How To Make Perfect Tea
The best way to make tea has been a subject of great debatefor centuries. As a tea drinker of some 30 years experiencehere is my contribution as to what m...
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How To Make Perfect TeaThe best way to make tea has been a subject of great debatefor centuries. As a tea drinker of some 30 years experiencehere is my contribution as to what makes the perfect cup oftea. 1. Always use fresh water if possible. Spring water is bestdue to its purity and lack of additives such as chlorineand fluoride which can affect the taste. If you use tapwater then run the tap until the water is cold and fresh.Good quality water is essential for the perfect cup of tea. 2. Preferably use a teapot made of china or earthenware.Pots made of certain types of metal such as enamel silveror copper can impart flavor to the water. Stainless steelis okay. 3. Warm the pot beforehand with a little hot water. 4. Add at least one level teaspoon for each cup of waterthat you are going to add. Adding loose tea to the pot isthe best way for the tea to infuse properly but many peopleprefer to use a tea strainer or infusing basket forconvenience sake. 5. Pour boiling water directly onto the leaves and thenstir the water before placing lid back on the teapot. 6. Let the tea steep for between four and five minutes. Ifusing green tea three minutes is best. 7. Remove or strain the leaves to avoid overbrewing. 8. The cup that you drink out of can greatly affect thetaste of the tea so choose wisely. A good quality cup madeof china will definitely enhance the whole tea drinkingexperience. Avoid wide shallow cups which cause the tea tocool in next to no time. 9. Pour milk into the cup first. Ah, yes this is the stepthat causes most controversy. Many an argument has beenhad concerning whether or not it is best to add the milk tothe tea or vice versa. I have always preferred milk firstthen tea but my husband argues that it is easier toregulate the right amount of milk by adding milkafterwards! Now scientists have waded into the debate and the verdictis clear. The UK Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)has warnedagainst the practice of adding milk to tea after it ispoured. It seems that dribbling a stream of milk into hotwater makes "denaturation of milk proteins" more likely.And who would want that?! At high temperatures, milkproteins - which are normally all curled up foetus-like,begin to unfold and link together in clumps. This is whathappens in UHT [ultra heat-treated] milk, and is why itdoesn't taste as good a fresh milk," says Dr AndrewStapley, a chemical engineer at Loughborough University.It is better to have the chilled milk massed at the bottomof the cup, awaiting the stream of hot tea. This allows themilk to cool the tea, rather than the tea ruinously raisethe temperature of the milk. So it is now settled. The milk or tea first debate is nowover! Umm, somehow I don't think so!! 10. Lastly, drink tea without any sugar. I must admit tobeing a reformed sugary tea drinker and you know what thatmeans. Yes, I am now passionately against putting sugar intea. As one who has sat on both sides of the fence I cansay that tea is so much better without sweetening. Sugaronly serves to mask the taste of the tea. Not only that toomuch sugar is not good for you and why spoil what is nowbeing recognized as one of the world's great health drinksby adding sugar. When I stopped taking my two spoonfuls ofsugar in my tea it took me about three or four weeks to getused to the new taste. However once I got used to it therewas no going back. So there you have it - the perfect cup of tea! Lorraine Bevere is the webmaster and operator of FOG Tea which is a premier source of information about tea. For questions orcomments about this article, please visit:http://fogtea.com Tags : How ToCategory : Food&DrinkOther articles :
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