How to upset a tea drinker

Ugh, I agree!

I know a person who prefers hot tap water for tea so that it “cools to drinkable temperature faster.” It makes me sad inside.

The tea may be cool enough to “drink”, but the taste is not originally great enough to “taste” and “enjoy”! It is sad.

An old friend of mine used to exclusively drink the store brand “instant powdered black tea mix” that department stores sometimes sell. Hated all other types of tea, including bagged. It made me sad.

Luckily, we have bagged loose leaf tea nowadays! It is slightly better than the “tea dust” for those who are busy to prepare a great cuppa.

Worse than that is microwaving it with a teabag in the water. This happened to me recently at a jobs fair I went to. The tea was undrinkable.

Aaargh!!

If I’m not mistaken, that’s how it was made traditionally in old-timey England. They like their milk with a little tea, not the other way around.

Yes. It also means that you can actually drink it quicker, and have something warm without scalding your mouth. For most people it’s not a question of sipping and enjoying and savouring, you know. It’s a question of drinking something. As for adding it first, most people also know how they prefer their tea, so they know how to dose it, and with most cups of tea you’ll be given in the average home, they’re not much different from each other.

Milk with a little tea, rather than tea with a little milk is not true though. Usually no more milk is added than covers the bottom of the cup. At least, this has been the case with my particular family. YMMW and all that.

Well, I do know my dear English spouse likes the boiling water poured over a teabag (standard PG Tips fare, none of my fancy-schmancy loose-leaf weirdness) which is immediately removed. No milk, though, as it would interfere with the delicate flavour of his near-homeopathic brew.

He doesn’t take milk? He must be unusual, then. Everybody in my family has looked at me a bit funny when learning I prefer mine without milk. And then sometimes they immediately forget again, because they’re just so used to always adding milk, leading to many apologies from them, offers of new cups and explanations from me that it’s fine, I can deal with the milk, it hasn’t been rendered undrinkable, (please stop making me feel like I’m being picky when I’m not). Basically, I’ve just stopped mentioning it now except if I’m asked directly. Easier for everybody. :)

He is unusual – even the in-laws do gently take the piss about him basically drinking lightly brown hot water, and they’re also weirded out by all my wacky looseleaf nonsense.

They are traditionalists of the hand-crochet tea cozy variety. It’s charming.

I’ve actually managed to train mine a little bit. It had never even occurred to my mother in law before that she could prevent the leftovers in the pot from stewing simply by removing the bag. They always fish it out with a fork now after four minutes. My father in law will always have milk in his tea, but my mother in law generally goes without when they’re here. I’m not sure if it’s because she genuinely feels that my tea is good enough to not need it or if she’s worried I’ll think she’s ruining it. (I very much hope it’s the former!)

Milk before tea was a thing when people used teapots to make tea. Rumour says it was because the china cups were delicate and could not tolerate the sudden change of temperature as the hot tea was poured in, so milk first to cool the tea as it is added. Some still insist on it. Putting the milk in with the teabag just seems daft.

I sent this to my boss yesterday: http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/oct/03/how-to-make-tea-science-milk-first

I like how the article addresses the issue of the aesthetics of tea making. Full marks to the writer.

Personally I would say, clearly milk first and then tea, because that way it doesn’t need stirring and I don’t need to dirty a spoon. If you put milk last, it’ll sort of sit under the surface and require stirring. But that’s just me being lazy. :D

At work I do milk first because he and I prefer a teeny amount of milk and when I put it in after I ALWAYS put too much. We like so little it doesn’t even cover the bottom of the mug. I buy a 250 ml carton (typically considered a one use drink) and we use it until it goes off.

I have a black tetris mug. The tetris shapes magically appear when hot water is poured in, or such was the idea when we bought it. Now it’s kind of… massively faded. Oh well. Tea tastes just as good in it!

I will only use black colored teaware for matcha. For some reason I can’t stand to not be able to see the tea’s color, especially when it’s really light.

I sometimes use black mug too as I feel that it is more moody and stylish. Of course, as a Hong Kong people, I do use Gaiwan for tea tasting so that I can look at the tea and smell the tea better!