Forget coffee — tea is the best way to start the day! When you know how to make tea properly, it’s easy to become a lifelong convert. To help you learn more about how to make the perfect cup of tea, here’s a look at best practices.
How to Make a Proper Cup of Tea
If you’re wondering how to make perfect tea at home, follow these basic steps:
- Gather tea-making equipment. Making English tea starts with the right equipment. To create the kind of cup that truly rivals any other brew, you’ll need the following: high-quality tea (either bagged or loose-leaf), a teapot with a cosy, hot water, a thermometer to measure water temperature, a porcelain tea cup and, to flavor your tea, milk and sugar. For loose-leaf tea, measure a few teaspoons of tea into a bag.
- Boil water and check temperature. The next step is to boil your water. For the best results, use mineral water instead of tap water. Once it’s boiling, pour it into your teapot and place the tea cosy over the pot. Use the thermometer to check when the tea reaches the appropriate temperature — for black tea, that’s around 205 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brew tea and flavor it. Add your tea bag to the pot, and brew for two minutes. Then, remove the tea bag, pour tea into your porcelain cup, and add milk and sugar to your liking (though some English tea purists believe sugar is unnecessary).
The Benefits of Brewing Tea Properly
Making tea properly is about more than a job well done. When you use the right equipment for making tea and are patient through the method, you enjoy all kinds of benefits. Here are three:
- Better flavor: Knowing at what length to boil your tea will save you from the metallic taste that often comes from boiling it too long. Also, following careful directions will save you the bitterness of oversteeping. As a rule of thumb, always use freshly boiled water (not boiling) to brew tea.
- An authentic British experience: Should you pour in the milk first or the tea? It may seem trite, but the debate has strongly held beliefs on both sides for many U.K. tea drinkers. Decide which option you like best. Using a porcelain tea cup and a teapot with a cosy ensures that you experience tea-drinking the way Brits have been doing it for generations.
- A relaxing ritual: One of the best parts of cultivating the hobby of making tea is it gives you a calming, centering ritual around which to anchor your days. Whether you start the morning with a warm cup, take teatime in the afternoon, or drink a cup before bedtime, it’s a little luxury to enjoy.
When you’re looking for the best in equipment for making tea — especially for the highest-quality tea bags and tea leaves in the world — come to Culinary Teas. Browse our site to find everything you need to make brewing the perfect cup a breeze.
