

Ahh, but can you trot a mouse across it?

4

This does refer to Guiness Stout, no?

Best line I’ve seen all day.

5

Almost only used in reference to tea. Could however refer to most Irish foods and beverages :slight_smile: We like it all strong.

Strong enough to trot a mouse across, and with enough sugar so the teaspoon stands up straight. Metal teapot for me, must be warmed in advance. Mmmm… cha…

6

Milk first? Milk first!?

The hell they say! These so-called “scientists” are obviously in the pocket of some fat-cat megacorp with a vested interest in people continuing the foul heresy of pouring their milk in first. Milk in first is vulgar, and probably unhygenic.

And “freshly boiled”!? I’ll have those labmonkeys know that tea must be made on the boil or nothing. You might as well throw away a cup of tea that was made any other way.

I’m the grandson of a teamaker and I take my tea seriously :wink:

7

I’m an American from Tennessee, so I like my tea cold and with lots of lemon. I’ve never understood how you can drink it hot and with… ugh… milk. :eek:

Hey, hey… put down the torches and pitchforks!

8

I’m sorry, Mr Tambo, I believe my paraphrase of the article may have misled you. What they meant was that the water should be freshly drawn from the tap and boiled immediately; i.e., don’t let the water sit around and, of course, no re-boiling of water. Sorry for the confusion.

Tea bag? Tea bag?!? You can’t get a good cup of tea that way!

I think you lose an awful lot of flavor for just a small increase in convenience with tea bags. Try a good-quality, orthodox method, loose-leaf tea and see if you don’t agree with me.

9

I’m halfway with the Tennessee vote. No milk, please.

Take it like the Russians take vodka or the Kentucky Colonel takes his bourbon…neat, please.

A hot cuppa on a cold day (Okay, I have to go to Alaska to accomplish it) is just fine.

10

You can if yer Irish, we get the best tea due to having the highest per-capita tea consumption in the world, so bags are grand. Lyons or Bewleys for my preference :slight_smile:

11

Well, this may degenerate into a Great Debate, but here are my reasons why tea bags are bad (or at least boring):[ul][li]The tea in bags is almost always made with the CTC (crush, tear, curl) method. Basically, the lightly withered tea leaves get run through a tobacco cutter. It’s a lot cheaper and faster to make tea that way rather than the “orthodox” method, but I contend that it makes for less “interesting” tea. It’s the little differences in processing the various orthodox method teas that give them character, I think.[/li]
[li]The tea in bags is made from a grade of tea appropriately termed “dust”. Sometimes that dust isn’t just ground tea leaves, either. Basically, it’s whatever sifts through (including bits of stem and bark) after the other grades have been sorted out. I want to taste the tea and not the stems, bark, and whatever the workers on the line empty out of their shoes at the end of each shift. :)[/li]
[li]You never know how old the tea in tea bags is. Now, admittedly, if you live in the country with the world’s highest per-capita tea consumption, you can be fairly sure your tea hasn’t sat on the shelf too long; but for the rest of us it’s pretty hit-or-miss. There was a reason for those clipper-ship races of yore: fresh tea tastes better. With a loose leaf tea (especially Darjeelings), you usually know what year and even what crop (first flush, second flush, etc.) you’re getting. But with tea bags, who knows?[/li]
[li]Tea bags are always[sup][/sup] blended teas. Now blends can be reliable, but they’re boring. A single estate tea is like a single-malt whisky, in my opinion: Unique and enjoyable in a way that some generic blend designed to appeal to the least common denominator could never be.[/ul]Come on, Iteki, give loose-leaf teas a try. There are some excellent single-estate Assams (like Mokalbari) that I’m sure will appeal to an Irishman.[/li][sup][/sup]Somebody prove me wrong. Do any estates actually put out their own tea bags? I’ve never seen any.

12

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

13

I have tried lots of loose leaf, it is what I generally resort to when my supplies from Ireland run out. I stand fast by the Holy Trinity of Barrys, Lyons and Bewleys :smiley: I will however check out the tea you mentioned later in the week, sounds intersting :slight_smile: but the question is does it make a “cup of tea” or a “cuppa tae” :wink:

14

chukhung, I’ve tried many a loose-leaf tea. Whilst they do tend to be much nicer, the hassle and cost involved tends to put me off a bit.

I’m American, too, Aesiron, but live in England. Have you tried putting milk in iced tea? Yummy! Scares the beejeezus out of restaurant staff.

The only tea I drink milk-less is herbal tea. Proper tea has milk and sugar (yeah, I’m a heathen).

