By John

When sipping your tea, it’s always nice to take a small break and have a snack with your brew. I like having a cookie or a biscuit on the side. But personal choice changes with the type of tea you brewed.

John

These great tea tips keep me enjoying tea all year long. I like hot tea anytime, but cold tea is great in hot weather outside or in a nice cozy warm home by the fireplace.

What Should be Served with Tea?

#1 Tea Tip

“Make sure you dunk it. In saying that, make sure the food you dunk won’t break apart in your cup”.

John

My favorite is the sticky buns or cinnamon rolls depending on what country you’re in. I’m talking about the rolls that are a raised rolled sweet bread. They are amazing with butter melted on top. Any frosting will overpower the flavor of the tea due to its sweetness. Scones are nice depending on who makes them. Tea cakes are really nice especially since there are many types and flavors to choose from. Then there are the biscuits, my favorite are sweet bread biscuits from England. Check out this site for English ‘biscuits’.

Serving Brewed Tea in a Mug or Teapot

#2 Tea Tip

That is the first question that begs to be answered. Are you having a cup on a break from work, a pot of tea for dinner, or do you have a long project that requires a bit of calm alertness? There’s a right way and a wrong way to brew a cup or a pot of tea. The right way will leave you with a smooth, mellow cup of tea that lets you enjoy its flavor, and the wrong way will leave you with a bitter mess. Whether you prefer your tea bagged or loose, always start with fresh, clean, cold water.

“A cup of tea would restore my normality.”- Douglas Adams

Serving Tea in a Mug

#3 Tea Tip

Whether you are having a mug after work on the way home, as a winddown after a long day of work or play, or a quick morning cup to get you moving. There is a proper way to ensure you have a refreshing cup of your favorite blend.

Steps With Brewing Tea per Cup

• First, make sure you have your cups and teapot clean.

• Boil your water using a kettle or a saucepan. (Don’t use a microwave as it degrades the flavor of the tea. Over-boiling the water will cause oxygen to be reduced, making the tea taste flat and stale.)
• As soon as the water reaches boiling, pour over the tea.

• Use 1 tea bag per cup, or 1 teaspoon of loose tea* per cup (6 oz.).

*Prepare loose tea by placing 1-2 teaspoons of loose tea into a tea strainer, put the strainer into your cup, then pour properly heated water directly over the leaves.

• Steep the tea for the required time** for the blend you use, as indicated on the chart above. (See John’s earlier post for the chart).

• Before removing the tea bag, gently squeeze it against the side of the cup. Just the once, if you really squeeze it, it’ll taste bitter.

**Never judge tea by its color. Color comes more quickly, but flavor takes longer to develop. Allow the steeping time to fully extract the flavor. If you want to adjust the amount of tea you use and the steeping time to your taste.

• I like a splash of whole milk, but your brew is unique to you. so, add milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all.

• Most importantly, enjoy!

Remember, the best cup of tea is the one you like the best.

John

Use A Teapot

#4 Tea Tip

“Tea! Bless ordinary everyday afternoon tea!” Agatha Christie.

While there are many ways to enjoy a cup of tea, there is none more famous than a proper cup of English tea. When choosing tea, it’s important to remember most tea in England is far stronger than most American blends and they contain more bitterness and caffeine. It’s no secret that most British love their tea and throughout history and in recent years, tea has played a large role in the British culture as well as their everyday life. Despite their reputation as tea drinkers, the way you make a proper cup of tea is far from common knowledge for the average tea drinker. In paying respect to the tradition of English tea, follow these steps to make a proper cup of tea for yourself at home.

Waiting for your water to come to a boil, you can begin preparing your tea and tea-ware. The most important step is to make sure your mugs, teapot and kettle are clean. If you choose loose tea, depending on your teapot, you’ll need a strainer for your cup. Some teapots have a built-in strainer with plunger. Tea likes hot water, but a chilly teapot cools thing down. So, when using a teapot, warm the inside first with hot water, swirl, then pour it out. To speed things up, use that water to warm the cups too.

If you’re using loose leaf tea, the rule is one tea bag to an empty teapot for every three and a half ounces of water, so a seven-ounce cup of tea should be made with two teabags. Or for weaker brew, 1 teaspoon of tea per cup and one extra teaspoon for the pot itself. So, if you have a 3-cup teapot, you will use 4 teaspoons of high-quality tea in your brew. Loose leaf tea is often brewed from within a diffuser to maintain quality. Or, if you’re hosting a larger party, a teapot is the preferred method in which the tea brewed would be 1 teabag or teaspoon per person.

Steps To Make Tea in a Teapot

• Type of Tea. The first and most important step in making tea is to choose the right type of tea to brew. You will also need to determine whether you will use loose leaf or tea bags, as this will also determine the type of tea pot required to brew the tea.

• Water. Be sure to always use fresh water in your kettle for each pot. The quality of water you use will have an impact on the overall taste of your tea, so you don’t want to use water that was left in the kettle. Boil the water to at least 200 degrees F in your electric kettle or stovetop kettle.

• Ratios. While you’re waiting for the water to boil. Add one tea bag to an empty teapot for every three and a half ounces of water, so a seven-ounce cup of tea should be made with two teabags. Add two tea bags to a regular teapot or one tea bag to a mini teapot. If you’re using loose tea, add one teaspoon per person and one for the pot. Pour the hot water in and stir a bit.

• Boiling and Steeping. Once your water has reached the boiling point, remove the water from the heat and prepare to pour it into your tea pot. It is important that your water is boiling in order to fully release the flavors of the tea. Let it steep for the amount of time as described on the table.

• Remove Tea Bags. For tea bags. Remove the teabag from your teapot and throw it away. Used tea is also a great addition to your compost bin or to nourish roses. Remember to not squeeze the tea bag when using a tea pot as this can release added bitterness and cause unwanted flavors to enter your tea.

Brewing Loose Tea

• Loose Tea. For loose tea, lowly pour the water over the leaves and when your tea pot is nearly full, give the tea a good stir to infuse all of the tea leaves in the boiling water. Stirring not necessary when using an infuser.

• Steeping Time. Tea needs time to unlock all its flavor. So, this is a perfect time to munch a biscuit or plan your next holiday or vacation.

Using Stir Ins

• Stir ins. Because of the strength and bitterness of some tea blends, milk* and or sugar are commonly used to dilute and enhance the tea’s overall flavor.

• Add preferences. I like a splash of whole milk and honey, but your brew is unique to you. So, add milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all.

• Temperature. Once stirred, the tea should be nearing the perfect temperature to drink.

• Tea Traditions. Another tradition of tea has nothing to do with tea at all. Biscuits, cakes, crumpets and other pastries are often served alongside tea especially when you enjoy the tea with friends or family.

*The key to adding the right amount of milk to your tea is hidden in the color. The perfect cup will have a dark brown hue not too far from that of a coffee.

The finished cup of tea will be strong but not overly bitter, hot but not scorching, and perfect for pairing with scones or your favorite treat. At this point there is only one step left to complete in making the perfect cup of tea. Sip and enjoy!

John

Let John know that you love a good cup of tea. He also brews a great cup of coffee – or mug – or thermos. We will keep you updated on his next post. Hint, he’s thinking of compiling his favorite recipes in a cookbook!

If you enjoy herbal tea, check out this post on Rose Hip Tea. Most herbs can be made in the same way as Rose Hip Tea. John’s earlier post can be found here: The Perfect Cup of Tea in which he describes more in detail how to properly brew tea.