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I've finally got to the point where I can make an acceptably nice* coffee with the Bialetti, but the thought occurs that I only have the one a day in the morning, and I drink tea for the rest of the day. In tea terms, I'm very agricultural - PG Tips (or whatever brand is on offer at the supermarket) teabags, a pretty mild brew, dash of whatever milk (currently running Alpro Soya, which I really like in the coffee). Am I missing some kind of middle-class artisan tea-making magic, or is that as good as it needs to be? I quite like the small time investment and process of making a nice coffee* - is there a tea equivalent?
* To me, anyway - YMMV. 🙂
PS - attempts at humour by linking to the video of the American lady making "English tea" in the microwave will be silently treated with the contempt they deserve. 😉
Have a look at https://www.ringtons.co.uk/
their Gold teabags are way better than any of the usual brands for a few pence more.
They do a decent range of loose leaf teas, if you want a bit more faff.
They also do a pretty cool tea infuser for use with their loose leaf teas.
Easy. You need loose leaf tea, a decent pot and a tea strainer.
Ideally the pot should be china or porcelain.
Boil the kettle, and pour water into the pot. Swirl or let it stand for a few seconds, then empty it.
Add a teaspoonful of leaf tea to the pot for every cup you want to make, plus an extra one. An extra two if you want to use a mug.
Reboil the kettle and pour water into the pot.
Let it stand for three minutes. Stir the contents and allow it to settle for a few seconds.
Put milk in the cup first.
Then pour the tea from the pot into the cup via a strainer.
Personal favourite tea is Assam. I personally like Sainsbury Taste the Difference Fairtrade Assam. Others may have different tastes to mine, but it has the strength and malty flavours that I enjoy.
Mr Scape bought me the pot a few Christmases ago. It's from M&S and has the benefit of not dribbling when you pour
Yorkshire Tea end of thread...
The beauty of tea is there is so little faff, do not overthink it :-).
I go through phases of buying loose tea and faffing around but always slip back to just using teabags (standard Yorkshire at the moment given I bought a 3+kg bag of them) although currently going through a teapot using phase, mostly because I can brew up more and its surprising how long the tea will stay warm with a tea cosy over the teapot
Used to have a copy of BS 6008:1980 on the wall above the kettle its now been superseded by ISO 3103:2019 international standard for brewing tea.
A lot of loose leaf tea is now very dusty and difficult to brew a nice clear cup of tea without having very fine tea strainer.
Five minutes for black tea, brewed in a pot. Loose tea or otherwise. Time it. For finer teas such as Jasmine or milky oolong, three minutes. PG Tips and Thames water do not mix. Yorkshire tea is very good, but there are plenty of others. If you brew for too short a period, you won't get the flavour.
Get one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TFA-Dostmann-38-2035-04-Cube-Timer-digital/dp/B079J8WFND
PG Tips here, none of that Yorkshire muck. Why complicate things, part of the beauty of a cuppa is the simplicity.
I switched to loose leaf a few weeks ago, after the bbc programme about micro plastics presence in tea bags, there is definitely an improvement in taste, I particularly like the ‘topping - up’ option you get with brewing in a pot too!
Don't consider myself an officianado but do like a decent cuppa and drink a fair bit of it so wont tolerate crap. Like with coffee, there is a point where you hit that point beyond which you get diminishing returns. You can hit that point without too much faff of hard to get loose leaf tea and fancy equipment. Just like with coffee, its about a balance of faff and convenience and flavour.
Two important bits for me - the temperature of the water and getting a half decent tea bag.
For me the water has to be boiling. A few degrees off boiling and you don't get the same flavour. If you have a kettle the pour as soon as the button clicks off while the water is still bubbling, but I've got a Quooker tap. Brilliant. Seemingly expensive on the face of it but cheaper than a high end espresso/coffee machine and you can use it for alot of other things too and its the only hot tap you can buy that delivers boiling water. All the others are at 98 degrees or cooler and those 2 degrees make all the difference.
So pre-heat mug, pop in decent tea bag and pour over boiling water and steep for as long as your preferred flavour demands and don't squeeze out the tea bag against the side of the mug with your spoon. Simples.
