Making a proper pot of tea is an art. Maybe not to everyone, but certainly to everyone in my family and several nations on this planet. You see, we are English (me by default). We drink a lot of tea; at least a couple of pots every morning. Husband learned how to make tea when he was seven, he was taught by dad, who learned from his dad and so on. Mum will tell you, a hot cuppa can cure almost anything that ails you and even on the warmest day, can cheer your mood. I have found this to be true, even on the hottest day in Southwest Florida.
Most Americans just don't seem to understand all the miracles contained a cuppa and will simply microwave water, use Insta-hot, or boil the water and pour directly into a cup or mug. Not husband, not mum, never dad, and clearly - not me. It has, in fact, taken me most of my marriage (17 years) to learn how to make a great pot of tea and sometimes I still get it wrong (it doesn't bother me, but husband can always tell when I haven’t followed protocol). So I’m going to teach you how to make a proper pot of English tea. (To you Brits out there, please don't be offended if you have a different technique.)
Gather your tools
- a nice kettle with the spout on the upper fourth of the kettle (so you can fill the kettle and it doesn't splatter out on you).
- a teapot - you want to look for a teapot with a long curved spout so again the tea doesn't splatter and spill .
- a cozy for your teapot (see below)
- Nice English tea - Lipton’s will not do, no siree, you need either PG Tips, Typhoo, or in an inch Tetley's now makes a British blend.
- milk and possibly sugar (we don't happen to use sugar)
Recipe for a perfect cup of tea
- Fill the kettle to about an inch below the spout with cold water.
- Set the kettle on the stove on high.
- Put three or four teabags beside your teapot. We like strong tea, so we use four. (You can use loose tea and if you like loose tea; use about four heaping teaspoons of tea in the teapot). Think of it as one bag or scoop per cup of tea, a typical teapot will make four cups of tea.
- Wait for the kettle to come to a full roaring boil; this is so the water is fully oxygenated. The oxygenated water will open the flavor in the tea leaves. If you are using your whistle, do not take the water off the minute the whistle blows, open your spout and let the water boil until the steam is very heavy.
- Pour a little (about a ½ cup) of the boiling water into the pot and swirl around to warm the pot, dump it out, and then put the tea bags/loose tea in the teapot and pour the still boiling water over the tea. The trick to pouring the water is to wait a few seconds and let the water settle a little so it doesn't jump up and bite you, no one wants a hot water bite!! Ouch!!!
- Put the lid on the teapot and cover with the tea cozy. This is almost as important as boiling the water. Let the tea steep for about 6 minutes. Pour a couple of tablespoons of milk in the bottom of our tea cup or mug and then pour the tea in. If you like it sweet, put the sugar in as well. Do not pour the milk into the boiling hot tea as your milk will curdle. The milk and sugar always go in the bottom first so the cold milk cools the hot tea as it enters the cup.
I enjoy my tea in a mug made by my girls!
- Enjoy your cuppa!
Since the subject is a perfect cup of tea, then "English" is superfluous. A perfect cup of tea by being perfect is by default English - and without exception hot with a little milk.
Of course the only perfect cup of tea is English! Thank you for pointing that out!!