Tea, a pursuit of perfection

I simply love tea. I’m ashamed to admit I’m probably a tea addict. In a day I would probably have a minimum of 5 cups of tea (morning, afternoon, back from work, dinner and then bedtime). I’m actually trying to cut back, by drinking just plain hot water but so far I’m only moderately successful. Nothing beats that perfect cup of tea.

Not many people know this but; there’s actually a proper way to make tea. So how could we make that perfect cup? Well:

1. “The first tea bag is always the best”. I find tea tastes its best when I have just opened that new pack. To maintain the tea’s freshness, I normally keep them in an airtight container.
2. The water has to be boiling hot. Tea leaves brews best when the water is at 100 degrees (In contrast, for coffee, boiling water will scald the beans and decrease the flavour). Some people argue that different types of tea have different optimum temperatures in which they brew best, so it’s best to experiment.
3. After pouring boiling water, leave the tea to brew. Tea leaves releases its flavours after brewing for 2-3 minutes. However, brewing the tea for more than 4 minutes will release bitter tannins and should be avoided. I find brewing tea for around 1-2 minute would give me the right balance between thinness and flavour.
4. Lastly, add milk and sugar to taste. Try tea without sugar as sugar tastes quite strong and masks the flavour of the tea. Milk also masks tea but personally I love just slightly less than “too much” of milk. I know of friends who takes their tea with half a cup of milk (should I say, take their milk with tea) and some take their sugar with milk: 7 teaspoons of sugar, in one small cup of tea!

For extra geekiness in making tea, some of my friends (but not me!!!) would:

1. Warm up the teapot or teacup with boiling water beforehand.
2. Warm the milk before adding it to the tea.

The best everyday tea I recommend, in order of preference, are:

1. Twinning’s Assam tea. I first had this for breakfast while I was staying in Morriston Hospital for a clinical attachment.
2. Tea Direct, a free-trade tea I discovered served in Costa Coffee, that day when Dyanna visited.

3. PG tips special blend limited edition tea, a blend to commemorate 75 years of the company. I was attracted to this tea because it was packaged beautfully in gold (paper), and had the words “limited edition”. I discovered this tea while shopping in Tescos.
4. Tetley’s tea, my all time favourite as I’ve stuck with this brand for 6 years now. This is my everyday and “for all occasions” tea.
5. Twinnings tea.

Typhoo, Marks and Spencer’s Assam tea, and Sainsbury’s Gold Blend are also worth a try.

Tea would taste so distinctive, that I would normally remember when, and at what place I’ve tasted the tea. All tea tastes different and I find, tea tastes uniquely depending on who makes the cup. So it’s nice to experiment not only with different types of tea but with different people to prepare the tea.

A perfect cup of tea is what it takes to enliven a weary body, soothe an angry heart, or to calm a cluttered mind. No wonder in Japan, mastering the tea ceremony may take a whole lifetime.

Link to the controversial video

Disclaimer:If you are very pure of heart and gets offended with general rudeness and swear words, please DO NOT click the link. Otherwise, yes, it's quite funny.

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