You can go to alot more faff with teapots and tea leaves you can only get from one website when certain planets align, and that faff might produce a better cup of tea...but it will only be ever so slightly better and not worth the additional faff, inconvenience, time and cost.
Assam small leaf tea from John Watt & Sons in Carlisle, brewed in a decent tea pot.
You can't really get much better than that.
https://www.johnwatt.co.uk/product/assam-small-leaf/
Milk last!!!
Tea before milk tastes like silk, milk before tea tastes like wee!
At least make sure you get that right 🙂
I definitely live in a parallel universe to people on here.
PG Tips is crap, Yorkshire Tea has no taste with Hampshire water (must be the chalk) and if you want a strong tea flavour just buy Assam. I like Tetley, cos it's strong and tastes of tea. (Even in my huge STW Lockdown mug).
Why would you want to faff around with loose leaves and a teapot when it just goes cold within a few minutes? Tea should be hot. And at a strength YOU LIKE. Not what other people tell you!
Yorkshire tea or twinings everyday. I use loose leaf after I get given it at Xmas (usually T2 or Whittard flavoured tea). Good tea bags just easier and make a decent brew.
My wife is almost up their with Guy Martin and her consumption of tea, chief. She swears by Sainsbury's Gold tea bags. Twinings strong English breakfast teabags will do at a pinch.
Too lazy and can't be arsed with loose leaf tea.
PG Tips here, none of that Yorkshire muck. Why complicate things, part of the beauty of a cuppa is the simplicity.
This, especially the suggestion not to overcomplicate matters.
Don't over think it but do listen to Sean
Hippy tea for me. T2 green rose and others.
Oh and F&M, T2 and Booth's loose leaf Earl Grey with milk.
We're big fans of the http://brewteacompany.co.uk they make little pots with a strainer in so loose leaf tea is easy.
They make the most delicious Earl Grey and I'd go far as saying that the Chai blend the do is as good as the Dishoom recipe without the faff.
Would reccomed
The key bit for me is to use a tea-pot, even for teabags. Never ever brew in a mug. I've got one of the Brew Tea Company pots and I do like their breakfast tea. If you fancy something stronger - go for a Kenyan tea.
Personally I like my tea a bit milky, but that is a personal choice.
Our last big holiday was cycling in Sri Lanka. Heaven - visiting tea plantations during the rides. What more could a cycling tea drinker want!
Aldi Earl Grey tea bags. A bargain and they taste fantastic. The last time Which reviewed Earl Grey teas they were second, beating tea from Harrods and Fortnum and Mason that cost considerably more. Off the top of my head I think they are about 90p for 50.
Agree with Aldi Earl Grey.... very tasty cuppa.
We’re big fans of the> http://brewteacompany.co.uk
Ordered. Will try Aldi as it's useful having some EG tea bags as well.
longdog
Free Member
Milk last!!!
Tea before milk tastes like silk, milk before tea tastes like wee!
At least make sure you get that right 🙂
Not quite right. I agree if you are a lazy heathen and make your tea in a mug (which I will admit to occasionally doing) then milk last. Otherwise you reduce the temperature of the liquid to well below boiling and end up with an insipid milky nightmare.
However, if you have used the correct procedure and made a pot of tea, milk in first tastes much better and reduces the likelihood of scum on the top.
For tea bags, Clipper are my favourite and are now plastic free so can go in the compost. Loads of great loose leaf teas and even the supermarket varieties will taste better than bags.
I'm lucky enough to be in walking distance of https://goldenmonkeyteacompany.co.uk/
My regular everyday tea is their Margaret's Hope Darjeeling, made in a pot or in a mug with an infuser. This is a totally different drink to anything I've ever had from a tea bag. Also quite fond of the Vanilla Black.
Accept no substitute:
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Finum-Control-66-428-40-10-Mechanism/dp/B003VQRGWU/
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Finum-Control-66-428-40-10-Mechanism/dp/B003VQRGWU/
/a>
The Aeropress of the tea world. Tea pot with integrated strainer, when you've brewed to the desired strength you twist the lid and it isolates the leaves from the brew. Plop out a block of leaves into the bin when you're done. Comes is several sizes from 0.4L "big mug" to over a litre.
