Everyone makes tea differently – but if you popped round to our place for a visit, this is how we’d make you a brew.
Choose your weapon
Mug or Teapot?
Proper cuppaProper teapot
Treat your water kindlyRun the tap a little so the water’s nicely aerated, and only boil it once to keep the oxygen level up. Oxygen in water helps flavour!
- Add tea and water
Pop a tea bag into your mug, pour over the hot water and stir briefly.
- Wait patiently
Tea needs time to unlock all its flavour, so give it 4-5 minutes to do its thing. This is a perfect time to munch a sneaky biscuit or daydream about holidays.
- Give it a squeeze
Before removing the tea bag, gently squidge it against the side of the mug. Just the once, mind – if you really mash it, it'll taste bitter.
- Customise your brew
We like a splash of semi-skimmed or whole milk, but your brew is unique to you – so add milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all. Most importantly, enjoy!
Treat your water kindly
Add tea and water
Wait patiently
Give it a squeeze
Customise your brew- Treat your water kindly
Run the tap a little so the water’s nicely aerated, and only boil it once to keep the oxygen level up. Oxygen in water helps flavour!
- Keep everything toasty
Tea likes hot water, but a chilly teapot cools things down – so swirl a little boiling water around the empty pot first. For bonus points, use that water to warm the cups too.
- Add tea and water
Add two tea bags to a regular teapot or one tea bag to a mini teapot. If you’re using loose tea, add one teaspoon per person and one for the pot. Pour the hot water in and stir a bit.
- Wait patiently
Tea needs time to unlock all its flavour, so give it 4-5 minutes to do its thing. This is a perfect time to munch a sneaky biscuit or daydream about holidays.
- Customise your brew
We like a splash of semi-skimmed or whole milk, but your brew is unique to you – so add milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all. Most importantly, enjoy!
So when should you add the milk? It’s an issue that divides tea drinkers into two camps: those who pour the milk into their mug first (Miffys) and those who pour their tea in before the milk (Tiffys). Like the Montagues and the Capulets, these warring factions may never see eye to eye – but the truth is that this great debate can be solved in less time than it takes to dunk a digestive.
It’s all a question of heat. Tea brews best in very hot water, but adding milk cools things down. So if you’re brewing tea directly in a mug, it’s better to add the milk last, after it’s brewed. And if you’re brewing in a teapot, the order doesn’t matter at all – it’s just a question of personal preference!
yorkshiretea
