Tea is a popular drink across the world, but there is a myriad of different ways to make it, and the best method will vary depending on who you ask. The basic method usually involves pouring boiling water over tea leaves or tea bags, in a cup or teapot, and then adding milk and a sweetener of some kind.
In this article you'll find:
How To Make Tea With Tea Bags
Tea bags are probably the most convenient and popular option for making tea. They are inexpensive, readily available, and very quick and simple to use. If you drink as much tea as I do, you might be glad about that!
Making Tea In A Teacup
If you’re just making a quick brew for yourself, you will probably want to make your tea in a teacup. This method couldn’t really be any easier, especially if you have a plug-in kettle. If you don’t, you’ll need to boil water on the stove.
Follow the below steps for a perfect cup of tea!
Grab your favorite mug and fill it with cold water. Use this to fill your kettle or pot and then add a little extra to allow for evaporation. This will stop you from boiling more water than you need.
Turn on your kettle or boil the water on the stove. If you’re using the stove, putting a lid on the pot will make it boil a lot faster, and reduce your electricity bill.
Add a teabag to your mug.
Once the water has boiled, pour it straight over your tea bag.
Allow the tea to brew for a little while. The standard is around 2 minutes, but the amount of time will vary depending on how strong you like your tea.
Stir the teabag briefly (again, how long for depends on the desired tea strength) and then give it a gentle squeeze on the side of the cup and take it out.
Add sugar or an alternative sweetener if you like and stir it in, making sure you get the spoon to the bottom of the cup. Adding the sweetener before the milk ensures it dissolves properly.
Add milk to taste and stir.
Allow your tea to cool for a few minutes so you can really enjoy the flavor; official advice is around 6 minutes! If you’re impatient like me, that’s a bit of a challenge, though.
Some people who only like very small amounts of milk prefer to add it to the cup before the tea bag so they can tip out any excess. This works really well, but don’t get your tea bag immersed in milk before adding hot water, or it might not brew properly!
Making Tea In A Teapot
If you’re more traditional or you are making tea for more than one person, a teapot is the way to go. Teapots come in many different materials, but porcelain is the favorite. There are a couple of reasons for this: it holds the heat well, and it’s non-porous so it’s easy to clean after you’ve finished.
If you’re as much of a tea fanatic as me, you’ll have a favorite teapot as well as teacup, so that may not be useful, but it’s good to know!
Now that we’re dealing with quantities, you can replace the number of teabags with the appropriate amount for the people you’re serving, but have you ever heard the phrase “and one for the pot”? It’s often good to add one more teabag than the number of people to ensure the tea is strong enough.
Put your water on to boil. It’s harder to get accurate amounts here, but you can use the cups you will serve in to measure out a cup per person, and then add another three cups to allow for evaporation. Alternatively, fill your teapot and then use that to fill your kettle or pot, adding a good bit more water.
Warm the pot. This is a traditional approach, but worth the time. Pour in some of your boiled water and swirl it around to heat the pot. Discard it. This ensures the actual tea water won’t lose too much heat when it hits the cold pot and helps maintain the temperature for brewing and drinking.
Add your tea bags; as above, the number of people you’ll serve, plus one extra.
Pour on the freshly boiled water.
Stir a bit, as this helps the tea bags to steep, and then replace the lid to keep the heat in.
Allow to steep for about 4-5 minutes, according to taste.
Serve milk and sugar separately so that your guests can add as much or as little as they like. Remember to provide spoons so they can stir their sugar in.
How To Make Tea With Leaves
If you want to be even more traditional, you could try making tea with tea leaves. Many people prefer this kind of tea, and find tea made with tea bags tastes funny to them.
You’ll need an infuser of some sort to make tea with leaves, so make sure you have this before you get started. There are so many different strainers available on the market, it’s hard to choose! Select one with small holes to avoid ending up with bits in your drink. My favorite sits in my cup, forming a lid.
Repeat the process of adding a cupful of water plus a little extra to your kettle or pot and putting it to boil.
Add a spoonful of tea leaves to your favorite infuser, and set this in your cup.
Pour the boiling water over the infuser in the mug.
Swirl the infuser around or simply time it so you know how long to leave it before removing the infuser.
Add sugar, milk, and allow to cool for a few minutes before enjoying.
How To Make Tea In A Teapot
Again, a teapot is much more convenient if you’re making tea for several people, especially if you only have one or two infusers. The “one for the pot” rule applies here again, so add one more teaspoon of tea than number of people.
Most teapots have built-in strainers, making them ideal for tea leaves. If yours doesn’t, simply pour the tea through a strainer when serving it. Infusers don’t work very well in teapots as the tea needs to move around in the larger quantity of water in order to brew properly.
Add the water to the pot or kettle and set it to boil.
Warm the pot with some of your boiling water, and then discard this.
Add a spoonful of tea leaves for each person, plus one extra.
Swirl the pot around to encourage the tea to infuse. Be careful not to splash it through the lid or spout; you might burn yourself.
- Leave it to steep for a few minutes.
Serve the tea with a strainer, and allow your guests to help themselves to milk and sugar.
Conclusion
Making tea really is as easy as pouring boiling water over tea bags or tea leaves, allowing them to steep, and then adding milk and sugar to taste. Sometimes the simple things in life are the best, and tea’s simplicity has won it a permanent place in homes across the world. I don’t know what we’d do without it!
