A Nice Cupa Tea... |
There is an art
to brewing the perfect pot of tea. |
A truly flavorful cup of splendid tea is easy to make with just a few careful considerations. It helps to have lovely friends from "across the pond" who bring precious gifts of tea when they come to visit. The Bedlam House Collection is growing, but not faster than I'm consuming. And that's just as well; you don't want tea to sit too long in the cabinet. The natural oils and flavors fade. |
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First, fill your kettle with fresh cold water and bring it
to a full rolling boil. I don't know why this makes a difference. Just trust me on this -- it does.
Just as the kettle is about to boil, pour a little of the hot water into your ceramic, china or glass tea pot
and swirl it around.
Pre-warming the pot in this manner keeps the boiled water at maximum heat when it is added to the tea pot, quickly drawing more of the tasty oils from the tea leaves.
A sturdy ceramic tea pot will hold its heat best. Never, never brew tea in a tea kettle!
The tea will taste like an old tin can!
Fill a tea ball with a tablespoon of your favorite fresh tea leaves.
When the water is
really boiling in the kettle, toss out the pre-warming water in the tea pot and refill with boiling water.
Add your tea ball or tea bags (see Experiments), and steep for five minutes -- no more! Any longer, and the tea will begin to take on a
nasty, metallic taste from the tannins. Add sugar and cream as you prefer. A teaspoon of real cream will put you off that chalky, non-dairy whitener for good.
If you cover your teapot with a thick towel or tea cozy (quilted covering), it will retain
heat an amazingly long time. Now, sit back and enjoy a cupa or three.
Favorite Teas:
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