No Briton can be indifferent when it comes to making a proper cup of tea

[Richard Roman]

......British people tend to give this question due reverence – as, indeed, do our kindred in the Anglopshere, from Bombay to Bermuda. I've found, though, that the only EU states where you can rely on decent tea are those which, at one time or another, were under the Crown: Ireland, Malta and Cyprus. Elsewhere in Europe, tea means half a cup of lukewarm water with the teabag, still wrapped in paper, on the saucer.......

Some of the comments are great! here are one or two of them

"When I first met her, my American girlfriend used to make tea by boiling about four teabags, milk and water together in a saucepan. That is how the made tea in the trenches. When I saw it I burst out laughing and went and bought her a kettle immediately."

"Here in Shanghai, a few British mates and I have a theory that making a proper cuppa might be something to do with the water, as no matter how hard we try, we just can't make the perfect brew here."

To read the article:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100150943/no-briton-...

[Richard Roman]

How to make a good cup of tea:

First of all, one should use Indian or Ceylonese tea. China tea has
virtues which are not to be despised nowadays--it is economical, and one
can drink it without milk--but there is not much stimulation in it. One
does not feel wiser, braver or more optimistic after drinking it. Anyone
who has used that comforting phrase 'a nice cup oftea' invariably means
Indian tea.

Secondly, tea should be made in small quantities--that is,
in a teapot. Tea out of an urn is always tasteless, while army tea, made
ina cauldron, tastes of grease and whitewash. The teapot should be madeof
china or earthenware. Silver or Britanniaware teapots produceinferior tea
and enamel pots are worse; though curiously enough apewter teapot (a
rarity nowadays) is not so bad.

Thirdly, the pot should be warmed
beforehand. This is better done by placing it on the hob than by the
usual method of swilling it outwith hot water. Fourthly, the tea should
be strong. For a pot holding a quart, ifyou are going to fill it nearly
to the brim, six heaped teaspoonswould be about right.

Fifthly, the tea should be
put straight into the pot. No strainers, muslin bags or other devices to
imprison the tea. In some countries teapots are fitted with little
dangling baskets under the spout to catch the stray leaves, which are
supposed to be harmful. Actually one can swallow tea-leaves in
considerable quantities without ill effect, and if the tea is not loose
in the potit never infuses properly.

Sixthly, one should take the teapot
to the kettle and not the other way about. The water should be actually
boiling at the moment of impact, which means that one should keep it on
the flame while one pours. Some people add that one should only use water
that has been freshly brought to the boil, but I have never noticed that
it makes any difference.

Seventhly, after making the tea, one should stir
it, or better, give the pot a good shake, afterwards allowing the leaves
to settle.

Eighthly, one should drink out of a good breakfast cup--that
is, the cylindrical type of cup, not the flat, shallow type. The
breakfastcup holds more, and with the other kind one's tea is always half
cold--before one has well started on it.

Ninthly, one should pour the
cream off the milk before using itfor tea. Milk that is too creamy always
gives tea a sickly taste.

Tenthly, one should pour tea into the cup first.
This is one ofthe most controversial points of all; indeed in every family
in Britain there are probably two schools of thought on the subject. The
milk-first school can bring forward some fairly strong arguments, but I
maintain that my own argument is unanswerable. This is that, by putting
the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactlyregulate the
amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too muchmilk if one does
it the other way round.

[Jack Field]

Dilmah tea is the sh*&%$!

[CCF Beijing]

CCTV News (9) had a segment yesterday on proper etiquette at the 2012 Olympics in London.

It included a segment on how to pour and stir tea the right way.