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The Perfect Cup of Tea – Milk or Tea First?
The debate on whether to pour the tea or milk first dates from the 18th century. Twinings recommends the milk first, while Tetley suggests that you add it to the tea.
According to many experts, the tea should be the first and only thing in a teacup ...... most tea aficionados (my girlfriend included) feel that if you prepare the tea correctly, nothing needs to be added. Milk will only dilute and change the wonderfully sophisticated, full flavour that tea provides. However, if you must add milk, you must.
The legend of the custom of drinking tea with milk has its roots not in taste, but with economics. The long journey from the Orient made tea prohibitively expensive. Therefore, pouring sour or old milk onto the tea would spoil it – a costly mistake. Far easier to pour the milk first thus making sure it was fresh. Others argue that milk was cheap and the condiment of choice among the lower classes. The amount of milk added became a telltale of social standing. The wealthy took their tea undiluted. The middle class poured the expensive tea and then diluted it with milk. The lower class filled the cup with cheap milk and then added a splash of the costly tea.
In Finland there is no such argument; guests are simply served a hot cup of water (water first) accompanied by a tea bag.
But, how should the perfect cup of tea be made, British style?
Step One. Begin by filling the kettle with fresh water. Water that has been boiled before will have lost some of its dissolved oxygen, vital for tea brewing.
Step Two. Preheat your teapot. While the water is heating, fill your teapot with hot tap water, let it warm, then drain it completely.
Step Three. Measure into the teapot 1 table spoon of loose tea for every cup you plan to pour. Some tea drinkers, especially those who take milk with their tea, add an extra spoon for the pot.
Step Four. As soon as the kettle boils, pour a small amount of the hot water over the tea leaves, to allow them to bloom, or open up, and release some of their bitter tannins. Drain immediately.
Step Five. Fill the pot with the boiling water. Keep the spout of the kettle close to the teapot, so the water does not cool as you pour it in. Cover the teapot and leave the tea to brew. In general, black teas are best brewed for 4 to 5 minutes; green teas should brew for no more than 3 minutes.
Step Six. When the tea is ready, pour and serve all the tea. Avoid keeping leaves in contact with the hot water: Overbrewed tea tends to taste bitter.
Step Seven. To keep the tea warm through several cups, transfer the tea to an insulated pot or cover your regular teapot with a tea cosy. Don't apply additional heat to keep the tea warm, as this will quickly degrade its flavour.
Step Eight. A good-quality tea can be infused three to five times. Just add more boiling water. Let it steep for less time with each brew.
The finished tea should be a "rich, attractive colour" and be somewhere in the region of 65 degrees centigrade – any hotter and scientists warn that "vulgar slurping" might be required. Believe it or not - there is a British Standard, BS6008: Method for Preparation of a Liquor of Tea.
Finally, I am off to drink one of the estimated 196 million cups of tea drunk every day by the British!
Mike Bangle is the owner of Talking English language consultancy and can be contacted at mike.bangle(at)phnet.fi
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