A perfect cuppa...
I know it's stereotypically British to adore tea, but I honestly just love it. I love coffee too, but I have a great weakness for picking a tea to suit my mood, and Earl Grey is my utmost favourite.
The thing is, I won't let my other half make the tea, because when he does it tastes terrible. He says it's because I'm so picky about how I brew it - I have different methods depending on whether I'm using a large or small teapot, or brewing a cuppa in a mug, and it changes according to the kind of tea - loose leaf, bagged, and again depending on the type of tea, as I would not brew a strong Yorkshire tea in the same way as Earl Grey, or Assam.
In general though, a bog standard tea brewed in a large mug would go as follows:
* boil kettle
* run mug under hot water
* add sugar, then add milk and stir
* add boiled water, stopping when the mug is half full
* stir to dissolve the sugar (I use brown sugar, and my other half prefers white, and I've found that the type of sugar doesn't do change much obviously different other than change the colour, the taste difference is obvious)
* drop in the teabag and leave it to steep for 30 seconds
* fill mug with boiled water
* leave to steep for 2 - 3 minutes
* then stir and press teabag gently
* when tea is desired colour, remove teabag
* top up with hot water if necessary
* stir and then drink
If brewing Earl Grey in a mug, I would allow the water to cool slightly, and use less milk, or sometimes forego it entirely, but otherwise I follow those same steps, sometimes I exchange sugar for honey, but the steps don't change, and I've found that the tea tastes perfect when I brew it like this. It may be a bit more fiddly than the way most people brew it (when in a mug and not a teapot), but it's so hard to get a decent cup of tea and it's not like it takes much time. --grumble--
...yes, this post is a random post about tea.
The thing is, I won't let my other half make the tea, because when he does it tastes terrible. He says it's because I'm so picky about how I brew it - I have different methods depending on whether I'm using a large or small teapot, or brewing a cuppa in a mug, and it changes according to the kind of tea - loose leaf, bagged, and again depending on the type of tea, as I would not brew a strong Yorkshire tea in the same way as Earl Grey, or Assam.
In general though, a bog standard tea brewed in a large mug would go as follows:
* boil kettle
* run mug under hot water
* add sugar, then add milk and stir
* add boiled water, stopping when the mug is half full
* stir to dissolve the sugar (I use brown sugar, and my other half prefers white, and I've found that the type of sugar doesn't do change much obviously different other than change the colour, the taste difference is obvious)
* drop in the teabag and leave it to steep for 30 seconds
* fill mug with boiled water
* leave to steep for 2 - 3 minutes
* then stir and press teabag gently
* when tea is desired colour, remove teabag
* top up with hot water if necessary
* stir and then drink
If brewing Earl Grey in a mug, I would allow the water to cool slightly, and use less milk, or sometimes forego it entirely, but otherwise I follow those same steps, sometimes I exchange sugar for honey, but the steps don't change, and I've found that the tea tastes perfect when I brew it like this. It may be a bit more fiddly than the way most people brew it (when in a mug and not a teapot), but it's so hard to get a decent cup of tea and it's not like it takes much time. --grumble--
...yes, this post is a random post about tea.