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Do you prefer loose tea to tea bags?
Should the milk go in first, or last when making a cup of tea?
Questions .....Questions and if you prefer coffee these questions may not matter to you. However, to tea lovers they are very important.
The words below are taken from an article in 'The Huffington Post' and may just answer some of your tea related questions.
Why not put the kettle on and have a refreshing cuppa before you read on.
"It's a question that's divided the nation for decades: Should the milk go in first, or last when making a cup of tea?
But we may have had an answer to this conundrum right at our fingertips all along.
The British Standard's Institution has released a guide called "preparation of a liquor of tea for use in sensory tests" which was developed in 1980 to help professional tea testers.
It offers a set of guidelines to making the perfect cup of tea.
According to the extensive six-page guide, there should be 2g of tea for every 100ml of water. The water should not be heated to more than 85°C or you risk scalding the milk (and presumably having a sub-standard cuppa).
Having said that, the tea should always be above 60°C when served for "optimum flavour and sensation".
The tea must be brewed in a pot made of porcelain, but not just any old porcelain - "white porcelain or glazed earthenware, with its edge partly serrated” is required.
Milk should be added to cups while the tea is left to infuse in the pot for six minutes.
But it's not the end of the world if you add the milk afterwards, you just have to make sure it's the right temperature.
“If the milk is added afterwards, experience has shown that the best results are obtained when the temperature of the liquor is in the range 65 to 80°C when the milk is added," the guidelines state.
Organisations including the British Tea Producers’ Association, Tea Trade Committee and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food helped to create the standards.
A previous survey found 35% of Brits are happy to skip the teapot stage and use a mug to make their tea.
It turns out many of us may be missing out on optimum tea, but unfortunately bringing a porcelain tea pot to the office isn't all that convenient."
Link to The Huffington Post Here www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/
In the meantime I must go and pour myself another cuppa ...... now milk first or not?
All the best Jan
This long link may work better http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/02/17/milk-in-before-or-after-making-tea_n_6696480.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cuk-lifestyle%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D330328
Should the milk go in first, or last when making a cup of tea?
Questions .....Questions and if you prefer coffee these questions may not matter to you. However, to tea lovers they are very important.
The words below are taken from an article in 'The Huffington Post' and may just answer some of your tea related questions.
Why not put the kettle on and have a refreshing cuppa before you read on.
"It's a question that's divided the nation for decades: Should the milk go in first, or last when making a cup of tea?
But we may have had an answer to this conundrum right at our fingertips all along.
The British Standard's Institution has released a guide called "preparation of a liquor of tea for use in sensory tests" which was developed in 1980 to help professional tea testers.
It offers a set of guidelines to making the perfect cup of tea.
According to the extensive six-page guide, there should be 2g of tea for every 100ml of water. The water should not be heated to more than 85°C or you risk scalding the milk (and presumably having a sub-standard cuppa).
Having said that, the tea should always be above 60°C when served for "optimum flavour and sensation".
The tea must be brewed in a pot made of porcelain, but not just any old porcelain - "white porcelain or glazed earthenware, with its edge partly serrated” is required.
Milk should be added to cups while the tea is left to infuse in the pot for six minutes.
But it's not the end of the world if you add the milk afterwards, you just have to make sure it's the right temperature.
“If the milk is added afterwards, experience has shown that the best results are obtained when the temperature of the liquor is in the range 65 to 80°C when the milk is added," the guidelines state.
Organisations including the British Tea Producers’ Association, Tea Trade Committee and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food helped to create the standards.
A previous survey found 35% of Brits are happy to skip the teapot stage and use a mug to make their tea.
It turns out many of us may be missing out on optimum tea, but unfortunately bringing a porcelain tea pot to the office isn't all that convenient."
Link to The Huffington Post Here www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/
In the meantime I must go and pour myself another cuppa ...... now milk first or not?
All the best Jan
This long link may work better http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/02/17/milk-in-before-or-after-making-tea_n_6696480.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cuk-lifestyle%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D330328
Last edited by Jan1 on Tue Feb 17 2015, 15:16; edited 1 time in total
Just close your eyes when you drink it. 
