The 5 Essential Elements for Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea

We all know a perfect cup of tea when we experience it – The challenge is how to recreate it!

You are holding your favourite tea cup, your hands are being gently warmed as you encounter the gorgeous aroma of freshly brewed tea. Imagine that first warming, flavoursome sip, and the connection of sharing in the ceremony of making the tea. Taking time for tea is such a delight!

How to Brew the perfect cup of tea – and drink it from a Vintage Tea Cup

Top Tips on Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea

Good Quality Tea that is Stored well

You may be thinking this is a very obvious statement, but how often do you think of purchasing a quality tea rather than the cheapest? Do you always buy tea bags? While there are some very good brands of tea in bags, the fact is that tea in bags is designed to brew more quickly, missing out on that slow ceremony. You could perhaps be forgiven for using a tea bag for brewing your morning cup of tea as you are rushing out of the door.

However, I would maintain though that you can never quite achieve the all-encompassing intimacy of the perfect tea experience without taking time to brew proper tea, necessitating an investment in leaf tea. Tea leaves allow you to connect with the ceremony of tea, the steeping of leaves allows for the full brewing alchemy to take place, and consistently delivers a rich, gorgeous flavoursome cup of tea. All important though once you have purchased and invested in your tea leaves is that you store them well, in an air tight container, to keep the tea as fresh as possible, and avoid the tea taking on other odours.

A few of my current tea favourites:

Tippy Assam from James Pogsons Northern Tea merchants – A full bodied and malty tea, liquid biscuit in a cup, gorgeous first thing in the morning!

Rose Tea from Pembrokeshire Tea company – A beautifully aromatic, flavoursome tea, and wonderful as an accompaniment to afternoon tea.

Battle of Britain tea from Henrietta Lovells Rare Tea company – An old fashioned blend that takes you back to yesteryear.

Tea Tin from Pembrokeshire Tea Compnay to store thier Rose Tea

Just the right Quantity of Tea

At this point, you may be right in thinking that making a cup of tea is turning out to be far from as simple as you has imagined. What we are exploring here though is not just any old cup of tea, it is the experience of sipping a calming, connecting, warming, flavoursome mouthful of gorgeous tea. Tea with Mary Kate can promise you it is well worth the investment!

The size of the tea pot is all important, as this dictates the volume of liquid (water) added. Measure out one teaspoon of tea leaves for every cup (here is where you may need to experiment with how many cups your tea pot can hold), and one teaspoon of leaves for the pot. It is rather a lovely fact that the teapot has a teaspoon of tea too.

Freshly boiled Water

Air in the water is critical, so avoid reboiling as this drives out that all important air. Just off the boil is fine, but too cool, and the tea will simply not infuse properly.

Yorkshire Tea Lady Pouring boiling water

The Right Tea Brewing Equipment at the right temperature

Heaven forbid, you may be actually be thinking of dunking a tea bag in a tea cup but quite honestly, the only way of properly brewing tea is in a tea pot. Do remember to warm the tea pot too, as this avoids the water cooling too much.

The all essential tea pot! Crucial for making the perfect cup of tea

The patience to leave it to brew

But just for the right amount of time! Not too short, as the infusion will result in insufficient flavour being imparted to the water, too long, and well, we all know what over stewed tea tastes like! This is alchemy at its perfect best, and it needs care and attention. You could even think about employing a timer. I love this old fashioned timer tha James Pogson of Northern Tea Merchants employs. Leave your tea for 4 – 5 minutes for black, slightly less for green.

Take Time to Brew the perfect cup of Tea – Mary Kate is enchanted by Northern Tea Merchant

A Beautiful Vintage China Tea cup to drink your tea from

I confess, I am unable to provide any definitive proof for the reason why, but trust me, you will not fail to be impressed by how wonderful tea is sipped from a china cup. You may have your own favourite drinking receptacle but I will confess my bias is for beautiful Vintage china cups. The tea just tastes better! I match my cups to the blend of tea for that perfect cup of tea.

