Tea for two
These inscrutable orientals are above the Twinings shop in The Strand.
Tea, and the tea trade, has played a major part in shaping the world's history, so....
How to make a perfect cup of leaf tea.
Choose your tea - Assam is a strong tea with body, Ceylon is a little lighter - experiment! Empty the kettle and fill with fresh water (let the tap run a while). Boil, and use a little water to warm the pot. Pour out this water, and put in a teaspoon of tea for each person, an extra one "for the pot" AND (top tip coming here) a pinch of Earl Grey tea. Pour on the boiling water and let draw for a few minutes. Pour, add milk or lemon and sugar to taste. Enjoy!
posted by Ham at 00:02 --
Comments here: 11
Comments on "Tea for two"
-
Michael Salone said ... (00:39) :
-
midnitebara said ... (03:07) :
-
Anonymous said ... (04:00) :
-
Ham said ... (10:48) :
-
Anonymous said ... (12:29) :
-
Nicola said ... (12:58) :
-
SisinWah said ... (21:25) :
-
Anonymous said ... (03:14) :
-
Ham said ... (00:30) :
-
Anne said ... (07:58) :
-
Cheltenhamdailyphoto said ... (20:09) :
post a commentWell now I finally know how to make tea for my British friends (who always gasp at my instant and iced versions). But tell me, why the pinch of Earl Grey?
Thanks for that lesson. About those chinese, I like the way the one with the yellow shirt kind of look at me.Nice pic.
You are obviously an expert tea maker. I find people don't boil the water to the right temperature. I like to have the steam a yard long before pouring from the kettle.
Michael - the pinch of Earl Grey adds to the body of the flavour, without being detectable.
Jean - I reckon that it is most important to get the pot warm, doesn't matter how much you boil it - water doesn't get hotter than 100 degrees. Tea is best brewed at around 95 degrees, so the longer you can keep it at that temperature the better.
Manuel - this thread and comments from Ms Witch's brewing cauldron probably has more than you want about the subject of milk in tea!
Pete - So number 32 has improved, huh? But I do have a pet hate about people putting too much milk into tea - no matter when it is added. As a matte of interest, I always believed that the etiquette based milk first arises from the confidence that the tea is made perfectly and you don't need to see how strong it is.
Chris - you can't taste it, really! (and it improves Tetley, too)
I like to put milk in second. I gather the queen does too, and if that's true it must have some deep significance but it escapes me.
Thanks for the tea brewing lesson! I'll have to try out what you mentioned with the pinch of Earl Grey! Very interesting! Thanks for sharing the secret!!!
I'm sorry to say, I'm not that much into tea - the tea I had in boarding school was so bad that I never fully recovered... So, I'm more of a coffee drinker. But I do like Earl Grey very much and I should start cultivating the art of tea drinking. And I shall follow the recipe (but no milk for me)! Thanks.
After all it was also a Portuguese woman - Queen Catherine, wife of Charles II - who introduced the custom of tea drinking to the English aristocracy!
Lovely photo, very interesting blog.
A nice reminder of the things we value here
nicola - let me know how you like it!
julia - thanks!
sisiwah - I have to admin that I didn't know how it was introduced, fascinating. I have VERY little milk in my tea,too.
michael - thanks, I think I'll have a cup now and image I was sitting down watching the sun go down in Port Villa... perfect!
I love twinnings tea! Thanks for the lesson on tea preps :)
I live near a tiny village in Gloucestershire called Twyning. When writing an article about it, i found out that the original Twinings family comes from there, finally moving to LONDON to 'start up in business'. You can find details on the Twinings site.