how do you take yours?
March 19th, 2005
In the United Kingdom, adding the milk first is historically considered a lower-class method of preparing tea – the upper classes always add the milk last. The origin of this distinction is said to be that the rougher earthenware mugs of the working class would break if boiling-hot tea was added directly to them, whereas the fine glazed china cups of the upper class would not.
thanks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea for sorting that one out for us
9 Responses to “how do you take yours?”
1Sarah
March 20th, 2005 @ 10:58
That doesn’t mean it is right. I can’t explain how right I am put the milk in first. It means you have far greater control of your tea strength because you can get it to exactly the colour you want. If you pour water on the tea bag you have no control as different tea bags get stronger quicker. By putting the milk in first you control the amount of milk you put in. As for those people who claim they can then adjust the milk to adjust the strength, the milk doesn’t adjust the strength the tea bag does. The milk adjusts the milkyness. I’d rather have rough earthenware than snobby china cups. I am so right.
2tom
March 20th, 2005 @ 11:06
i don’t think a skilled tea maker needs active, conscious control of their tea making.
it is a behaviour which is learnt, like walking, which may initially be difficult, but after you have adapted to it – you do not think about how to make a cup of tea.
adding the milk after the brew allows you to brew the teabag accurately, as relatively speaking, you know what temperature the water is going to be when it comes out of the kettle. including the milk pre-brew would mean your brew is susceptible to the potentially different temperatures of the milk, which would modify the brewing process, making this behaviour require thought and reasoning, when there is no need for it to.
3Sarah
March 20th, 2005 @ 11:14
“I don’t think a skilled tea maker needs active, conscious control of their tea making.it is a behaviour which is learnt”
In which case it shouldn’t matter at which stage you put in the milk as if you have been doing it that way for years you have become highly skilled in making tea the way you like it.
At work I know people are offended by my milk in first so when I make them tea I put the milk in last. They never make my tea milk first so I always get too strong tea for my taste.
I’d just like to see the abuse of milk in first people end!
4tom smith
March 20th, 2005 @ 19:23
i put the milk in last.
i think that you have to look at the end product – the taste of the tea is dictated by teabag-fusion AND milk varience, so both methods are valid, and will produce similar results; however i personally find adding the milk before the water lengthens the time taken for the flavour to flood out.
i put milk in coffee first though.
5Sarah
March 20th, 2005 @ 19:56
you put the milk in coffee first? That’s weird I would never put it in first!
6mr_h
March 21st, 2005 @ 16:58
Where do you stand on placing teabags on teaspoons?
http://www.sparklest.com/Store/newimages/8954.jpg
7mr_h
March 21st, 2005 @ 17:08
Oh, and did you spot the Douglas Adams article linked from wikipedia including an animation about why milk first is best?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A61345
8Not Responding
March 26th, 2005 @ 15:42
Frankly, if you’re using tea *bags*, the whole milk or tea first debate is irrelevant. Am I the only person still using proper tea leaves in a decent tea pot?
9tom
March 26th, 2005 @ 20:51
what constitutes a good teapot?
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