Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could tell me how to make tea.
I have a plumber downstairs and I am going to have to offer him a drink and he says he drinks tea.
Anyway, I dont drink any hot drinks and sort of know how to make tea but am not too sure.

I have a tea strainer and this powder that I think is tea, but it could be coffee powder I'm not sure.
He says he wants milk in it. How much should I put in ?

Could you tell me how you lot do it ?

And if you have coffee, tell me how you make that too as I havent a clue and its about time I learnt.

Thanks to you all.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Ask the plumber...

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Just tell him to get back to work - you're not paying him to drink tea. Get him to fix your washing machine (or whatever) and then go and buy a cup of tea!

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

:shocked:

Doesn't everyone know how to make tea !

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Well, that's got to be the oddest technical support query I've ever seen on this board ... :spin:

OK:

1. Put the kettle on.
2. Smell the brown powder. Surely you must know what tea and coffee smell like ... ?
3. Get your tea pot out.
4. When the kettle boils, slosh a little water into the pot and wash it around.
5. Empty the teapot and re-boil the kettle.
6. Put three very heaped teaspoons of tealeaves into the teapot.
7. Half-fill the teapot with boiling water. This is very important. The water must be poured immediately after the kettle switches off.
8. Wait about 5 minutes.
9. Put some milk in the mug. If you're using an average size mug I'd guess you need about 2cm of milk in the bottom of it.
10. Put the tea strainer over the mug and pour the tea through it.
11. Ask the plumber how many sugars he wants!
12. Add sugar, stir well and serve.
13. Pour yourself one, you don't know what you're missing!

HTH
;)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Don't forget the rich tea biscuits, they are great in cups of tea! :) he will be your friend for life if you give him some as well!

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Coffees a lot easier and cleaner :D
get a cup/mug
get a spoon
put 2 rounded teaspoons of sugar
and one teaspoon of coffee powder in the mug (level it (the amount) to the spoon...a heap of it is too much).
pour water (hot of course)
add milk (for white coffee or none for black)

never drink hot drinks? what do u drink.

never seen any tea powder before, only tea leaves. You'll know coffee over tea, as its a stronger smell.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Just seen all your replies. Thats great help.
Green reps coming your way.
I guess I just forget as I never drink tea of coffee. Most people find it strange but even in cold weather I still only have cold drinks.

Thanks everyone.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

3 heaped teaspoons of tea but no mention of the pot size?? The type of tea can also make a difference.

Also you should NEVER put hot liquid onto a small amount of milk as this can cause it to curdle. Better to put the tea into the mug and put the milk in after. Added benefit is you can add milk until you get the right colour.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Heh, I've seen it all now, this must be a joke thread, but if it's not.

Tea = boil kettle, put milk in cup, add teabag, add hot water, jiggle teabag to achieve required brownness, add sugar if necessary.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

At last! someone who agrees with my style of making tea! :D my whole family put the milk in first, followed by the water, but that makes it go all weird! and it is indeed easier to balance the amount of milk you need if you do it afer :)

this thread has got very random now, perhaps we should start another on 'how to do shoelaces' ;) haha , well maybe...

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Now that's how to make tea (unless, like me, you only drink it at work, and get somebody else to make it for you - cheers homealone :p: )

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

this is how i do it. Tea for 1. tea bag first then add boiling water slowly over the tea bag as not to fil it with to much air. Let it stand for about 10-15 seconds then stir it around a little then start to gently squize the tea bag against the cup. Watch the colour of the water until the teabag almost dissapears because the water is so dark. Remove teabag and then add your sugar. i prefer 3 heaped medicine spoons. Milk has to be full fat. semi is for girls. tea must be milky to give it that creamy taste.

