How do you make the perfect cup of tea, and which tea bags are the best?

[Why??]

How come sometimes when you make a cup it is just perfect and others it's not?

This got me thinking how does everyone else make tea. This is what I do:

I make it in the cup, there is only 2 of us so it's just easier. The water has to be just boiled, pour the water on the bag, leave for a couple of minutes, give it a poke, take the bag out then add the milk and stir.

My hubbie adds the milk before taking out the tea bag, and he doesn't always use the water when it has just boiled! but I don't moan or he won't make it for me.

also, if you do make it in a tea pot, do you need to warm it first? does it make any difference to the taste and should you add a bag for the pot or is that just an 'old wives tale. And which are the nicest tea bags?

Just wandering while I'm sitting here bored at work.

[Bohne]

I think there will be a dozend different ways of making tea, with 12 answers...

This is my way:

I use PG Tips, put two in the tea pot (not heated), boil the water, pour it on.
Leave for 3-4 minutes, take the tea bags out.
Pour milk into cup with three pieces of sugar (it's a big mug, actually), four pieces of sugar, no milk for my husband.
Pour tea, finished!

:o)

[butterfly23]

I tend to use Lipton tea bags, and make tea in a similar way to you i.e. in a mug, with water just off the boil. A dash of cold milk and sugar.

Friends tend to make tea the 'indian way'. That is putting milk, water and tea bag in a pan and boiling it. Some will also add sugar to the pan, some after. It is an acquired taste, but it does bring out the flavour of the tea. Not to my taste however.

Others will make tea in a mug, but use hot milk, thats quite nice on a particularly cold day.

[teag1rl]

in my weirdness, if I'm making it in the teapot the (just boiled) water has to be poured from as high as poss onto the teabags, and also then out of teapot onto milk-christ knows whether the tea tastes better, it's just what I do!

[heathfield]

There are very many varieties of tea, each with its own individual flavour, so the 'best' tasting tea will alway depends on personal preference. But how it's prepared can make a difference...

Using freshly-boiled water means there is still some free oxygen present in the water. Re-boiled water will have most of the oxygen driven off, and this affects the flavour.

The water should be at boiling point when added to the tea/ teabags. Cooler water will give a poorer result. That's why the pot, or even a mug, should always be warmed before adding the boiling water - otherwise the tea will be wetted by water that has been cooled by contact with the cold pot/mug surface.

Again, adding milk before removing a teabag will cool the liquid and imediately reduce the infusing process - there's no point to doing it, really. Also, adding milk to hot tea means some of the the milk is heated to the point where you get that 'boiled milk' taste. This doesn't happen if you use a teapot and put the milk into the cup first.

Allowing the tea to infuse for too long results in unwanted resins being leached from the tea, and they're what give the tea that bitter 'stewed' taste.

Finally, tea tasters will tell you that loose tea is far superior to teabags - they say that you will always taste the paper from the bags, no matter what the manufacturers say.

[smudge]

I can't really say how to make the 'perfect cup of tea' as everyone's tastes are different & might not like mine!

However, I like mine meduim, with a little skimmed milk & one Hermesetas sweetener, served in a bone china cup/mug.

N.B. I use Sainsbury's Red Label tea bags & think they make a superb cup/mug/pot of tea!

[teag1rl]

and I forgot to add my tea making is rubbish compared to my nan who uses proper glengettie tea leaves

[rhona_j]

Water has to be just off the boil, tetley tea bags, and the teeniest dash of milk. I'm rather pernickety about how much milk, to the extent if someone else is making it I either just don't have any or have it black since I can't trust how much milk they'll put in! The other half loves gallons of milk in his 'baby' tea, yuck! Mind you I suppose it means we just balance out the milk intake!

[chazza]

I live in NI, and I always use Nambarrie tea bags - I'm not keen on 'english' tea bags - just a question of taste and what I was brought up on i guess!

[rogerthomas]

Tea can only be made in a teapot. It cannot be made in a cup or mug.

I find that Glengettie is the best tea, but that is just my taste. It should be made quite strong, three bags for four cups and left to stew for about five minutes. And contrary to popular belief, the milk goes in the cup first before the tea is poured on.

[cookiemonsta]

Use PG Tips or Sainsbury's Red Label. ALWAYS warm the teapot first, this was drummed in to me as a kid by my grandparents. Then leave for a few minutes for the tea to brew, then pour in to cups or mugs, then add milk and sugar. Perfect!

Oh yeah one more thing if you use teabags in a cup/mug never pour milk in while teabag is in cup/mug YUK!