HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CUP OF TEA

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT CUP OF TEA

The best cup of tea depends on 3 things:

    1. The freshness and quality of the tea.

    2. The Temperature and quality of the water used.

    3. The brewing time.

Preparing your tea:

Fill your kettle with fresh cold water and bring to a full rolling boil.
Warm the tea pot with hot water as you wait for the water to boil.
Discard the water in the teapot.
Using an infuser basket or tea filter add 1 teaspoon (approx. 2 grams) of tea, or 1 teabag per cup to the pot.

Pour the hot or boiling water over the leaves or teabag in the pot. (Remember -Only water that has boiled will bring out the maximum flavour of the tea leaf.)

Agitate occasionally.

Cover and let steep for 3-5 minutes- Agitating occasionally.
Remove the leaves or teabags from the pot and pour into cups.

Add milk, lemon ,or sugar as you prefer.

Sit back. Relax. Enjoy.

WHY PRE-HEAT THE TEAPOT?

IS IT NECESSARY?

It's not absolutely necessary, but it does keep the infusion from cooling off too quickly.

Tea experts believe that this helps preserve some of the more subtle components of a fine cup of tea.

HOW HOT SHOULD THE WATER BE?

Most black tea should be infused in water that has just achieved a vigorous boil.

You may want to place a tea cozy over the teapot during infusion in order to avoid heat loss.
Green teas and oolongs however, are generally better suited to water that has cooled off slightly from the boiling point.

In general, the closer a tea is to green, the cooler the water should be.

Experiment and see how you prefer it.
If you are concerned about overheating these sorts of delicate leaves, do not place a tea cozy on the pot during the infusion, as it keeps too much heat in the pot. (Using the cozy to keep tea warm after it has finished infusing is fine.)

Some even suggest leaving the lid off the teapot when infusing green tea, to let some heat escape.

WHAT KIND OF TEAPOT SHOULD I USE?

Use a teapot that is heavy enough to hold heat well-Porcelin is often a good choice.

But there are many different kinds of teapots, all with their own particular good points and bad points.

Ceramic pots are traditional throughout most of Asia; most retain heat well (depending on the thickness of the ceramic) and many are attractively decorated. But, like all ceramics, they can chip and break.
Thick glass pots have all the advantages (and disadvantages) of ceramics, with the important difference that you can watch the tea infuse.
Some people like metal pots.

Their main disadvantage is that they conduct heat away from the infusion more rapidly than do ceramics.

Some are also rumored to give an off taste to the drink.

WHAT IS A TEA COZY?

A tea cozy is a fabric cover, much like an oven mitt, which is placed over a teapot in order to prevent heat loss.

Cozies come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Most are designed simply to cover the entire pot, handle and spout.

Some, however, are made with openings and elastic so that they cover only the body of the teapot, leaving the handle and spout exposed so that you needn't remove the cozy in order to pour the tea.
A cozy is primarily useful if you make several cups at a time and want the extra tea to remain hot in the pot until you're ready to drink it.

Note that ceramic handles tend to become very hot when the pot is kept warm in this fashion.

If you have never used a cozy, be careful!