How do you make tea?

morqthana · 2026-02-20T00:41:20+0000

Odds said:
Technically, tea is a herb, but i take your point - i like those fruit infusions on summer days. Excellent when chilled.

Even better, on cold winter days, one of those "Christmas Spice" type infusions, drunk hot like normal tea.

No milk, but with a generous slug of bourbon/brandy/rum (Scotch not really right, IMO), sweetened with runny honey/maple syrup/agave nectar....

morqthana · 2026-02-20T00:42:47+0000

ericmark said:
I smoked Hoggar not Camel made Capstan full strength seem weak.

Boar's Head.

morqthana · 2026-02-20T00:48:14+0000

Ihavenojob said:
As a result of having tea made for me while working, and leaving it until it was convenient to drink it, I have it barely like warm.

I must confess, that very occasionally if I've left a mug too long, it's got too cold, and I'm short of time to make a fresh one, I've been known to give it a quick zap in the microwave...

morqthana · 2026-02-20T01:09:40+0000

Harry Bloomfield said:
No, no, no.... Tea bags in pot, milk in cup first, then once the tea has brewed at least two minutes, pour into cup. Sugar can be added at the same time as milk, or later once poured.

If you're using a pot, why not use leaf tea?

Bags are all about the convenience of chucking one in a mug.

But why is it there's no middle-ground with tea-bag quality & price?

You've got the race-to-the-bottom 2-3-4p per bag stuff at one end, and at the other end 20-30-40-50p per bag.

Teapigs Everyday Brew is very nice, but too expensive to drink all the time.

You'd think that as the percentage of shipping and packaging costs would be the same there ought to be the potential for a premium product at say 2x the price of the cheap end to contain tea costing a lot more than 2x the tea in the cheap ones.

morqthana · 2026-02-20T01:20:41+0000

Anyway - my tea-making tips, based on using a teabag in a mug

1) Fill the empty mug with boiling water to warm it.

2) Empty out the kettle, refill with fresh water, set it to boil.

3) Just before it boils, empty the mug, lob in the bag, then pour on the boiling water. If you're going to have milk, leave as much space as needed for the amount of milk you like.

4) Give it a stir and cover the mug. Those plastic lids from tubs of cheese footballs or Twiglets etc are ideal - collect some next Christmas.

5) Leave it to brew for as long as you like.

6) Remove bag, squeeze it out, add the amount of milk and/or sugar you like.

Job done.

Odds · 2026-02-20T08:17:04+0000

morqthana said:
If you're using a pot, why not use leaf tea?

Bags are all about the convenience of chucking one in a mug.

But why is it there's no middle-ground with tea-bag quality & price?

You've got the race-to-the-bottom 2-3-4p per bag stuff at one end, and at the other end 20-30-40-50p per bag.

Teapigs Everyday Brew is very nice, but too expensive to drink all the time.

You'd think that as the percentage of shipping and packaging costs would be the same there ought to be the potential for a premium product at say 2x the price of the cheap end to contain tea costing a lot more than 2x the tea in the cheap ones.

I think Harry was being facetious: tea bags in a pot shouldn't be tolerated in a civilised society. I only use 'em for convenience - Yorkshire decaff is pretty good, but they don't contain quality tea, consisting mostly of sweepings and dust, with some plastic going into the makeup of a bag.

In fact, i've become used to decaff tea, even with a slice of lemon.

Mottie · 2026-02-20T09:28:01+0000

morqthana said:
5) Leave it to brew for as long as you like.

No. If you leave it too long, you get a layer of scum on the surface of the tea.

Odds · 2026-02-20T09:36:31+0000

How long is too long for lapsang souchong?

morqthana · 2026-02-20T16:26:35+0000

Mottie said:
No. If you leave it too long, you get a layer of scum on the surface of the tea.

Use bottled water.

No, but seriously - the whole point is that people should make tea according to how they like it, not how others like it.

Mottie · 2026-02-20T16:27:13+0000

Who likes a film of scum on top of their cuppa?

pete01 · 2026-02-20T16:34:26+0000

Mottie said:
Who likes a film of scum on top of their cuppa?

OMG I hate that

morqthana · 2026-02-20T16:40:30+0000

Odds said:
How long is too long for lapsang souchong?

Depends of how much of a "teathen" you are.

I do get all the stuff about fine delicate brews, and I can appreciate them. But 99% of the time I want something strong flavoured and dark brown - a little bit of milk and a very small amount of sugar (about ⅛ teaspoon?).

I like lapsang souchong. But 99% of the time I want it strong flavoured and dark brown...

So I'll typically put 2 bags in the mug.

morqthana · 2026-02-20T16:41:03+0000

Mottie said:
Who likes a film of scum on top of their cuppa?

Can you taste it?

Mottie · 2026-02-20T16:45:55+0000

morqthana said:
Can you taste it?

Yeah, I can. It means the tea has stewed and apart from not looking nice, it doesn’t taste nice either.

mattylad · 2026-02-20T17:24:04+0000

I make my tea as per BS6008:1980

How do you make tea?

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