Tea Craic
Posted
Thu, 01/13/05
I love a nice cup of tea any time, whether it's hot or cold outside. Once or twice a week I'll make a cup or two from Tetley tea bags, and once in a blue moon I'll prepare a proper pot of tea. Since my husband does not like the beverage either hot or cold, I tend to make small amounts for myself and don't often bother with the tea-pot process.
I adore tea pots and plan to start collecting new ones this year. I currently have an autumn-themed pot and another shaped like a snowman. If I had more space in my house, or sturdy shelves high-up in the kitchen, I'd be an avid collector already. The odder the tea pot, the better. A store near my home has a selection of teapots, some of them seasonal and others that are either plain and simple or just downright strange. Whatever the case, I froth over the pots every time I go into the store.
Because I like tea so much I wrote an article about it a few years ago:
I've also devoted an entire page to Tea Time recipes at Food Fare. My method of preparing a good pot of tea is similar to the one found in the Little Irish Cookbook:
It is easy to make a poor cup of tea. Float a tea bag in some milk, pour in some nearly-boiling water, mash the tea bag against the side of the cup with a spoon, fish out the tea bag and throw it away. There you are. Awful! Tea should be made with freshly-drawn, freshly-boiled water in a warmed pot and allowed to brew. The result will be a pleasant, refreshing drink.
To make a good pot of tea, bring freshly-drawn water to a brisk boil. Pour a little into a 2 pint/1 liter/4 cup earthenware teapot to warm it, and then empty the water out. Using good quality tea, put 3-5 teaspoons according to taste, into the warmed pot. Bring the water back to the boil and pour on immediately. Cover the pot with a tea-cosy and allow to brew for 5 minutes - any shorter and the flavor will not have developed, any longer and the tannin will start to come out, making the tea taste stewed. For the same reason, boiling water should be used to make the tea but the brew should not subsequently be boiled.
I'm boring in that I prefer orange-pekoe tea, which is probably the most common in a commercial sense, or once in a while I'll brew a cup of Chai tea. Whatever the case, I use no sugar or lemon – just milk or cream.
I'm off to make a cuppa.
Tags: Coffee & Tea
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