If we're going to get into a discussion about how to make tea I'm going to have to fall back to an absolutist position I'm afraid:
http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A61345
If we're going to get into a discussion about how to make tea I'm going to have to fall back to an absolutist position I'm afraid:
http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A61345
The only problem is some of the Ceylon tea I had here is rather average. The problem is that some of the cheaper stuff is somewhat lower grown,and different grades of leaf does affect flavour too,as is the grading of the final particle size. I didn't entirely believe it until I actually visited some of the plantations and tried it myself.
Edit!!
This is what annoys me - for a tea drinking country we have rather rubbish options for tea in general. You can get multiple types of coffee for one country(like Columbia),even down to specific regions or even a few plantations. You don't see the same with tea unless you find some specialist shop.
Plus you can get fine coffee,coarsely ground coffee,etc easily. Rarely do we see such availability of different tea leaf particle size.
Galant (07-01-2016)
Not drinking milk in my tea I've never concerned myself with milk in first or last.
The British Standard for test comparisons suggests milk first, although it clarifies that if milk is added after water the water should have cooled. And Scaryjim's Hitchhiker's Guide entry on tea also says milk in first - whilst acknowledging that this goes against social convention and that said social convention is stupid.
Milk guys - any hard preferences?
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Here's the British Standard:
To maintain consistent results, the following are recommendations given by the standard:
The pot should be white porcelain or glazed earthenware and have a partly serrated edge. It should have a lid that fits loosely inside the pot.
If a large pot is used, it should hold a maximum of 310 ml (±8 ml) and must weigh 200 g (±10 g).
If a small pot is used, it should hold a maximum of 150 ml (±4 ml) and must weigh 118 g (±10 g).
2 grams of tea (measured to ±2% accuracy) per 100 ml boiling water is placed into the pot.
Freshly boiling water is poured into the pot to within 4–6 mm of the brim. Allow 20 seconds for water to cool.
The water should be similar to the drinking water where the tea will be consumed
Brewing time is six minutes.
The brewed tea is then poured into a white porcelain or glazed earthenware bowl.
If a large bowl is used, it must have a capacity of 380 ml and weigh 200 g (±20 g)
If a small bowl is used, it must have a capacity of 200 ml and weigh 105 g (±20 g)
If the test involves milk, then it is added before pouring the infused tea.
Milk added after the pouring of tea is best tasted when the liquid is between 65 - 80 °C.
5 ml of milk for the large bowl, or 2.5 ml for the small bowl, is used.
Wikipedia specifies that:
"This standard is not meant to define the proper method for brewing tea, but rather how to document tea brewing procedure so sensory comparisons can be made. An example of such test is a taste-test to establish which blend of teas to choose for a particular brand or basic label in order to maintain a consistent tasting brewed drink from harvest to harvest."
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I'm not really a tea drinker but the wife is - she requested I treat her to some very posh teabags for Christmas (http://www.lakeland.co.uk/17666/Char...-Breakfast-Tea ) I'm told they were worth it !
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A different one to try is Japanese genmaicha. It's green tea with rice. It has a sort of malty taste. A lot of people I know who have tried it, liked it. Definitely different, but a really nice drink. So if you're after a different taste I'd definitely recommend it to try.
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As Galant mentioned, this is merely a standardised procedure to ensure equality during tests, rather than 'the only way' to make tea.
If there were only the one way, we'd not have different types of tea...
Milk in last.
Supposedly the milk first was something to do with the delicate bone china/porcelain used in a tea set and avoiding damage to it... but since my tea is more often in a WW2 steel canteen cup (because it holds a full pint!) or a normal modern mug, that's not an issue.
That's certainly what I'd heard; although more specifically it was that cheap mugs/cups couldn't take the shock of boiling liquid so it was a working/lower class habit.
I also remember reading a (longer) Douglas Adams tea rant where he comments that it doesn't really matter whether you do milk-first or milk-last because if you're having that debate it means you're making your tea in a pot, which is already a better start than making it directly into the mug Sadly I can't remember where I read that now.
George Orwell is apparently very much a milk-last man: http://www.booksatoz.com/witsend/tea/orwell.htm
For me, milk generally goes in first, unless I'm making builder's tea directly in a mug (then it's VERY strong, with plenty of milk poured in afterwards), or I'm trying a new blend of black tea I've not had before, in which case I'll often taste my first cup without milk before adding some if required.
I rarely take milk in teas other than plain black; never in white and green. My wife has milk in Earl Grey, which I consider sacreligious.
All that said, at home we have soya milk not dairy, and that definitely makes a difference: I find dairy very claggy nowadays. Curiously though, I'll still drink it, and enjoy it, in tea when I'm out and about. Just about the only thing where I'm just as happy with dairy as with soya nowadays.
Last edited by scaryjim; 07-01-2016 at 02:40 PM.
Apparently the milk first/last discussion is supposed to have some chemical merit to it. Milk last apparently scalds/alters the chemistry of the milk as it's being poured into a vessel filled with hot water. Milk first apparently makes a difference and results in a better/richer tasting brew. Of course, the down side is you have to learn how much milk to add first because you can't go by the colour as you might with milk last.
Per The Guardian:
Originally Posted by The Guardian
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I make my tea directly in a mug, and milk goes in last.
The science is supposedly that the tea brews in phases, at boiling point it is stewing and you want to control that phase quite carefully as too much of it and you get a mug of something only vaguely suitable for painting on the fence.
Tea for impatient people:
Put the kettle on
Put sugar or sweetener in the mug if needed
Lob a teabag into the mug
The very second the kettle has boiled, while it is still steaming, pour the water slowly over the teabag.
The teabag usually inflates with the steam and stays on top of the water during pouring.
A lot of tea will have gone into the water already, but I usually give the teabag a couple of squeezes with a spoon for a bit more strength of flavour else it will be too weak.
Discard the squeezed teabag, and add milk. That brings down the temperature so you are out of that tricky stewing phase.
That gets you nice tasting tea, no nasty scum or bitter taste yet discernable from the other horror of milky water, and all done in about 20 seconds from the moment the kettle goes click. Sugar or sweetener will dissolve during the water pour without any of that boring stirring.
If making a second cup it takes a little longer, the water isn't steaming as much and the bag takes a couple more squeezes.
Which is another point: You need half the number of teabags as mugs you are filling. Someone made instructions about it
http://www.b3ta.com/features/2cups1bag/
That's very funny, specially as I would consider myself more of a physicist
Using a teapot changes everything, but it is too much faff for a single cup of tea.
If the teabag is sat there in cold milk, I think you have lost. If the tea is brewing in a pot, you are probably onto a win anyway.
This thread is making me tense
I CAN'T freshly boiled water to a tea,bag...it ALWAYS creates scum. I think it's the bleached teabag
But I ALWAYS pour freshly boiling water over tea LEAVES in a pot.
Tense discussion
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