Proper Pot Of Tea

Tea Is The British And Irish National Drink

Teas in Britain are drunk daily, often many cups a day, but where did this love of teas in Britain come from? Tea was first brought to Britain in the early 17th century by the East India Company. It was an expensive product and one only for the rich and often kept under lock and key. Catherine of Braganza,

wife of Charles II introduced the ritual of drinking teas to the English Royal Court and the habit was soon adopted by the aristocracy. The first tea shop for ladies was opened by Thomas Twining in 1717 and slowly tea shops began to appear throughout England making the drinking of teas available to everyone. The British further developed their love of teas during the years of the British Empire in India.

Which Tea?

There are currently almost 1,500 different teas in Britain. They all vary in style, taste and color.

Indian Teas

India is one of the main growers exporting 12% of the world’s teas. The three main types popular in the UK are:

    • Darjeeling which comes from Northern India and is a light delicate tea – perfect for Afternoon Teas.
    • Ceylon Tea is slightly stronger than Darjeeling. It is aromatic with a slightly sharp taste.
    • Assam is a strong tea which stands up well to being blended.
    • Other teas found in Britain and Ireland are Darjeeling Orange Pekoe, or Ceylon Broken Orange Pekoe.
      • This tea is not orange in flavor, but describes the size of leaf.

China Teas

The birthplace of tea China produces 18% of the world’s tea . There are many other varieties from both India and China and other country’s which include green teas, white teas and aromatics.

Two favorite types are:

  • Lapsang Souchong is perhaps the most famous of china teas, the best coming from the hills in north Fujian. It has a smoky aroma and flavor.
  • Yunnan is a black tea from the province of Yunnan. The rich, earthy flavor is similar to Assam and makes a great breakfast tea.

Tea Guide

Tea is an evergreen plant belonging to the Camellia family. It is grown in tropical and subtropical regions, and, as with coffee, the best teas are grown at the highest elevations. Only the choicest parts are plucked [the top two leaves and the bud] to ensure utmost quality. In the tea industry, tea leaf grading is the process of evaluating products based on the quality and condition of the tea leaves themselves. The highest grades are referred to as "orange pekoe", and the lowest as "fannings" or "dust". Pekoe tea grades are classified into various qualities, each determined by how many of the adjacent young leaves (two, one, or none) were picked along with the leaf buds. Top-quality pekoe grades consist of only the leaf buds, which are picked using the balls of the fingertips. Fingernails and mechanical tools are not used to avoid bruising.

When crushed to make bagged teas, the tea is referred to as "broken", as in "broken orange pekoe" (BOP). These lower grades include fannings and dust, which are tiny remnants created in the sorting and crushing processes. Orange pekoe is referred to as "OP". The grading scheme also contains categories

higher than OP, which are determined primarily by leaf wholeness and size. Broken, fannings and dust orthodox teas have slightly different grades. CTC teas, which consist of leaves mechanically rendered to uniform fannings, have yet another grading system. Tea is comprised of essential oils, caffeine, tannin,riboflavin, pantechnicon acid and niacin. There are three basic categories of tea:

Green Tea: Non fermented

Oolong Tea: Semi fermented

Black Tea: Completely fermented. Black teas are hand picked from bushes when they are ripe green. They are then withered, dried on tiers of racks, fermented and fired. NOTE: Black Tea is labeled by various grades depending upon the size of the leaves.

These grades are as followed:

Souchong Pekoe, Orange Pekoe [not a tea flavor], Broken Pekoe Souchong, Broken Pekoe, Broken Orange Pekoe, Fanning and Dust.

This link offers more on tea grades: Tea Leaf Grading

The Right Teapot

The right teapot for the perfect cup is a matter of personal preference either metal (all early teapots were solid silver, ornate vessels) or china. A metal teapot will keep the tea hotter for longer but some feel that china keeps a finer flavor, with no tainting from the metal.

This link offers a more thorough explanation of how to select a teapot: Choosing A Teapot


Question: Loose Tea or Tea Bags - Which is Better?

Loose tea or tea bags which is the best for making a cup of tea? Purists will say always loose tea-why you may ask.

Answer:

  • The main difference between loose tea and tea bags is important. Loose tea is the dried, large loose tea leaves, usually stored in a tea caddy or canister as opposed to portion sized bags containing loose tea.
  • The size of the leaf in loose tea is also generally larger than the loose tea leaf in a tea bag. The loose tea in a generic supermarket brand tea bag is generally smaller or broken leaves and in very cheap tea bags practically a powder. When loose tea leaves become broken or crushed the essential oils in the leaf, which give the flavor to tea, are destroyed.
  • When making a cup of tea using loose tea, the loose tea can circulate through the boiling water and swell. This swelling means the maximum flavor and color can be extracted from the loose tea. A good quality tea bag though will be capacious and thus the loose tea will have a certain amount of movement, so if you want to use bags always buy the best quality you can for a better cup of tea.
  • There are, however, some advantages to tea bags. The main advantage of a tea bag vs. loose tea is convenience. Tea bags create no mess or soggy, left over loose tea leaves, so it's quick and easy to clean the tea pot.

