Originally posted by 35mmfilmfan the tea-bag MUST be removed before adding the milk.
No, the tea bag should be removed before making the tea. Real tea is loose tea, not the powdered stuff in paper bags.
I have been through the whole Twinings catalogue and many others and have returned to the lineage of my childhood. My parents used Lan-choo. My variation on that was to seek out a looseleaf black tea that is naturally low in caffeine (not decaffeinated) but still full flavoured. I have settled on a fabulous tea from Sri Lanka:
Organic Tea Australia | Nature's Cuppa I drink it black with no sugar, but I'm sure that those who prefer lemon or milk and sugar would enjoy it too.
I spoke to the Australian boss of the company once. He is a passionate tea-lover. He spoke lyrically of the seasonal variation as the tea plants are in various stages of flowering. I can taste the difference - seriously. It's like a wine, where every harvest produces slight variation. Their tea is sourced from plantations that don't use herbicides or pesticides and they seem committed to fair trade.
The other key ingredient of good tea is water without chlorine or fluoride. (No I'm not opposed to the addition of these thing to municipal water supplies, I just don't want them in my tea.) If you don't have filtered rainwater, as we do, filter the tap water.
The classic formula for tea in a pot is one spoon of tea for each person and one for the pot. But this is generally too strong for my taste. I use 3 heaped teaspoons in a (pre-heated) standard ceramic pot. Allow it to draw for 3-5 minutes before pouring (through a strainer). The ratio of tea to water is a matter of personal preference, so experiment. Better to make it a little strong and pour sooner than to make it too weak and let it stew. Tea that stews for too long becomes too bitter.
For a single mug, I use loose tea in a metal infuser. It's only marginally more fuss than using a tea bag and the results are way better.
Coronavirus restrictions aside, I have found it hard to get decent tea in a cafe now, even in foodie-obsessed Melbourne in recent times. Coffee is now king. While I love my coffee, it's a pity that the quiet joy of tea-drinking isn't more widely appreciated.
(The tea was nothing special and rather weak, and the water wasn't filtered, but at least they tried.)
Last edited by Des; 03-25-2020 at 03:03 PM.