Tea, Glorious Tea.
In 1773 colonists in Boston boarded 3 ships in the harbour and threw 342 chests of tea into the water to protest against unfair taxes. This was the so called Boston Tea Party which more of less sparked the American Revolution. The Americas are a country more or less defined by rejecting the British tea drinking way of life. To this day are more or less exclusive coffee drinkers… and why on earth would we want to emulate that vulgar nation? Much better to brew a nice strong cup of tea, eat a jaffa cake (another great British invention) and listen to the Beatles. There is nothing more quintessentially British than a good cuppa. The Queen drinks it, Stephen Fry drinks it, Winston Churchill drank it. We should be proud to drink tea. Our Empire was built on it - but figuratively and literally.
Like anything you take pride in though, Tea has to be done properly. Forget your PG Tips in it’s stupid pyramid bags made in the mug.
Here are my tips for that perfect cuppa:
- Firstly, buy the right tea. You want fresh leaves from Indian or Ceylon, these should be kept in tin boxes to keep them fresh.
- Store it right: Airtight containers only.
- Warm the teapot first. Either directly or with hot water from the tap. Then empty.
- Don’t you bags, strainers, or anything else. Put the leaves directly in the pot so they can move about
- Use boiling, not boiled water. Fill a Kettle with cold water direct from the tap and poor it when it’s still bubbling. Don’t reuse previously boiled water - it won’t infuse the leaves as much.
- Stir it well and allow to brew for 3 mins.
- Pour the tea into a nice bone china cup.
- Make sure you add milk to the tea, and not the other way round. If you add tea to milk it can “scold”the milk and change the flavour.
- Sugar to taste. Some experts will argue that proper tea should be unsweetened, but I think it’s down to the individual to decide.
- Sit back, relax, and drink.
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