Always make tea then add sugar and milk. Milk will coat tea leafs preventing the flavour getting out. Sugar will make it harder to dissolve the tea flavour into the water. I make this tea for my friends in work and they love it. Coffee is simple. Coffee sugar water stir then add the cream or full cream milk. Or heat up a mug of milk, add coffee and sugar and a great cuppa.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Oh man, you've done it now ... ;)

3 heaped spoons is a guess based on what I imagine to be an 'average' pot size. With the plumber sitting waiting I didn't imagine Halcyon had time to be answering supplementary questions before getting his teamaking instructions.

I agree type of tea makes a difference but again, without waiting for clarification it's best to assume it's just bog-standard typhoo or PG tips (the biggest assumption, of course, is that the mysterious 'brown powder is in fact tea at all, and not coffee, or worse, gravy powder :sick: )

And as for whether milk goes in first or last ... putting the milk into a cup full of hot tea can scald it and ruin the flavour (makes it taste like it does out of a flask, which in turn reminds me of huddling behind a damp rock halfway up some fell in the Lake District). Putting the milk in first and pouring the tea slowly allows the milk to gradually come up to temperature as the mug fills. Much nicer that way, and nobody is going to convince me otherwise!

Of course, if you get your preparation technique right, then you will know what colour the tea is going to come out before you even pour it, so you won't need to wait to see how much milk you need. ;) :D This is a far better approach, because weak tea with a little milk and strong tea with a lot of milk might look a similar colour but they certainly don't taste the same.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

If you are living alone and never drink hot drinks it is doubtful that you would have either tea or coffee on hand. If you live with someone who drinks tea or coffee then you surely must have seen them making it at some point. What did the powder turn out to be?

I go with the view that the milk should go in the last. Tea making is an art if you want to do it properly. There are many different types of tea and each has its own best way of brewing. One of the most important aspects of brewing tea is to have the right sort of water. It is amazing how much the water affects the taste of the tea. The best water I have found for tea is that from West Yorkshire.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

No one can say that we dont have cutting edge and hot topics on our forum :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

NONONO! Instant coffee is horrible. Get proper coffee and a coffee maker... And use more coffee. You're describing dish water.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

This is not a joke thread.

Th eonly person in my house that drinks coffee is my Dad just makes it. I've never paid much attention.
My sister has tea but again I dont really watch her making it.

I followed the instructions and poured the milk after and it did turn out a light brown colour which I know is tea as myu sisters is always like that so I'm releived there.
So thats that sorted. I just hope i didnt put too much milk, but he's not complaining so thats the main thing.

Someone suggested I pour myself a cup....Well I will do, but not of that tea. The only tea I drink is ice tea with peach, and that is drank cold.

Hot drinks are just not my thing.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

But for a plumber thats OK

Now for instant coffee you should add a little cold water to the granuals in the cup before you add the hot water that has been off the boil for at least 20 seconds.

That way you don't scald what little flavour is left in those brown granules.

Oh and as it's a trade person, add sufficient sugar that the spoon stands upright in the mug, you will have put sufficient in at that point.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

This is the most important subject of all. You can have all the kit you like in your shed, but if you can't sit in it with a cup of tea in your mitt and watch the rain trickle down the window, then life has no meaning. :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Surely for a plumber, it's better to put the sugar in first and sort of drip about half an inch of tea on top :D (well, that's how my brother drinks it anyway!)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

You need knives to make tea :Yikes: I've been doing it wrong all these years. :dunce: :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

You've never had workmen round your house have you. The best way to get a good, fast, job is to keep them adequately watered. Plus it's only civil.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Also the best way to get an NTL engineer to replace a dodgy DIY socket installed by a previous owner for a proper one ;)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I dont have any windows :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Sorry but i have to dispute that. If you put the tea in the mug it cools it as the mug will have been cooler than the tea. If you poor hot water onto the milk you will heat it up too fast.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

im surprised by the no of people who add milk then the water... :D i do this, and the rest of my family add the water then the milk. I get lectures of my mom about this being unhealthy and all. I like it this way, as it prevents the tea being to strong which i hate.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I would never put water in after milk - presumably by 'water after milk' you're talking about making the tea in the mug? If I do make it in a mug, I put water on the tea bag then put the milk in afterwards, as it is harder to brew tea in milky water.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Paging Arthur Dent.