Beautiful Vintage Tea Cups completes the perfect cup of Tea

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The Future is Tea – Tea with Mary Kate Reads the Tea Leaves and Discusses Future Tea Trends with Bill Gorman, Executive Chair of UK Tea Council

Tea with Mary Kate is currently an enthusiastic amateur’s passion to further explore the world of tea, though at its heart is a more fundamental desire to provide the inspiration to connect with each other in a meaningful way that most days we are simply too rushed to do. The ceremony of tea represents an opportunity to pause, to breathe, to admire the aesthetic that evokes a way of living that is gentle and respectful, nurturing the mind, body & spirit.

Reading the Tea Leaves – The Future of Tea

It is far from every day that you have the opportunity to discuss your favourite subject with a real expert, so when the Executive Chairman of UK Tea Council, Bill Gorman, had a few spare moments in his busy schedule, Tea with Mary Kate was delighted to discuss Tea!

The UK Tea Council is an independent body, with a diverse membership that ranges from UK based firms like Northern Tea Merchants to the Tea Boards of Sri Lanka, India and Kenya. Its mission is to promote tea and its unique story for the benefit of those who produce, sell and enjoy tea. Bill Gorman’s extensive global experience and expertise over the last decade has provided him with some very unique insights to discuss the future exciting trends opportunities and possibilities for Tea.

Tea With Mary Kate is reading the future of tea

There has been a Huge resurgence and Interest in Tea

Bill’s belief is that Tea is a both a wonderful product and a great business. Over the last 10 years, tea has developed a very high profile, from the rather dusty, old fashioned image in 1990s to a more interesting, even celebrity status. Now the consumer is able to access a huge selection of great quality tea from all over the world. Bill is rightly proud of the Tea Council’s influence in placing Tea in a very different place in the 21st century consumer’s minds.

Lady Gaga with one of her famous china tea cups, which she says makes her feel grounded, and avoids the waste of paper cups - How wonderful!

Tea – As Nature Intended

Bill is passionate about Tea being a fabulous natural product. Grown in lovely places by lovely people, Tea has the added opportunity to be an ambassador for promoting both ethics and the environment. Bill’s view is there is nothing more natural, with both natural manufacture and natural production in taking moisture out and adding liquid back in when brewing.

Tea and Health

Originally sold as a medicine, Tea is still perceived as part of a repertoire of healthy living. Indeed, there is an increasing level of hard scientific evidence that would support the health benefits of Tea.

Tea has obvious hydration benefits but it also relaxes and bolsters the body’s defenses to help fight chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Even better, with zero calories ( and only 13 kcaL if you add semi skimmed milk), it meets the desire for a healthy diet, with the urban myth about excess caffeine levels being dispelled. With huge increases in consumer awareness of the benefits of flavonoids as antioxidants, abundant in Tea, this natural product continues to tick a number of important boxes. Bill’s view is that tea fulfils a need. Think of the archetypal builders – tea provides them with fluid and a proper break.  Enthusiastic about gaining even more robust data, Bill is a strong advocate of conducting controlled clinical trials as the next step in demonstrating the benefits of Tea.

The UK Tea Council also supports an expert Tea advisory panel which boasts a vast breadth of experience in educational, private and public organisations. Its role is to provide both independent and objective information about the latest health benefits regarding black tea, and to answer nutrition and hydration questions about black tea. In short, it sets the record straight on the ‘science’ myths associated with black tea

UK Tea Council advocates Tea 4 Health

Practicality and Quality of Tea

Bill believes there is a need to address both the convenience and practicality of Tea, and maintains that the invention and introduction of the Tea bag in the mid 1960s did nothing short of saving the Tea industry at that time. After all, there are those who want a great cup of Tea in really minimal time just before they rush out of the door first thing in the morning, and the more finely chopped tea will brew faster to achieve speed.

Bill challenges the current ethos of those he affectionately refers to as “Tea Snobs”, where loose leaf is good and Tea bags are not, and maintains the issue is the freshness and quality of  the Tea production which makes all the difference. Any tea that is on the rolling table too long, or oxidised at too high a temperature, be in a tea bag or not, will not taste as great as it could. Bill’s view is that Tea quality now is better than 15 years ago, largely through better production, shorted times for packaging that give a fresher product, and the fact that economics are driving tea merchants to no longer store stock.

