Let’s talk about tea! I am, at heart, a “British cup of tea” person. That means a good black tea, brewed in a teapot and consumed from “the perfect mug“, with a splash of milk. I am also not opposed to the in-cup brewing method! Whilst the tea menu from which I choose daily has expanded slightly over the years, my go-to is still a simple black tea like an English breakfast.
Fancy a Cuppa?
In my family, tea is always being talked about and always being consumed. At my mum’s house, I think the kettle is on a constant boil just in case a cup of tea is around the corner. If there is an important conversation to be had, a cup of tea MUST be in hand whilst it goes on. If we have just returned home from an outing, the kettle is boiled, and a cup of tea is needed. No matter what is going on, there usually seems to be a cup of tea on the go, and it has always been that way as far back as I can remember.
The history of tea brewing in my family…
Whilst growing up, my grandparents came to Canada to visit from Yorkshire in the north of England every year, and there was A LOT of tea consumed during their visits. My granny (my dad’s mum) would stay for about a month each year. When she made tea, it was strong. I mean strong! She would set a pot of tea brewing and let it brew (or perhaps “stew” is a more appropriate word) for an endless amount of time. I was not a huge fan of her tea preparation, and I would always have to add some hot water to my tea so it would not taste too strong.
Then there was my other granny (my mum’s mum). She would stay with us for about two months each year and had a very particular tea routine. When it came to brewing, she had a set amount of time that the tea should brew – 2 minutes. Not a minute more, not a minute less. In light of me not liking stewed tea, I certainly approved of the 2-minute rule. What I was not so crazy about was how hot she made the tea. In her mind, the perfect cup of tea was to be boiling hot and needed to be given every chance to remain that way whilst being consumed!
Her tea-making method involved scalding not only the teapot but also the teacups. What is scalding you ask? Scalding means that before you even brew the tea, you pour “scalding” hot water into both the teapot and cups to heat them up. After the pot and cups have been heated, the hot water is discarded, and the tea brewing can commence.
Perfect Drinking Temperature
I am pretty sure that my granny’s extremely hot tea preparation is what led my sister and me to coin our phrase “It’s PDT!” – perfect drinking temperature. I remember many a time craving the cup of tea that had just been made but knowing that it was WAY too hot for me to drink. My sister and I had an agreement that we would tip the other person off when it was just the perfect temperature to be consumed. To this day, we still use the phrase.
These days, I don’t scald a cup when I am making tea, but I do for my morning coffee as I like it to stay hot for as long as possible when drinking it. Hmmmm…I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
So how DO you brew a perfect cuppa?
Whilst I have shared with you my tea history, let’s turn to Twinnings and Taylors of Harrogate to see what two top tea companies say about brewing!
Twinings offer solid instruction, from tea bags to loose leaf tea brewing. They also provide a run down of specific teas and their brewing times.
Taylors of Harrogate provide a step by step “How to make a proper brew”. Whether cup or teapot brewing, they have it covered in a fun and interactive way. They even dive into the great debate of if you have milk in your tea, when do you put it in your cup! For the record, I put milk in the cup after the tea has brewed.
How do you like your tea?