Paging Mr Arthur Dent...!

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I don't believe I'm reading this - 28 replies as well :eek:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

what i do is pour 3-4cm of milk into a large mug (>330ml).
I then put the teabag in and add 2 teaspoon of sugar (caster is better than granulated IMO).
I then add v hot water, so it fills it nearly to the top.
And i stir it till its a cream colour.

If i put the bag in first then the sugar and water then milk, i add too much water and then theres just too much flavour off the bags and it comes out storng as theres no much room for the milk. by adding milk in im leaving a buffer for it, so it doesnt overflow :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

http://www.djmiles.co.uk/ and click on the 'milk first or not' results. :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

:D see people with taste lol

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

It's amazing how the simplest of topics can provoke the strongest of viewpoints.

I bet Halcyon is more confused than ever as to the best way of making tea. :erm:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Out of curiosity to those people who got an engineer around to install their broadband or dialup, what drink did you make for them?

i offered to make tea, but he prefered a cold drink. So i gave him the only cold drink i had, my own cherry coke :(

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Now see, I've never had curdled milk in 25 years or so of making tea this way, and just to prove a point I made a cup of tea my way and in the pot for my mrs and her sister too with the milk in last, they both tasted identical, apart from theirs being completely the wrong shade of brown.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Maybe I should call an NTL engineer out to help me make a cup of tea. ;-)

I never knew my topic would cause a huge clan of MIB's (Milk in before) and MIA's (Milk in after) groups. lol

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

when i said curdled i didnt mean all lumpy, i was more meaning slightly soured.
my Mrs makes tea and drinks it and never notices, i drink tea from the same pot made in the same way and using the same milk and will tell her on occassion, "that milk has soured didnt you notice it?" (she puts the milk in first) and she will say "no, tasted fine to me" so maybe some of it is down to sensitivity of taste.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

haha i wouldnt wait for the tea, but you would get it SOON

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

At least he asked for, or accepted your offer of a brew. After over 35 years as a service engineer I have become something of a connoisseur of peoples skills in this department. If I go into a house that looks a bit iffy then even if I am parched I will politely refuse saying "no thanks I have just had one". I have drunk, or sometimes surreptitiously poured down the sink some absolutely awful conncoctions in my time.

I am a milk second person, I can judge the colour better that way.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

you are all monsters. the correct way is this of course:

1) boil kettle
2) find a clean cup
3) put teabag in cup
4) put 2 sugars in
5) pour hot water over the teabag and sugar
6) mush it about a bit until it goes a dark brown colour and all the sugar is dissolved
7) take teabag out with spoon, burn your fingers by squeezing the extra tea-ness out of it
8) throw teabag at bin and miss, so you have a brown splodge to clear off the floor later
9) stir again
10) put spoon back in drawer without washing so it goes all sticky
11) drink

all you people who put milk in your tea have something wring with you...:D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Ahhh memories - the good old student method of making tea. :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Naaah - you just need to use a really sharp spoon :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Doesn't anyone get the feeling that they have been had?

I mean, why on earth would someone who does not know how to make Tea have loose Tea & a strainer in the house?

How old would this Tea be? it does have a shelf life you know.

Surely a novice Tea maker would have started out with Teabags?

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I like to have a little milk, with black tea (not with green), as I don't like the sensation of my teeth feeling 'furry' which no milk seems to cause.

One thing I can't stand is using UHT or sterilised milk in tea, the 'caramel' flavour is too noticeable.

- and i'm in the 'milk after mob' :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

The last really good cup of strong tea ever made was stolen for use as the brownian motion source in the Heart of Gold's infinite improbability drive, shortly before the Earth was destroyed to make way for a Hyperspace Bypass, thus precluding the making of further cups.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

There are Coffee and Tea drinkers in the household, just not in the house at the time the Tea required making.