Tea Rooms that serve Gorgeous Afternoon Tea!

Bill is sincere in his view that making and serving tea is one of the most charming things you can do for your fellow man, although he concedes that it is hard work! Here, the UK Tea Council is also leading the way in setting and maintaining high standards for Tea Rooms, with its prestigious Tea Guild awards regarded as an extremely important badge of honour. Taking time for tea is a real treat, but also one that is very accessible, and becoming ever more popular.

Huge resurgence in Afternoon Tea

Single Estate Teas

Heart warming tales of Small boutique Tea Estates like Margaret’s Hope and Dragon’s Well are putting Single Estate Tea’s on the map, with Bill being impressed with both the quality and imagination these single estate Teas are bringing.

Trend for Tea from Single Estates

Speaking with Bill, one thing he is confident about is that tea is a fabulous natural product, with health benefits that clearly support Teas continuing rise in popularity. Rediscovering the pleasure of taking time for Afternoon Tea is also setting Tea in a delightful new context, and continues to capture the imagination of an enthusiastic consumer. Improved access to the enchanting Single Estate Teas, with their amazing stories, bolster Bill’s confidence that the future of Tea in the UK is a good one. It is clear that Bill practises what he preaches, describing the real pleasure that his last evening cup of green tea brings him. Tea With Mary Kate is grateful for Bill’s time, and his unique views into the future trends of Tea.

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Mary Kate delights in Taking Time for Tea – Formosa Oolong in a Gorgeous Vintage Tea Cup – Heaven!

Tea with Mary Kate is exploring the world of tea

As the day draws to a close, and I contemplate my evening, there is an important decision to be made. Of course, it will include a gorgeous cup of tea, but what tea to choose? And not only the tea, important thought that is, what cup to serve it in? Tea is such a great big exciting world but quite frankly, there are so just many teas out there, it’s almost impossible to choose from!

As well as the tea, the ceremony and aesthetic are all important too.

There is a protocol about brewing tea in a proper tea pot – leaf tea being my preference, and without a shadow of a doubt, serving it in a gorgeous tea cup! Tea definitely deserves a beautiful cup.

Formosa Oolong in a beautiful vintage tea cup

 

I’ve recently discovered that I adore Formosa Oolong – it’s a tea with provenance, almost a personality of it’s own.

In 1867, English tea trader Jon Dodd started a tea company in Wanhua, Taipei  and started to sell Taiwanese oolong tea to the world under the name “Formosa Oolong”. The name oolong tea comes from the Chinese name meaning “black dragon tea”. Formosa Oolong is oolong tea grown and produced in Taiwan. Taiwan is also known as Formosa from the Portuguese Ilha Formosa, meaning “beautiful island”. So, your drinking beautiful Tea!

Oolong is a traditional Chinese tea, Camellia sinensis, that is somewhere in middle between green and black in oxidation. It has neither the taste and aroma of black tea nor the grassy, vegital taste that typify green tea. It is commonly brewed to be strong. I add milk.

I adore the ceremony of making tea, laying the tray, the expectation of that first sip….

I loved the Oolong tea history but sipping the tea from the perfect vintage cup made the whole experience. The choice of the cup is a very personal consideration. I really enjoy that moment of contemplating the combination of tea and the cup, the expectation of the experience is almost as lovely, almost, as that first warm, amazing sip, smelling the aroma, steam rising as you relax into thinking about your second cup.

Just the perfect Tea tray

Part of the loveliness of tea the contrast with tea and something sweet.

With my formosa, I like sweet walnuts and dates, or gorgeous sushi. Do ensure that everything is there on your tray, so when you sit down, there is no need to move until you have drained the last drop of tea from the pot!

Tea with Mary Kate seeks to encourage you on a journey of Tea, to take time for Tea, and the ceremony and aesthetic of tea, as a way to reconnect and recharge your energies.

I concede it’s an indulgence, time is precious, but dare I say it, tea time is an important time for you – for quiet and contemplation, an escape from this hectic, fast paced world, while you move through the familiar ritual of the tea ceremony that you can make perfectly just for you, taking time to savour it completely.

Take time for tea

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