And so it begins, my first blog. Whilst contemplating what to write, I am sipping on a cup of tea, which has made me think about the intricacies of the ‘perfect cuppa’. There are so many factors to consider in even this most mundane of everyday tasks; the cup, when to add the milk, how long to leave the tea bag in? It is something you could give a lot of thought, (clearly I have), but I feel confidently that it has a great deal to do with the cup. High society drink from bone china, a delicate vessel for the more refined flavours of Earl Grey and Darjeeling. The more modest drink from thick white mugs, robust enough to hold the tar like tea that helps to get you going on a sleepy morning. Personally, I drink from a mug that doesn’t in any way match my pretty floral mug collection bought specifically to brighten up my kitchen. Instead I opt for something more festive, a red conical mug with a picture of Rudolph etched into the ceramic. This was initially considered a tacky Christmas gift, but I now turn to this mug time and time again to help in delivering that perfect cup of tea.
However, I am feeling a little disappointed at the moment. I have taken my own advice, used my trusty mug, added the water and then the milk, but somehow it hasn’t worked and I have been left with a second rate hot drink that really isn’t cutting it. What I would have preferred is one of those occasions which rhyme nor reason can explain, where you make that perfect cup of tea. A time where your cup tastes that little bit different from your average 3 o’clock caffeine hit. But try as you might to recreate this experience, it seems to me to be impossible, which makes me wonder, how exactly do you get that perfect cup every time? I think this may be a case where practice doesn’t always make perfect!
Nothing hits the spot like a good cup of tea. I reckon it's all about how long it's stewed for. My granny (like most I expect) used to put the teapot on the stove for ages and it was lovely and strong. When my Dad worked as a fireman they used to make massive industrial sized pots of tea and never ever cleaned the teapot. Sounds disgusting, but it made the best cuppa ever.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be controversial though and say that nothing hits the spot like Tetley. The others are nice, but they lack the "aaaah" factor.
I am also a fan of strong tea, to the point that I find it difficult to serve people weak tea even if they ask for it.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to have sampled some tea from one of those firestation pots, that sounds perfect!
I am the opposite, I love what others call weak tea. BUT this is mainly because I drink my tea black and I think the flavours come through more clearly this way. Milk seems to dull the flavours so much. Strong = bitter for me which I dislike.
ReplyDeleteLately (read last couple of years) I've been drinking an inordinately large volume of oolong though still some black, white and green teas now and then.
I see what you mean. Whenever I have run out of milk and have to drink my tea black, I always make it much weaker, otherwise I get that bitter taste you talk about.
ReplyDelete