Do not accept badly made cups of tea.

A lesson in making a proper cup of tea.

I have become such a tyrant of tea making that my husband now refuses to make my tea. Come to think of it, most of my friends now pass me the milk so I can add my own when I am at their house… is this a bad thing?

Photo by Vero Manrique

My GG (Grandmother) makes the best tea. Always served in a China cup with a saucer, brewed in a fine China teapot, complete with tea cosy and digestive biscuit. The tea not only tasted amazing, but it gave us an excuse to slow down. To pause whilst waiting for the tea bags to brew until they were just right. The ceremony of tea making, meant that we had to sit down, talk, and pass the tea pot or pour one for everyone. Asking politely if they would like milk, one sugar or two.

The memories I have sitting around their mid-century Danish dining table, covered in a blue and cream check tablecloth, wireless on, are vivid…. if I close my eyes right now, I am right there. A view to the garden on my left, a little red robin snatching the bacon fat off the grass that GG had thrown out for him whilst making breakfast. They are the type of memories that make me breathe that little bit deeper. When I have the time (which isn’t as often as I would like) I pull out my fine China and sit to enjoy a proper cup of tea.

Can you see why it gives me such rage when people make tea badly? For me, it is not just a cup of tea. It is love. Time. Consideration for how one person takes their tea. It isn’t a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, here’s your tea take it as it comes kind of affair. It is so much more to me.

As such I would like to share with you my foolproof plan for making the best cup of tea (feel free to share this with the loved one that needs a refresher course!)

1. When the kettle is boiled, pour a little in the bottom of your chosen cup or mug. This warms up the cup, enabling you to enjoy a warm cup of tea for longer! If you have a China cup and saucer, pull it out - it will taste so much better.

2. If you have the time to brew the tea bags (or leaves if you like those) do so in your favourite tea pot. If you don’t have extra time, simply add your tea bag to your cup and pour over your freshly boiled water.

3. Leave for a minute (you may need to vary this time depending on how strong you like your tea).

4. Give it a light stir prior to removing from the tea pot or a light squeeze and remove from you cup.

5. Add your sugar, stir.

6. Now you can add the milk. DO NOT add your milk in first. Big NO NO! Your tea must be brewed prior to any milk coming anywhere near your cup.

7. Sit somewhere lovely, near a window looking out to your view.

8. Breathe. Enjoy your day.

Doc Brown shares my rage when it comes to bad tea making…. I have popped the link to his hilarious rap below. Language warning!

Watch by hovering over the title below:

Hilarious ‘Proper tea’ rap by Doc Brown.

I would love to hear about your tea making technique. Is it the same as mine? Do you have a favourite cup or place to sit? Do you get the same rage that I do?

Edits: After some of your lovely and very amusing shared comments and restacks, it seems we need to go over a few more ground rules for tea making (ha-ha - but seriously):

• Do not strangle the poor tea bag with its own string and ring it out around the spoon (Why do people do this? Thank you for sharing this pet peeve with me

  T. Dalton Wolf
  poor tea bag!)

• Do not use coconut milk (why, oh why would one do this

  Miranda
  oh my lordy)

• Do not boil the kettle with the tea in it!! (ha-ha, this one nearly killed me and if you're not sure what I am talking about see the comments below with links to some very bad tutorials on tea making lols)

• Do not use a vase or water jug made of glass to make your tea. Boiling water tends to crack glass that is not made to withstand such temperatures (lols, again see below). I shall say no more!

With love from your tea loving friend,

Lis x