How To Brew A Proper Pot

After water, tea is the world's most popular beverage. A pound of tea will produce a 200 cups of tea. As for making tea, follow these steps:

  • Always use fresh, cold water and pre-heat the tea pot. Swirl the water around to warm up the teapot. This warms the pot prior to adding the tea leaves and water for the tea. Pour out water before adding tea leaves.
  • Boil water in a tea kettle and pour it into a ceramic teapot.
  • A metal teapot can affect the taste of tea and will cool the water more quickly, so a ceramic teapot is preferable. Never use an aluminum pot. Use china, stainless steel, glass, etc.
  • Add one teaspoon of tea leaves per 5 ounces of water.
  • Place the kettle on the stove and bring to a boil. Remove the kettle from heat right after it comes to a boil, and pour boiling water directly onto the tea leaves as only boiling water extracts the full flavor of the tea.
  • Finally, let the tea steep 3-7 minutes, depending on desired strength. Always brew by the clock as you cannot judge tea by its color. It takes time for the tea leaves to unfold.

For iced tea, remember to use 50% more tea to allow for the ice to melt [dilute].

Here is video link on how to brew tea: Make A Proper Cup Of Tea

How To Serve Tea

A Victorian hostess always knew how to brew a proper pot of tea, as the serving of tea was itself nearly an institution during the 19th century. A tea party can be a sit-down formal affair or a casual gathering served buffet style, depending on your preference.

If it is a relaxed (yet elegant) buffet, you need to set a sideboard (or buffet table) with the tea service, cups, saucers, spoons, dessert items, dessert plates, forks (if needed) and the napkins (cloth is preferred, but certainly not necessary. You can purchase attractive paper napkins too.). Allow each guest to serve themselves.

If, on the other hand, you intend to have a formal seated affair, then the table should be set much as you would for a dinner party, without dinner dishes and extra silver. Of course, a dessert fork, knife, and teaspoon must be set on the table. The dessert plate is set in the lead spot with the saucer and teacup on top.

On a buffet table or sideboard, lay out your tea. You may also want to serve coffee or some other beverage as an alternative. You will need a full service of each type of beverage with a tray. Beginning in the center of your table set your cookies and petite fours, etc. Now going in both directions on the buffet table place the eating utensils, the napkins, a bowl of lemon wedges, sugar, creamer, and finally your tea or coffee service with cups and saucers on or next to it.

If your tea party is an intimate affair, then the hostess may serve the tea from her seat. If, however, it is a large gathering, serve tea by standing to the right of each person when pouring. When serving, ask guests how many "lumps" (sugar cubes or spoons of sugar) they would like. Place the sugar into the cup prior to pouring tea, using a spoon or serving tongs (never use your fingers to reach for sugar cubes).

Next, pour the tea into the teacup using a strainer to catch loose leaves.

Lemon and cold, whole milk can also be added to tea. The teapot can be kept warm using a "tea cozy," a padded covering for the pot or by setting it on a tea warmer, lit by a votive candle, for the duration of your tea party.

This link provides Tea Etiquette tips: How To Serve Tea

Tea Fun Facts

Everyone has an opinion on how to make a ‘proper’ cup of tea. The first ingredient must be leaf teas. Not tea bags and certainly not powder.

Only black tea is considered real for a cup of tea in Britain.

Black tea is the dried and fermented leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis.

Milk in First or Teas in First? Debate continues about whether to put milk in the cup before pouring or after. Originally milk was always added before the tea to prevent the hot teas from cracking the fine bone china cups. Tea experts agree with this tradition but also state to pour milk into hot tea after it is poured alters the flavor of the tea.

In many parts of the British Isles, lower-middle and working-class people traditionally call their midday meal dinner and their evening meal (served around 6pm) tea, whereas the upper social classes would call the midday meal lunch (or luncheon), and the evening meal (served after 7pm) dinner or supper (often eaten later in the evening).

These class signifiers have diminished over time particularly in the southeast of England.

In the Canadian Maritime, a tea break may be referred to as a boil up.

With a pot of perfectly made tea, thin buttered toast or bread and butter sandwiches are sufficient for an informal tea.

A formal tea is usually served from the dining room table, which is set with tea and its accompaniments at one end and another beverage or an ice at the opposite end.

Here A Some Links For More Tea Facts

Tea Facts A to Z

Tea's Immunity