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A Perfect Pot Of Tea

How To Make A Perfect Pot Of Tea.

How To Brew And Not To Stew.

How Silly You Say, Anyone Can Boil

Water And Use A Tea Bag. Wrong!..

Empty your kettle, then fill it with freshly-

drawn water from the cold tap.

Put the kettle on and, just before it comes to the boil, pour a generous dash of the hot water into your teapot (glazed china or earthenware for preference), swirling it round and round inside the pot before pouring it away. (Warning the pot is not a meaningless ritual, but ensures that the water stays at boiling point when it hits the tea, encouraging the proper opening of the leaves.)

Dole out one heaped teaspoon of tea leaves for each person and one for the pot, straight into the warmed teapot. The kettle will have reached a galloping boil by this time, so pour the water over the tea. Take care that the water is not long boiling; over boiled water loses its oxygen and results in

bitter muddy brew of tea.

Allow the tea to stand and brew for three to six minutes according to the leaf size (less time for small leaves, more for large ones). Smaller grades (known as Broken Pekoes and Fannings) Larger leafed teas (technically termed Orange Pekoes or Pekoes).

Give the tea a good stir and pour it, using a strainer to catch leaves. If you take your tea with milk, you should add it to the cup, cold and fresh, before pouring the tea.

The first cup is perfect, but while that is being drunk, the rest of the pot stews and is tainted by tannin. To sole this, it is reccomended that you use a tea-ball infuser, removing it after the requisite number of minutes.

Tea bags are never a good idea. The tea they produce is simply not the same. However, if you choose to use tea bags make sure you remove them as well. If you make sure that the tea leaves are removed after the right time, you can then safely employ a tea cosy to keep the rest hot, and each cup will be as bright and fresh and steaming as the first.

Tea drinking is one of those rare pleasures which are both civilized and cost next to nothing. Apart from water, tea is the least expensive drink in the world, even if you buy the very best. Tea-drinking is a cheerful habit to cultivate, as each cup gently shifts fatigue, lifts the spirits and brightens the brainbox.

The Essential Tea Caddy

'Your Tea-Leaf tho' never so good when you buy, will lose itself, being of a very volatile Spirit, unless carefully preserv'd in Silver, Pewter, or Tin Boxes, shut close from the Air; and above All, kept from the Damps, and Neighbourhood of strong Scents, whether sweet or offensive.'

(From A Treatise on the Inherent Qualities of the Tea-Herb, Compiled by a Gentleman of Cambridge 1750)

A Good Tea Guide

ASSAM

Brisk, bracing and strongly-colored, this is what the British popularly expect from a cup of tea. Excellent in winter and foul weather. The boldest of teas.

DARJEELING

Famous as the champagne among teas, light-colored, with a distinctive bouquet often described as flowery or blackcurranty. A delicate wine like Muscatel flavor.

CEYLON

Grown at the high altitudes which provide the best the best growing conditions for tea, Ceylon teas are bright, steady, and turn an attractive golden colour when milk is added to the cup.

Their number includes teas from Dimbula, Uva and Nuwara Eliya.

KEEMUN

The tea of Imperial China, clean, delicate, with a light fruity sweetness on its breath. Its liquor is pale gold and the Chinese say it has the flavour of an orchid. Drink with or without milk.

LAPSANG SOUCHONG

A bracing large leafed tea, this is either loved or hated, leaving no room for ambivalence. It tastes of woodsmoke and has a tarry pungency (supposedly owing to the particular soil of the Fujian Province of China where it is grown).

JASMINE

A large leafed tea, semi-fermented, scented with jasmine flowers (which are generally left in the tea, later to expand beautifully and aromatically in you teapot of boiling water).

GUNPOWDER

One of China's oldest teas, its large greyish-green leaves are rolled into pellets resembling lead shot. You need less tea than usual to make a pot of Gunpowder. Its liquor contradicts its belligerent name, being thin, pale, shy, slightly bitter and straw-coloured. The Chinese call it pearl tea.

LUNG CHING

Highly esteemed by the Chinese, this tea has a delicate vegetative flavour, ethereal and slightly sweet. Its liquor is a pale emerald colour. Grown in Taiwan (Formosa).

FORMOSA OOLONG

A partially-fermented China tea which holds an exquisit flavour of ripe peaches. Its liquor is the colour of amber. At its best, it is full of leaf tips. There are other Oolong teas from China, but this one is beyond compare.

EARL GREY

In 1830 Earl Grey received a delicately scented blend of tea as a gift from China. Today, Earl Grey tea is generally made from large-leafed China tea, Darjeeling, and oil of bergamont (which is a pear-shaped Mediterranian citrus fruit). It is wonderfully fragrant, and good with cakes and sweet things.

LADY LONDONDERRY

This lady was a popular society hostess during the first quarter of this century. She had her own blend of Ceylon, Indian and Formosa tea made for her by Jacksons of Piccadilly.

ENGLISH BREAKFAST TEA

Between ten and forty teas are used in each sort of blend.

Good quality blends of Indian and Ceylon teas are often called Breakfast teas. English Breakfast tea is usually a strong blend of small leafed Indian and Ceylon teas, full flavoured and satisfying. Irish breakfast tea is even stronger, comprising a high proportion of Assam with a little fine flavoured Ceylon, giving a bold rousing cup.

(Information taken from The London Ritz Hotel book of Afternoon Tea.
Written By: Helen Simpson and published by Arbor House)

The Authentic Scone and Sweets

More Sweets, Preserves and Lemon Curd

Popular English Tea Sandwiches

Return To: Afternoon Tea For Two

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