Milk after for me, in both coffee and tea.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Now Halcyon's learnt to make tea, the next step is the ceremony :)

http://www.holymtn.com/tea/chinetea.htm

http://www.holymtn.com/tea/Japanesetea.htm

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

how DID you know? :D

the lack of milk is a personal preference though. my flatmates think i have no tastebuds :). we have a teapot and a tea cosy though for when more than 2 of us are having a cuppa ;)

i think you must have something wrong with your tea then... i have never had "furry teeth" :erm:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I don tlive on my own. I live with my parents and sisters.
Some drink tea and coffee as stated.

I couldnt care less when they drink it so never bother to take note.

I know its time i knew how to, but I know how to do plenty of things and this is one of those things I never knew the true way and now thanks to you nice people, I do know how to make a correct cup of tea.


Oh please no !!!
I'm not having a tea ceremony with the plumber.
And they drink Green tea I think dont they in China !!! I dont like normal tea, so can you see me liking this. :(

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

just dont let onto the family, you will become their slave next time you go into the kitchen :erm:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

lol - the 'furry' sensation is my way of describing the astringency of the tannin, this is more noticable in black tea with no milk, as when milk is added to tea, the milk proteins bind with the tannin, reducing the astringency.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

So white tea / coffee stains your teeth less?

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Here's a tip, before you pour in the hot water, pour in the milk, or if they like it black, a small amount of cold water, then stur the granuals into a paste, then add the hot water.


And don't do what my aging grandad did, put teabags in the electric kettle :rofl:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Yup, and note how the student method is inevitably doomed to fail at stage 2:

Nuff said. :erm:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I like my coffee stronger than i like my tea. And i prefer both white.
I'm the only coffee drinker in my house, the other 6 people in my house dont like it lol.

I suggest also you dont try putting milk into the electric kettle, you get nasty crap on the metal parts.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Actually yes.

My wife dislikes normal Tea but loves Green Tea.
Its a different flavour, you do not need Sugar or Milk with it.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I've not thought about that - theoretically yes, but it is time related, you've probably noticed that leaving tea with milk to go cold results in a '****' of tannin, so swilling tea with milk around your mouth, rather than swallowing straight away, would probably stain just as much as tea with no milk.

- there are a few interesting links if you google tea tannin milk

:)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

no, step 2 is circumvented by making friends with females who can't stand to see people living in squalor and take pity on you by washing up, ironing and so forth ;)

...or just get said females to make the tea in the first place :)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Maybe students freeze old teabags and then use them again.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

They freeze old mushrooms to make tea, but that's a different story altogether :spin:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Is that the same as the banana skins (not that I'd know of course :disturbd: ) :devsmoke: :spin: :dozey: :sleep:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Major headache time !!!!! :(

Back on topic please ( if there is one ) :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Sorry the ships central computers are currently tied up trying to help the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Nutrimatic Machines make a good cup of tea.

Aaah, perhaps this is what happened to Sparrow last week :D

It is an interesting fact that almost every culture invents a drink called a jynnan tonnyx, or something that sounds identical.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

both points were loosely on topic, in that they involved making tea.... ;)

of course i wouldn't know anything abuot mushroom or banana skin tea, being a good boy :angel:

yeh, right...

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I always put the milk in first then the tea bag, then the hot water. I then strain the tea bag.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Errrr...Milk only curdles when it is off.I've never had ANY problems with adding hot water/tea to milk UNLESS it is on the turn.

Incog. :)

If you only like cold drinks why not learn to make iced tea?It's delicious in this hot weather. ;)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

My wife dislikes normal tea as well :) she drinks china rose petal No milk no sugar

I think china tea has less tannin in it ,,,well...it doesn't taste as bitter as indian

an another thing. I don't think any one has mentioned it but....
the reason why people put milk in first is....

