How do you make tea?

[morqthana]

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]

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

Boar's Head.

 

[morqthana]

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]

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]

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.