Thomson tea bags are the best imo
Good flavour and on offer in tesco at the moment
£1.50 for a box of 60 iirc
Punjana has had a re brand but is still in red packaging
Irish samw name and still green
Boil kettle
Throw 1 bag into cup
1/4 fill with boiling water
Wait 10 seconds
Top up mug to half way
Wait 10 seconds
Fill up to 3/4 full
Wait 15 seconds
Remove tea bag without ringimg it out and releasing all the tannin
Add 10ml of milk
Drink and enjoy whilst very hot
Yorkshire Tea has no taste with Hampshire water (must be the chalk)
This is important, the water makes a huge difference.
I'm a big fan of Yorkshire Tea, so when I moved abroad I took lots with me, but it never worked well there. After lots of experiments I discovered that M&S Gold tasted best with the local water.
I'm back in the uk now, and back with Yorkshire.
1/4 fill with boiling water
Wait 10 seconds
Top up mug to half way
Wait 10 seconds
Fill up to 3/4 full
Wait 15 seconds
Remove tea bag
You do know I can ban you for crimes like this, right?
Actually, whilst I'm being a tea fascist, can we put this whole "milk in first" bullshit to bed once and for all.
The notion of pouring milk first serves one purpose. It's to protect delicate bone china teacups against potential damage from scalding hot tea (and cheaper alternatives tended to be a bit explody). That's it.
If you're using a teapot but, as is highly likely (but this is STW so who knows), not in fact sipping from delicate bone china teacups with your pinkie in the air and a crustless cucumber sandwich on the side then it doesn't make the blindest bit of difference.
If you're putting the milk in first in a mug with a teabag, I will delete your account on grounds of extreme deviance.
My ex used to do milk first..... even when making my tea!
TETLEY the pinnacle of brew soffisticashon, Yorkshire Tea is just the floor sweepings from that PG Tips muck.
Loose tea leaf
Yorkshire Gold
Get some Tea samples from Mei Leaf and good small tea-pot or, better still, a gaiwan and welcome to the world of real tea. Better still give yourself a couple of hours and go into Mei Leaf if you're in London or Pekoe Tea in Edinburgh and just ask them to make you tea drunk.
Welcome to the world of middle-class artisan tea-making magic.
a gaiwan
50/50 loose leaf assam/earl grey mix here. Waitrose stuff is good. Doesn't matter what you make it in, cafetiere will do for ease of straining. Boiling water, stir, 5 min steep.
Tea bags are ok for convenience but...plastic free and must contain tea leaves, not dust so that rules out the volume brands.
Loose tea by preference; for a great selection here in little ol' Lincoln...
https://imperialteas.co.uk/tea
Freshly boiled water at 100C kills some teas so I'm tempted by a variable temperature kettle like this...
https://www.johnlewis.com/smeg-klf04-temperature-controlled-kettle/cream/p3327265
As pointed out ^^^ some teas can be re-brewed and this can bring out more flavour.
No milk in tea - ever.
If you’re putting the milk in first in a mug with a teabag, I will delete your account on grounds of extreme deviance.
That seems a perfectly acceptable use of your powers. The teabag and the milk must not be in the mug together. Ever.
Though it might explain the kind of people behind some of the posts on here sometimes.
My 2p worth.
I drink pretty much nothing but tea. I drink a LOT of tea.
My favourites are, in no particular order ,and it will be become clear why later,
Yorkshire Gold
Co -Op Assam in the nice psychedelic grey and orange box,
Whatever my oldest daughter uses, cos her brews are magical.
I am of the opinion that the last 1/3 of a bag of 180 tea bags is wasted because my taste buds get used to it, so I tend to buy small packs of a few different types and rotate them. By the time I get "used" to a particular brand , its run out and I'm on to another. Might seem a bit poncey but I love my brews and thats what I do.
Never leave your teabags open to the environment, even though it smells fantastic, otherwise your brew will be very disappointing, much like finding the top hobnob in the packet goes damp. My dog gets that one every time, I don't even bother any more. Same with the top teabag in an open container, just dont bother.
People who put milk in first are to be held in great suspicion as it is pure vandalism.
Brews must be stirred clockwise. I can tell the difference.