When the brits started drinking tea they quite often had cheap clay pots and would quite often crack if you put in the tea first ( got that from watching Discovery):)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Yes I do drink that. But I buy it ready made. The lipton Ice tea is really nice with ice cubes on a hot summers day.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Well it's much nicer to make your own.I have a non boil recipe if anyone is interested.

Incog.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Hold on a minute! You're passing very quickly over a major point of controversy that has exercised the minds of tea makers since time immemorial; namely, whether to add the milk to the cup before or after pouring in the tea. You can't just blithely assume that your preference is shared by all the country. At this very moment millions of "tea firsters" are probably seething over their cuppas and composing vitriolic replies!

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

As a former BT engineer I got used to tea made all different manner of ways. :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Ah, but with or without a biscuit on the saucer?

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

How to make tea:


1. Live in the right place. The best locations in the UK for beautiful, soft, tasty water are North Yorkshire, parts of Cornwall, and West Wales. The only problem with these places are the fact that you'll be in Yorkshire, Cornwall, or Wales.

If you live in a hard water area, use a proper water filter. Don't use one of those kettles with a bit of plastic mesh over the spout. If you fill the kettle through the spout, the **** gets washed back into your mug, and if you don't you'll be boiling weeks worth of **** together with your water.

2. Buy top notch teabags. At just a few pence ago you can afford quality. Don't be tempted to buy 1p each bags from the all night shop. A mugfull of water from the toilet pan will look, smell, and taste the same, and still be a penny cheaper.

3. Use a kettle. If you're office has one of those urns that keeps a steady stream of hot water, stay away, unless you have a serious calcium deficiency and like the taste of flat stale water, or are making a cup for an unpopular boss.

4. Pour the water the moment its boiled. A good cuppa is worth a few steam scalds.

5. Wait for the water to turn red (at least 2 mins). Wait at least another 3 mins for the taste to catch up with the colour. If you want a weak brew, use more water, not less time. Don't bother squeezing the bag agains the side of the mug - it achieves nothing.

7. So, you've made a great mug of tea. One scent of the beautiful aroma and you're transported to the banks of the great river Brahmaputra; you can almost hear the chattering of the village women as they collect the leaves in their grass baskets, and the dew sparkles on the tea leaves like a myriad of diamonds. You can feel the morning breeze on your neck. So what do you want to do? Stick in a big heap of industrially processed sugar? Bleaurgghh! No no no no no! If you don't like the way tea tastes, don't drink it in the first place!

8. There are those who like to add milk to their tea, just as there are those who think the Liberal Democrats will one day form the party of government. These people should, for their own safety as much as anyone elses, be subject to public humiliation, reported to the authorities for re-education, and denied access to sharp instruments. Imagine you're at a splendid dinner party. You've enjoyed delectable food, fine wine, and sparkling conversation. and now your host passes round the cheese tray. But what's this! Instead of a robust Stilton or refreshing Pont d'Yeu, you see nothing but tea-flavoured cheddar! Well, what an embarrassment! After a pause to regain your composure, you politely decline. And when did you last see tea flavoured Ski yoghurt in Waitrose? Never? Why? Because dumping big globules of fat in your tea is disgusting, that's why!

9. Flavoured tea. Well, what can I say? You're enjoying a lovely walk through the countryside, and have collected some gorgeous, juicy blackberries, bursting with taste. You're eating them with your sarnies in the car, but - alas - you accidentally drop one in your flask of tea. You wouldn't fish it out and eat in anyway. would you? You would? Oh my giddy aunt!

And don't get me started on instant coffee .............

