How to Make a Cup of Tea

The first rule is to use a tea-pot

You will not get a decent cup of tea, if you just dip a tea-bag into a cup! That is not a proper cup of tea

Furthermore, you should warm the pot!

You need to boil the water in a kettle, and pour just a little of this water into the tea-pot. Leave it there for a couple of seconds, and then pout it out again! This is how you warm the pot. In other words, you are preparing the tea-pot by bringing it up to the right temperature. Everything needs to be hot in the making of a good cup of tea.

This brings me to the next point.

You must bring the water completely to the boil again before pouring the water onto the tea. The water needs to be at boiling point when you pour it onto the tea

The reason for this, is that making a cup of tea is an infusion, and it needs boiling water to bring out the taste of thetea

Sipping hot tea from a nice bone-china tea-cup does improve the flavour!

Bone china simply because it is thin, and so enhances the pleasure of sipping the tea

Please try a nice tea-cup rather than a coffee mug!

If you do not use tea-cups, then try a bone china mug for everyday use.

If you are serving tea on an occasion, then try a nice china tea service, consisting of matching tea-cups and saucers!

You will get a much better flavour from loose-leaf tea. Unfortunately, you will not always be able to obtain it. If you have to use tea-bags, try to get the best quality you can, and use a tea-pot to do the infusion, as noted above.

You can get tea-bags in different varieties of teas, such as Darjeeling (my favourite), and Assam, which are Indian teas. I like Indian teas for everyday use, and I particularly like Darjeeling

Personally, I prefer loose leaf tea, and I like the large-leaf, as pictured here.

Although there are good quality tea-bags, they tend to be made up of tiny particles, which do not produce the best flavour. If you want a really good flavour, you should try to get hold of loose leaf tea. Personally, I get my supply from a tea importer.

Once you have poured the boiling water onto the tea or tea-bag in the pot, you must allow it to brew. What does brew mean>

It simply means to allow it to infuse for 3 or 5 minutes so as to allow the maximum amount of taste to arise. Just leave the pot for a few minutes and then give it a good stir before you pour it.

If you use loose tea, it is important to use a tea-strainer. You place it in the cup as you pour thetea, and it retains the tea-leaves so that you arrive with a clear |cup of tea

If you do not use a tea-strainer, you will simply arrive with a mouth full of tea-leaves rather than a nice clear, refreshing drink!

You may add mink or sugar according to your taste.

Personally I prefer to drink mine without milk or sugar, as I like to really taste the tea

However, some people just add a little milk, and no sugar. You just need to taste it and decide what you like best.

I like mine black, as it is far more refreshing.
You may like to add a tiny slice of lemon to a black tea, as that can enhance the taste.

One of the ways to enjoy a cup of tea, is as part of an English cream tea

This is a traditional English treat, which started in the West Country, in Devon and Cornwall.

It consists of scones, served with thick cream (traditionally thick clotted cream, which is not always available, and so you may have to use a substitute) and jam. Also, small cakes are served, including custard slices. You cannot always buy custard slices, and so I have drafted a lens which gives you a simple, delicious recipe, and you can find this by clicking through to my lens on custard slices here

I am providing a recipe for home-made scones below, so that you can make your own cream tea, in the traditional manner.

No cream tea would be complete without a scone. Here's a simple recipe that you can make at home if you prefer to bake without a mix.

Ingredients
225g/8oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
25g/1oz caster sugar
50g/2oz unsalted butter, slightly softened
150ml/¼ pint milk
1 egg, beaten, or plain flour, for brushing or dusting

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the sugar, add the butter and rub quickly into the flour, creating a fine breadcrumb consistency.
3. Add the milk, a little at a time, working to a smooth dough.
4. This is now best left to rest for 5-15 minutes before rolling.
5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface until 2cm/¾in thick. Using a 5cm/2in pastry cutter, cut the dough, using one sharp tap and not twisting the dough as you cut. Twisting the scone mix will result in an uneven rising.
4. Once cut, the scones can be either brushed with the beaten egg for a shiny glaze, or dusted with the flour for a matt finish.
5. Place the scones on a greased baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly, and serve while still warm.

(Thanks to the BBC)

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