Tea Skillz

smitty_p

smitty_p

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In another thread, @DonP made reference to his tea-making abilities. This intrigued me, so I began looking into how the English make tea.

You see, my wife drinks tea a lot, and I was going to try to impress her. Though, I'm not sure even that'll work!

Anyhoo, it's quite the process! They take that seriously.

So, my fellow U.K. forum-ites, please, share your tea-making secrets!

Also, if anyone else has some other special concoctions that fall under the category of tea, post 'em up.
 
Tea bag of your choice in hot water,let steep,lift it out and squish it with your fingers,throw in the trash,drink Tea.:) Well thats how i do it but im not as sofisticated as the English :)
 
The tea is the most important thing. In the morning it is Assam - really great waking-up potion. In the afternoon Darjeeling, a bit fruitier and more laid back. It is NEVER Earl Grey - a bastard potion mixed with oil of Bergamot.

So - boil the water, then pour some of the boiling water into a teapot to heat it. This is vital - tea only brews above about 97C, and if the teapot isn't preheated, the water will drop instantly to about 90 as it goes in. This is why you don't buy tea in coffee shops - the water is too cold.

Anyway, now add the tea; the usual measure is one teaspoon per person, plus one more.

Reboil the water and pour it into the teapot still boiling.

Now leave it for a few minutes - the longer the stronger. Extra time brings out more tannin which can be a bit bitter.

Pour the tea into a mug - I don't like tea cups as they let things cool down too fast.

Now add some milk until it is the colour you like. Darkish tan for me.

And that's it. Dunk your favourite biscuits and enjoy.
 
The milk part is what throws me.

My wife is from New England and does that. I'm from the Midwest and never saw it done there.

Do you use whole milk or some variety of low-fat milk?

What about sugar/sweetener?
 
smitty_p said:
The milk part is what throws me.

My wife is from New England and does that. I'm from the Midwest and never saw it done there.

Do you use whole milk or some variety of low-fat milk?

What about sugar/sweetener?
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Whole milk, and no sweetening. Sometimes I use lemon instead of milk, but the tea has to be made a whole lot weaker for that.
 
Teavana had some great stuff called samurai chai. Then they changed it and now it sucks. I got nothing.
 
I have no English heritage, but my family has always liked good tea. Not everyday, though. Brazilians drink coffee more than anything else.

We prepare it just as Don said above, preheating the pot.

Let me see if I still got pics of the pot we have here, it's pretty old, probably near 100 years.
 
Tea?

Properly as God intended it.....of course......sweet and cold
IMG_63531.jpg
 
Oh and the only brands of real tea we find here are Ahmad and Twinings, both very expensive. There's also a French brand called Casino, but the first two are much better.

No use in buying any of the local brands, they taste like rat's piss. Coffee? Brazilian. Tea? English.
 
Sérgio said:
Oh and the only brands of real tea we find here are Ahmad and Twinings, both very expensive. There's also a French brand called Casino, but the first two are much better.

No use in buying any of the local brands, they taste like rat's piss. Coffee? Brazilian. Tea? English.
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I drink Twinings tea as well, or for special times, the stuff in the picture from Fortnum and Mason Black - Fortnum & Mason. Coffee - sorry, but I prefer Guatemala. :cheers:
 
That's probably because you haven't tasted the REAL good Brazilian stuff. I tell you, when you do, you'll want nothing else.
 
Sérgio said:
That's probably because you haven't tasted the REAL good Brazilian stuff. I tell you, when you do, you'll want nothing else.
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Well, Fortnum and Mason has about twenty different kinds of Brazilian coffee. I admit I haven;t tried them all. When I found this Guatemalan one, I just stuck with it.
 
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