Drinking a cup of tea is only good if you make it. Whether you like it milky with three sugars or strong with no milk, if someone makes you a cup of tea you are more than likely to receive a cup of tea the exact opposite to how you like it.
And if you leave it you run the risk of offending the tea maker which is possibly the last thing you want to do, so you sit there drinking almost a pint of sweetened milk when you prefer your tea super strong with no added sugar.
If only everyone had their tea the same way and there was no other way to make it. How easy would that be?
The famous George Orwell in his time had a set of tea rules that he lived by that no one should dare depart from.
George Orwell’s tea rules
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Use a teapot, preferably ceramic
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Tea should be strong – six spoons of leaves per 1 litre
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Take the pot to the boiling kettle
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Drink out of a tall, mug-shaped tea cup
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Add the milk to the tea, not vice versa
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No sugar!
Orwell said that tea was one of the "mainstays of civilisation" and completely ruined by sweetening. He said that anyone flouting his diktat on shunning the sugar bowl could not be called "a true tealover." That’s us told!
Not only did he have a weak spot for a good cuppa, he also had distaste for scientists, so in 2003, to mark the 100th anniversary of Orwell’s birth, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) broke down his 11-point formula to rubbish a good many of his ‘golden rules.’
And Dr Andrew Stapley – a chemical engineer at Loughborough University – found a number of Orwell’s points were wrong.
Orwell’s six-spoons of tea per pot were found to be just far too strong to drink. The RSC research found that just a single spoon of leaves was sufficient.
Pouring milk after the tea was made was seen as a no go because according to their research;
"At high temperatures, milk proteins – which are normally all curled up foetus-like – begin to unfold and link together in clumps. This is what happens in UHT (ultra heat-treated) milk, and is why it doesn’t taste as good a fresh milk," says Dr Stapley.
"It is better to have the chilled milk massed at the bottom of the cup, awaiting the stream of hot tea. This allows the milk to cool the tea, rather than the tea ruinously raise the temperature of the milk."
And this whole malarkey about no sugar isn’t backed up by the team as sugar "acts to moderate the natural astringency of tea." In other words it just makes tea less bitter.
This would clearly anger Orwell who said that "Tea is meant to be bitter, just as beer is meant to be bitter."
Well whatever your tea style we at UlsterWeavers.com follow these fabulous tips to ensure that all of our staff get a decent brew every day of the week.
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Make sure the kettle is clean and well maintained. Water contains minerals and limescale that can build up at the bottom of your kettle overtime. De-scale and rinse your kettle regularly especially if you live in a hard water area.
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If your water tastes good then half the battle is complete. Tap water is usually fine but filtered water can be a better option as it has a high amount of oxygen circulation throughout. Try to avoid using distilled or previously boiled water as the kettle prefers pure water.
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Whether you are using a teapot or a single cup, give the tea at least 2 minutes to brew. A good tip is to ensure that the water stays hot and this can be done with either tea cosies or simply placing a small plate on top of the cup. This keeps the heat in giving you a steaming hot cup of tea every time. Be careful not to burn yourself on the boiling water.
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If herbal and speciality teas are your thing then let the water in the kettle cool a little as finer teas taste better at lower temperatures.