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

someone with wayyy to much time on their hands :lol: :D

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

- that was the only bit I disagreed with, 'full fat' milk is less than 5% fat ( usually less than 4%)

- but aside from that, personally, I much prefer 'Indian style' tea with a dash of skimmed milk - it just takes the edge off the tannin, without adding fat - lol :)

- the rest of the post was spot on :tu:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Oh we are not going to start the great milk or no milk in tea debate are we?Because IF we are I shall be moving on. :D

Drink it how you like-all the rules folk have come up with over the years make me laugh especially as I've tried making it all ways and found that it doesn't actually affect the taste. :shrug:

Make it how you like-if you are the one making it you are entitled to make it your own way.Anyone doesn't like it can make their own,ungrateful wretches . :p:

The only thing I insist on is drinking tea out of bone china but that's just a foible of mine not a RULE. :)

Incog.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

just to correct you, some of the softest water in the country can be found in the Lancashire/Cumbria region.:p: My brother lives in Cornwall and the water there is awful.
And even though I have to grit my teeth when I say this, North Yorkshire :td: , Cornwall and Wales are some of the nicest parts of the country that you can see.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOO"ve on then thats what the last 70 odds post been about. Milk before or After

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

please don't move on - we welcome your opinion :)

I disagree that, how you make it does not affect the taste, but concur with your second statement about personal choice - I tend to make the tea in our office, for example, - I know what you mean ;)

Bone China is lighter than other ceramics - places less strain on your injury, makes sense :cool:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Bone china is also thinner

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Anyone seen peachey? This sounds like a thread he/she would have created..

I personally make tea by putting the following stuff in the cup: Bag, Water, Milk, Sugar/Sweetener. I don't think it tastes any better, I have just been brought up to do it that way.

As for coffee, I use the same order but put one heaped teaspoon of coffee in the mug instead of the tea. I did use both once (by mistake, when I put the coffee in I didn't notice the tea bag already in there), and the did taste horrible.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

oh my Cookie_365, You certainly have some big views on this tea controversy.
Were you dropped in a kettle as a child and boiled with a tea bag, thus starting your tea expert skills ? ;-)


What gets me is the fact they call it Yorkshire Tea !!!
Theres more chance of finding people on the moon than finding a field growing tea plants in Yorkshire.
Honestly !!!

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Important point you just made there.

Powder coffee, can actually taste OK. If you use a heaped teaspoon. Most people don't put enough coffee in anything. Scoop (the one you get attached to the side in offers (about a heaped tablespoon) per cup for a filter machine, a good 15-20mm in the bottom of an 8 cup french press or a decent amount of granuels.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Nor would I. Except to say that the hill behind the campus at University of Wales, Lampeter, is called 'Magic Mountain' for a very good reason. ;)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

really? ;)

yorkshire tea is still the best tea though. tastes about a million times better than PG chimp-tea, tetleys typoo etc etc :)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

:tu: We use Yorkshire Tea. If it's good enough for the National Trust, it's good enough for us (National Trust Tea Room Blend is Yorkshire Tea).

:td: Sadly as we live in steggy Hemel with its hard water and calcium encrusted kettles, we have to buy Yorkshire Tea Hard Water Blend, which is frankly an abomination.

:tu: Further to earlier discussion about the best, softest water in the UK, can I point out that just about anywhere in Scotland you care to name has very soft water indeed. Something I am really looking forward to!

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

well i have yorkshire water here, one of the best most nicest waters in the country apparently. perfect match for yorkshire tea :)

and as for the hard water, you could always buy a water softener? no more need for the manky hard water variety then ;)

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Plumbed-in water softeners are not cheap! Not sure you're meant to drink the water that comes through them either, I think they are mainly designed to save your pipes from getting scaled up. We have a filter jug in the fridge for filling the kettle which makes a big difference, but it still isn't truly 'soft'.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Nothing beats Volvic mineral water. Lovely !!!

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

The water from our tap tastes as good if not better than any of that overpriced, overated bottled stuff.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Water softeners work in different ways.

The original types require you to add salts or other chemicals. In which case the plumbing incoming main should be run with a spur before the softener going to the kitchen sink tap.

Other softeners are more of a plumbed in filter, rather than a softener. Those can be fitted immediately after your stopcock so that water passing through will then go to all taps including your kitchen, although most would in fact just fit it to the pipe serving the kitchen tap, thus it is a permanent filter instead of your Brita type thingy. You must remember to change the filter periodically else you could e drinking impure water, worse than if you did not filter at all.

