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How To Make Perfect
Tea
By Lorraine Bevere
The best way to make tea has been a subject of great debate for centuries.
As a tea drinker of some 30 years experience here is my contribution as to
what makes the perfect cup of tea.
1. Always use fresh water if possible. Spring water is best due to its
purity and lack of additives such as chlorine and fluoride which can affect
the taste. If you use tap water then run the tap until the water is cold and
fresh. Good quality water is essential for the perfect cup of tea.
2. Preferably use a teapot made of china or earthenware. Pots made of
certain types of metal such as enamel silver or copper can impart flavor to
the water. Stainless steel is okay.
3. Warm the pot beforehand with a little hot water.
4. Add at least one level teaspoon for each cup of water that you are going
to add. Adding loose tea to the pot is the best way for the tea to infuse
properly but many people prefer to use a tea strainer or infusing basket for
convenience sake.
5. Pour boiling water directly onto the leaves and then stir the water
before placing lid back on the teapot.
6. Let the tea steep for between four and five minutes. If using green tea
three minutes is best.
7. Remove or strain the leaves to avoid overbrewing.
8. The cup that you drink out of can greatly affect the taste of the tea so
choose wisely. A good quality cup made of china will definitely enhance the
whole tea drinking experience. Avoid wide shallow cups which cause the tea
to cool in next to no time.
9. Pour milk into the cup first. Ah, yes this is the step that causes most
controversy. Many an argument has been had concerning whether or not it is
best to add the milk to the tea or vice versa. I have always preferred milk
first then tea but my husband argues that it is easier to regulate the right
amount of milk by adding milk afterwards!
Now scientists have waded into the debate and the verdict is clear. The UK
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)has warned against the practice of adding
milk to tea after it is poured. It seems that dribbling a stream of milk
into hot water makes "denaturation of milk proteins" more likely. And who
would want that?! At high temperatures, milk proteins - which are normally
all curled up foetus-like, begin to unfold and link together in clumps. This
is what happens in UHT [ultra heat-treated] milk, and is why it doesn't
taste as good a fresh milk," says Dr Andrew Stapley, a chemical engineer at
Loughborough University. It is better to have the chilled milk massed at the
bottom of the cup, awaiting the stream of hot tea. This allows the milk to
cool the tea, rather than the tea ruinously raise the temperature of the
milk.
So it is now settled. The milk or tea first debate is now over! Umm, somehow
I don't think so!!
10. Lastly, drink tea without any sugar. I must admit to being a reformed
sugary tea drinker and you know what that means. Yes, I am now passionately
against putting sugar in tea. As one who has sat on both sides of the fence
I can say that tea is so much better without sweetening. Sugar only serves
to mask the taste of the tea. Not only that too much sugar is not good for
you and why spoil what is now being recognized as one of the world's great
health drinks by adding sugar. When I stopped taking my two spoonfuls of
sugar in my tea it took me about three or four weeks to get used to the new
taste. However once I got used to it there was no going back.
So there you have it - the perfect cup of tea!
Lorraine Bevere is the webmaster and operator of
FOG Tea, Inc. which is a premier source
of information about tea. For questions or comments about this article,
please visit: http://fogtea.com |
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