Whether you're planning a special Afternoon Tea Party and want to impress your friends, or you simply love a good cup of tea yourself, here's the proper way to brew and serve a pot of tea.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Here's How:
- Fill tea pot with hot tap water to warm it up prior to adding tea leaves and boiling water.
- Fill tea kettle with fresh, cold, non-distilled water.
- Place kettle on stove and bring to boil.
- Just before kettle begins to boil, pour water from tea pot and add one teaspoon tea leaves per cup to pot, plus an additional teaspoon 'for the pot'.
- Remove kettle from heat right after it comes to a boil, and pour 6 ounces per cup into tea pot.
- Let tea steep 3 - 7 minutes depending on desired strength.
- While tea steeps, ask a close friend to "do the honors" by serving the tea to your other guests.
- Add cold, whole milk, or lemon to tea cups depending on preference of guests.
- Pour tea into cups using a strainer to catch loose leaves.
- Enjoy!
Tips:
- For easy entertaining, host a Tea Party with assorted tea sandwiches and other goodies.
- Use a ceramic tea pot rather than metal. Metal can affect the taste of the tea, and will cool the water more quickly.
- Keep boiling water available for second cups, to dilute tea that becomes strong while sitting in tea pot.
What You Need:
- Loose Tea Leaves
- Tea Pot
- Tea Strainer
- Boiling Water
- Tea Cups