Can we hear more about your tea history ** Mr Tambo **?

15

Ahem. Well… :slight_smile:

My maternal grandfather was a teaplanter in Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon). He harvested and prepared the tea, and took his tea very, very seriously.

Possibly apocryphal story told about him: once, deep in the ocean on a sea-voyage, the captain had procured for him, at great expense, a spoonful of Ceylonese tea and personally made him a cup, not daring to entrust so important a task to an underling. You have to picture the scene; very stormy ocean, ten foot waves, lightning flashing overhead, the crew scurrying about in a panic and the captain; a great, redbearded Irishman ever so carefully making the tea.

He brought it to my grandfather on a silver tray, and, surrounded by the first mate, the second mate, the bosun, the midshipmen, the ableseamen right the way down to the ship’s prisoner, specially released from the brigs, they watched with nervous pride for him to drink the tea.

My grandfather took one sip, and then poured the whole cup out of a porthole. “You didn’t make it on the boil”, he said.
Annnyway, my mother has lots of stories about living on a tea-plantation and insists on getting tea from Sri Lanka. I have grown up even more indoctrinated in the ways of tea than my fellow countrymen. I drink about ten cups of tea a day, and tend to treat tea as an adequate substitute for food, human relations and sleep (coffee? Yuck).

… all this talk of tea has made me thirsty. Off I go to the soothing hiss of the kettle and the comforting splosh of the hot water hitting the bottom of the cup…

:wink:

16

Feh. That always tasted like medicine to me. When you’re not playing starship captain, you might try Lapsang Souchong. It’ll put hair on your chest. Or remove it.

DD

17

Um… isn’t it true that most “loose-leaf” teas are also crush-tear-curl? And isn’t it a travesty, also? Is it possible to buy whole-leaf tea? In the States? Where? How much?

18

I’m a milk firster myself but here’s an interesting rant -
-CUPPA-

19

Ah ha - I’ve watied for AGES for a thread which I actually have a skill in - and now my time in the spotlight has come . . .

As an Englishman, and bought up making tea for my cranky (and very particular about tea) father, I have become something of an expert on making tea, and I can impart to you these helpful hints.

Here, I will cover the two main ways to make tea - teapot and mug.

However, the type of tea has been mentioned. As I am poor, I can only comment on the blends, rather than the single-malts! Independent taste tests have shown that Yorkshire tea of PG Tips to be the superior types of tea - I prefer PG Tips myself. I can’t comment on leaves rather than bags - I would imagine that the taste is richer, but as I say, I drink FAR too much tea, and am far too poor, to worry about these kind of things.

For the teapot . . .

The teapot MUST be porclain rather than metal. This is because over the years, the tea sticks to the inside of the pot, making the tea richer and more flaversome. This is why you NEVER, EVER wash the teapot - and why there should be lots of black tea-stains on the inside of a good teapot.

As has been mentioned, water must be new, and just on the boil. If you know your kettle, you can pour it in JUST as it’s boiling. As soon as the water’s in, put ina tea cosy - there’s nothign worse than cold tea when it’s supposed to be hot. Just before pouring the tea, stir the tea and squish the bags - more flavour released.

Milk is poured into the cup FIRST. As has been mentioned, the milk can separate, and it tastes nasty. It also shows increased skill - to get the teas to the desired strength when the milk is in first is a show of your profissioncy at making tea, and i sure to find you a wife. Then add the sugar, pour the tea, stir, and enjoy!

For the mug, the teabag and the sugar must be added first. Again, the water is poured into the mug just on the boil. Then stir like crazy, squeezing the bag until the flavour runs down the side (as it were). Don’t leave for too long however; there will be black bits floating in the tea otherwise (where that’s from, I have no idea). The milk can be added last in this case; however, stir the mug while the mlk is being added - this will allow evn distribution of the milk, and stop all teh nasty effects that have been highlighted above.

These method shave allowed me to make tea for friends, family, and co-workers, with huge success. Tea has soothed the savage beasts that inhabit my world on many an occasion.

20

Why in the world would any sensible person make their tea on the boil? That’s not the way you’re going to drink it, is it? It can’t be good for the prepared tea to sit for a half-hour while it cools down enough to drink. No, the water ought to be heated to just higher than one’s preferred drinking temperature, so that when it finishes steeping, it’s ready to drink.

And I’m no conneiseur of fine teas, but I will say that the teas we were served in the Irish bread-and-breakfasts were simply marvelous, evendespite most of them being from bags. By contrast, the one time I ventured to try Earl Grey, I almost swore off Star Trek, it was so foul.