And any one who puts milk in a brew, leaves it go cold then microwaves it thinking I wont know the difference, gets left out of the will. I'm looking at daughter number 2 here.
Definitely loose tea. Despite being Yorkshire I'm not keen on Yorkshire tea. Too strong for my taste. Chez Slow we like various Waitrose brews - Breakfast Blend, Assam, Kenya, Darjeeling.
I just don’t have time to faff around with teapots, although I do have a lovely red one from the Tea Emporium in Bath, with matching cups, in which I will brew Oolong or green or silver loose leaf.
The rest of the time, especially at 5.30 in the morning, I’ll stick a Yorkshire Tea bag in a mug, some milk, then top up with boiling water and gently stir until the tea has reached the desired shade of mid to dark brown. Milky, but strong - I can’t judge the strength without milk as a guide; water in first, and I always find I have to pour some away because it overflows when I put the milk in. Been making tea for over half a century, I think I might have a clue by now.
I do take one of those fancy new thermos-type insulated bottle things to work with green tea in; I use Twinings green tea bags, I put a bag into a small half-pint Pyrex jug, fill the bottle with boiling water, wait a minute, pour the water into the jug, let it steep for a couple of minutes and pour back into the heated bottle.
Keeps hot enough to drink for hours, and doesn’t stew and taste manky like tea with milk does.
or milky oolong
Milky Oolong? Are you mad? How dare you, sir! Oolong is the emperor of teas, Black Dragon, and its delicate peach flavour should NEVER be polluted with milk! Scoundrel!
Been making tea for over half a century, I think I might have a clue by now
I once had a holiday job helping out the old store keeper in a factory. He brewed up in an enamel mash tin. Tea, water, sugar, condensed milk (!!) all in and left to "brew". He had probably been doing this for over half a century and he clearly had no clue.
Hello friends - just wanted to say thank you for all the advice, and I will never make tea (for myself) with teabags again. 🙂
I’m sending this thread to my wife (I’m a coffee man).
Presently she’s on a French cast iron teapot, Assam tea (loose), 5 minute brew and milk in the mug, then tea from the pot. And if her loving husband makes it for her that’s a bonus.
Though I did get her to try an espresso with a rose water liqueur cream this morning, which went down well.
Biggest difference I have found was the hardness of the water - soft water = great cup of tea, hard water = poor cup of tea. I grew up in a soft water area and never ahd sugar in my tea; when I moved to a hard water area it took me years to drink tea without sugar and even now after several years still tastes a bit odd.
My wife grew up in the Harrogate locality and whilst Yorkshire Tea is acceptable, Ringtons is first choice. Several bags of Northumbrian Gold is what we've just had delivered.
Suki teapot as it pours well with no drip. Infuser is fine as long as you use proper, non dusty, tea.
Personally, I think tea's just compost gravy.
Hello friends – just wanted to say thank you for all the advice, and I will never make tea (for myself) with teabags again. 🙂
But but but, that's half a story.
What are you going to do instead? Enquiring minds want to know! (Because this is STW and we want to be able to tell you that you're still doing it wrong.)
The point about a pot being a good pourer is often overlooked. You can have the most beautiful pot in the world but if it doesn't pour properly it's useless.
When I was a student in Spain the barman in my local bar made tea by frothing UHT milk then dipping a tea bag in it.
Tea as drunk in the middle east is pretty good - strong, black and served in a small glass super-saturated with sugar.
Earl Grey tea came about because Chinese tea merchants sometimes adulterated tea with sand or iron filings to increase the weight. One shipment reached London adulterated with dried bergamot rind and tea drinkers loved it and asked for the same again.
Barry's tea is great in hard water. Super strong and tasty. Loved it when I lived in Cork which is soft water, and then bought it back to UK where I think it's even better in the hard water of Brighton (but don't tell the MiL that). Comes up a lovely orangey hue compared to PG tips which is always an insipid grey.
Yorkshire Gold is second choice
Us Brits are weird about tea.
I settled on Tick Tock Earl Grey bush tea with a little oat milk or sweetened soy milk. That’s my favourite by a good distance, but any half-decent black tea is also good (with a little sweetness added)
Just been sent to make tea, I correct myself, it's actually a For Life teapot.