How to make a pot of black tea

What You Need

Ingredients A good quality, loose leaf black tea (see recommendations below) Milk (optional, whole or 2% is best) Lemon (optional) ugar (optional) !our fa"orite tea treats, sweet or sa"ory Equipment A kettle (# prefer electric) A teapot, preferably with accompanying strainer $easpoon $ray $ea cup %apkin &reamer &omfy chair

Instructions
1. Put the kettle on. # lo"e my electric kettle and use it all the time' #t(s faster than using the sto"etop and shuts off automatically when the water has reached a boil' )ut of course you can use your sto"etop, too' # confess that #("e ne"er used a microwa"e for this purpose and so will refrain from comment' . !tart some milk warming o"er a low flame. *arm milk is not +,,% necessary but it(s a really nice thing to do' # usually -ust warm it gently to a"oid bringing it to a boil which is too hot for me' #. Warm the Pot. *hile the water is heating up, run the hottest water you can get from your faucet into your teapot and co"er' $his will pre.warm the pot' # know some people who e"en do this with their cup, but # usually don(t bother' $. %ssemble &our tea setup and ingredients. /etrie"e your fa"orite tea cup, find your strainer (if using), slice some lemon (if using), find the sugar bowl (if using), choose your tea, find your measuring spoon' 0lace e"erything you will need for your tea on a tray' #nclude a nice cloth napkin, if possible' '. % note on teapots. My fa"orite teapot comes with a wide mesh strainer that fits snuggly into it, allowing plenty of room for the lea"es to e1pand' #t(s easy to -ust lift the mesh strainer out when the tea is done, so there(s no o"er.brewing' ome tea pots come with a strainer built into the spout which # don(t care for' # find them hard to clean and the lea"es are still left in the pot to o"er.steep' )ut if that(s what you ha"e and you(re used to dealing with it, by all means use it'

!ou can also -ust measure your lea"es straight into the pot and hold a strainer o"er your cup to catch the lea"es when your pour' (. )easure &our loose tea into &our pot. # use + teaspoon of loose tea for e"ery 2 ounces of water, unless the tea tin instructs me differently' *hen the water has almost reached the boil, pour out the tap water from your pot and insert the strainer, if using' Measure your tea into the strainer' #f you don(t ha"e this style of pot, you can -ust measure the lea"es directly into the pot' *. Pour on the water. *hen the water reaches the boil, turn off the kettle and pour it o"er the tea lea"es and into the teapot' 0ut the lid on and co"er with a cosy to keep warm' +. % note on co,ies. # hope to own one of those adorable, 3randma.knit co4ies one day' 5ntil then, # -ust wrap my teapot in a tea towel' $his is, # suspect, not "ery proper but it does work to keep the pot from cooling down' -. !teeping &our tea. 6or black tea, steep anywhere from 7 to 8 minutes' # like a good, strong cup of tea, so # tend to go the full time' !ou may want to set your timer' 1.. /ind a treat. #f you want something to nibble on while drinking your tea, this is a good time to put that together' A few suggestions that ha"e worked for me9 two or three cookies or some chocolate on a pretty plate, a sliced pear, some lefto"er gingerbread' :n the sa"ory side, you could try a slice of lefto"er quiche or a few slices of cheese or some roasted almonds' 11. %lmost there. 0our your warm milk into a pitcher and place it on the tray' After the time is up for steeping, remo"e the strainer from the teapot (if applicable) and replace the lid and the cosy' 0ut the teapot on the tray with the other accompaniments and retreat to your fa"orite tea drinking place' #f at all possible, a"oid your desk and computer' 1 . Pouring and en0o&ing. 0our a some of the warm milk into your cup' /emo"e the cosy, pour in your tea and rela1' ip your tea, eat your treat and consider how e"en something as simple as drinking a cup of tea is a pretty mar"elous way to spend your time' %dditional Notes1 A few recommended loose leaf black teas9 ; Ancient 3old )lack $ea from amo"ar ; 6rench )reakfast from Mariage 6reres ; 3olden Assam from /ishi $ea *hile # don(t follow all of their recommendations, this page from the Mariage 6reres website is worth reading' $heir list of water temperatures and steeping times is handy, too'