How to Brew That Perfect Cup of Tea

Most of us enjoy a nice cup of tea from time to time and many prefer to drink tea to coffee. At one time tea used to be far cheaper than coffee but not so today and especially when it comes to the gourmet teas that are on the market today.

Being English by birth I remember my granny making the tea in a huge pot that would sit next to the fire or on the woodstove all day long to stay hot, waiting for any visitor that should happen to pop in.

Her rule of thumb was always 1 spoonful for each person and an extra one for the pot. Of course this was well before the proverbial tea bag came onto the scene. I think my poor granny would have had a fit to see tea come in tiny little bags.

I have been finding it increasingly difficult to buy leaf tea. For the uninitiated that is what tea is called that does not come in a tiny individual little bag with a paper tag at the end of a string.

I think only two brands now make the loose leaf tea anymore. Such a shame as it tastes far nicer than the stuff in the tiny bags do. And the tea leaves are so good for our pot plants. It is a bit unseemly putting the used teabags in the pot plants and not a good look at all.

Well onto the tips for brewing that perfect cup of tea.

Most people do not realise that not all teas are the same. They all require different water temperatures and times to steep so as to extract the most flavour.

So you see not all teas are to be brewed the same.

Below here is a pictorial description for the most common of the teas available covering the type of tea, the best water temperature to use and how long the tea bags need to steep for.

Photo source unknown

So now you have the basics, it is time to brew up a nice cup of tea, put the feet up and relax and enjoy the new found flavour of our favourite beverage.

Long gone are the days of just tossing some tea leaves into a put and filling with boiling water. It has become an art form today.