The most modern way of doing this is a magnet, which clamps around the pipe. Somehow it is supposed to reorientate the ions and particles in the water so they wont cling to things in the same way and cause less scale. As these do not add anything to the water, they can be fitted to a pipe that serves all parts of the house, including drinking water.

A word of warning. In most houses, or flats where there are cold water storage tanks do not consider drinking from taps served by them. Brushing your teeth may be OK, but it might be worth checking the tank if you've not looked at it before. Especially in older homes, where there is no underfelt to tiles, the roofspace gets very dirty. Older tanks did not have lids. Thus all the dirt, creepy crawlies and other such stuff can fall into the tank. I've even heard of dead birds being in there. Imagine drinking that :sick: And it won't do your tea making flavour any good either, so don't fill your teasmaid from your bathroom just to save the walk downstairs :shocked:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

We have an electromagnetic 'softener' on our main pipe, purchased from the Innovations catalogue about 4 years ago. It is a useless waste of space. There has been no appreaciable difference to the rate at which everything scales up in our house. It has been installed and switched on permanently since the day it was delivered to our house. I spent the first 12 months convincing myself we would soon see a gradual improvement as our pipes began to de-scale, but TBH eventually we just forgot it was there.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I am, I love Liptons Ice tea, esp the Peach one..

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

On the flip side, if you live in a house with a combi boiler or pressurised hot water system (megaflow or equivilant) then all cold taps in the house are served by main cold water, so safe to drink, and you hot water is instant heat, or in a storage cylinder that is turned over regularly, so unlikly to contain any nasties.

Have you seen the sugar* content though. Worse than a plumbers cuppa :shocked:

* well it's not really sugar, but high fructose corn syrup which is far worse for you.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Yeah I know its quite heavy on the sugary side, but its very nice to drink on a hot dummers day.
In France last summer I found they do a raspberry one too. Interesting flavours.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Ahh, might not be quite so good an idea to drink the preheated "hot" water. It may have been subjected to a heating, cooling and reheating cycle, if the water hasn't been used for a little while, ideal for bacteria growth. Also dependent on the temperature the water is heated to, it might encourage rather than discourage bacteria growth. I think it is accepted water temperatures need to be over 60 deg C to prevent most bacteria like Legionella multilying. That's why you often can't stick your hand under the taps in public buildings, but few home users set their boilers that high.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

I wasn't suggesting to drink it - instant instant coffee anyone. More that any water you may ingest during a shower say is more likely to be safe in such an instance.

It is also recommended that you turn down the temperature of your Domestic Hot Water when you have small children as it reduces the risk that they may scald themselves.

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

Er back on topic :) So did you make him a cup, and what was the reaction? :erm:

Re: Someone tell me how to make tea please
 

LOL well yeah I guess I better let you know.
I never thought this topic would get so huge.
Thanks for all the replies.

I did make a cup for him. This is what I did:

1. Boiled kettle.

2. Put 2 cm of milk in the cup.

3. Chose the powder that was the least strong smell. Which I've found out is tea. I put (way too much I've been told by my Mum) into the tea strainer and hovered it on the cup.

4. Lots fell in the cup so I started again and cleaned the cup.

5. Poured in in the hot water over the strainer and then pushed on the tea with a spoon.

6. Added a bit more milk on top.


Conclusion: He actually drank it which is good. Although being a plumber and working in the kitchen, he could have tipped it down the drain. However he did look happy so I must have got something right.

He didnt want another one though and later had some water.

And there you have it.

I actually followed some more instructions today for the plasterer who wanted a coffee. It turned out well. To coffee lovers, I'm sorry to dissapoint but it was instant as the cooker is out of order at the moment.

We are having the whole kitchen re-done. It looks like a bombs gone off.

So success all round.