Tea brewing

[king2005]

I add 3 tea bags to a mug. Fill the mug 3/4 full with hot water. Attack the bags with a spoon.. Take them out, add a little brown sugar, top it off with 1% milk...

[Almita]

I have never had tea with milk before, does it make it thicker or what does it do?

We just heat water in a pot and put three or two bags or tea and we also poke it. That's about it we add sugar to it too.

[Randi]

I add 3 tea bags to a mug. Fill the mug 3/4 full with hot water.

Three tea bags!! Wow, that must be a strong cup of tea!! And hot water? Is has to be boiling when you pour it!

MOFF! I agree, lemon in some tea's can be quite nice.

Almita, what milk does to tea and how and when you pour it in, is the big question. Some think that people started pouring milk in to cool it enough to drink it immediately, and some claim it's for the taste. Now, the biggest question is why do you have to pour the milk in first? Some say that it reacts differently (better) with the tea, when you do that, but I'm sure, there are many explanations for this.

Catnapper!! What ARE you doing? LOL! Do you put a tea bag in cold water, and then in the microwave?? Horrendous!!

Jessica, I'm sure it's a British thing to put milk in your tea, but I must admit, I like it, if it's the right tea - English Breakfast, and strong enough!

You know, some are even heating the pot before they brew tea - and that IS the way to do it.

I'm sure our British members can tell us much more.

[jackie]

I drink my black tea with milk and honey, and my herbal teas alone.

I just toss a bag in a cup, add boilung water and let it sit from 2-10 minutes depending on the tea.

[Kfamr]

Funny,
I have a cup of tea 'brewing' on the counter right now. Pomegranate Green Tea.. Yum! Free sample I received from http://www.yogitea.com/

Sometimes I boil the water on the stove or if I'm feeling lazy (like today) I microwave it.

Depends on my mood as to how I drink it. Sometimes with milk/coffee creamer & sugar, sometimes with just the cream, sometimes just tea. Right now I'm in a just tea mood.

At work we have french vanilla creamers.. I LOVE it with 1 or 2 vanillas creamers in it.

I used to drink iced tea all the time but haven't recently.

[Randi]

Uhh, I would never put cream in tea, and I don't think any Brit would either. I would accept cream in my coffee - if there was no milk, though.

Now, I don't have a microwave, but at work, I have put some milk in for, I think 20 sec. to heat it for my coffee - I use half milk/half strong coffee.

[Kfamr]

The reason for creamer being that no one in my house drinks milk, but we usually always have creamer.

Same for work, no milk (other than the cartons we use) so I have to use creamer. Most retaurants here give you coffee creamer for your hot tea when you order it.

Tastes the same as milk in tea, IMO.

[critter crazy]

Hot Tea-I use 1-2 tea bags, depending on my mood. I usually add milk and sugar to me tea.

Iced tea-I like lemon in my Iced tea.

[Freedom]

Boil the water in the kettle. Heat the teapot with warm water.

One bag per cup plus one bag for the pot. Pour the water OVER the bags. Let steep 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove bags carefully. Do NOT squeeze the bags out, that just makes the tea bitter.

Warm teacup. Well, we stopped using teacups about . . . 20 years ago. Now we have these huge soup cups, so we can sit and enjoy a cuppa, without getting up for a refill.

Dad:
Pour tea into cup, almost up to rim.

Pour cold milk into cup until it overflows.

Add 3 Sweet N Low's. (He used to put in 4 heaping spoons of sugar until he developed diabetes 8 years ago.)

Me:
Pour tea into cup, about 3/4 full.

Pour cold milk up to rim, or else it is just too hot to drink for 15 minutes!

No sweetner for me.

Oh, and it MUST be Salada tea bags.

[Sevaede]

I don't drink tea. Or, at least, I haven't found one that I enjoy the flavour of its drink. Suggestions?

An idea of the milk/tea thing... Maybe the reason folks pour the milk first, then tea, is for tempering (as putting the colds into the hots would curdle or otherwise affect the cold undesirably)? As for why there is milk in tea *period* my guess is to cool the drink down.

[Miss Z]

Blurgh, I hate tea. Not very British of me, I know, but long live coffee!

My parents always make tea in the teapot, although, like me, they are mainly coffee drinkers.

Uhh, I would never put cream in tea, and I don't think any Brit would either. I would accept cream in my coffee - if there was no milk, though.

I've seen cream in tea in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. It's more of a southern thing, in fact, I think tea-drinking in general is.

[ratdogg]

wait wait wait, so for all you people that actually boil water in a kettle i HAVE to know...does it really whistle?!?!? send me a PM or just reply. k, thanx!

[ramanth]

I used to boil water in a kettle (and yes, mine whistles), put the tea bag in a mug, pour the water in, let the bag steep for a minute or two (depending on the type of tea), remove the bag and set it aside in case I wanted a second cup, and then depending on my mood would add milk and/or sugar.

But now, thanks to Jess (k9soul), I'll be making tea with this:
IngenuiTEA

I also picked out some of their flavor, roobios, and herbal teas. It'll all arrive tomorrow.

[zippy-kat]

wait wait wait, so for all you people that actually boil water in a kettle i HAVE to know...does it really whistle?!?!? send me a PM or just reply. k, thanx!

It depends on the kettle.
Mine does.



Randi, are you ready for the atrocities of all actrocities?
Open package, pour into water bottle, shake, drink. Peach only, please. Actually, that's only if I'm at work.

If I'm at the house, it depends on how lazy I am.
Most weekday mornings, it's: fill the cup with water, chunk in a tea bag, push "beverage" on the microwave, then stir in 1/2 or whole sweet 'n low. But if I have more time (or if it's the weekend), I'll boil the water, load the diffuser with looseleaf tea, and then seep it.

I LOVE tea but I have weird "rules"...
Hot tea must be sweetened (if not by honey, by sweet 'n low).
Cold tea must be un-sweetened.


Now, as for the milk question:
I don't use milk in my tea (not suppose to have milk period as I'm allergic to it). However, I do use 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee. I pour the 1/2 and 1/2 in first so that it mixes itself when I pour the coffee in and I don't have to dirty a spoon to stir. Talk about lazy!!!!

[Almita]

Almita, what milk does to tea and how and when you pour it in, is the big question. Some think that people started pouring milk in to cool it enough to drink it immediately, and some claim it's for the taste. Now, the biggest question is why do you have to pour the milk in first? Some say that it reacts differently (better) with the tea, when you do that, but I'm sure, there are many explanations for this.

Ahh, thank you for some reasons they put milk in. I have never heard of it here. I've only heard of people adding lemon for a different taste.