Womens Thoughts

More and more I have noticed that tea shops are offering a variety of different teas – good old fashioned loose leaf teas, no longer your regular perforated bags in a pot.

The art of tea making is returning.

The preparation of the tea is as important as the leaf itself with many aspects to consider; the water, milk and the pot.

When brewing a good pot of tea you should first warm the teapot. Ceramic pots are better used than metal ones as they can taint the taste of the tea. You can cheat by putting a quarter of a cup of water into the pot and putting it in the microwave on full power for 1 minute.

It is better to time this just as the kettle has boiled, so that you can drain the pot add the tea leaves and pour the water. The aim is for the water to be as hot as possible to help speed the brewing time, otherwise tea can become stewed and give a bitter taste. One teaspoon of tea per cup is ample.

It is advisable to use fresh water from the tap everytime you boil the kettle for tea. There is more oxygen in fresh water which help gives the tea its flavour.

It has always been suggested to pour fresh chilled milk into the cup first, so that the milk cools the tea when added, however this is now perceived to be merely a safeguard from the days when boiling water would crack cheap cups.

The tea should be brewed only for about three minutes, as too many tannins will be released and you will miss the true flavour of this splendid tradition.

As to which tea is the best or most popular, I think this comes down to one’s own tastes and preferences.

The more everyday types of tea can be purchased on-line from Whittards :-

English Breakfast
Earl Gray
Darjeeling
Ceylon
Assam
Green

http://www.whittard.co.uk/

For the more specialised teas try the following websites:-

Nothing But Tea
http://www.nbtea.co.uk/making.shtml

High Teas
http://www.highteas.co.uk/

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