[Joya]

Dear ccmay, Thank you for the canonical recipe for tea making, handed down from your English grandmother.

Interesting that it’s better to pour the hot tea into the cold milk than vice versa.

I found this interesting: ‘The first cup you pour out will be the best and should be given to your most honored guest.’

Steep 3.5 minutes? I thought it was supposed to be five minutes.

For folks who want their tea sweetened, what type do you recommend, and at what point should it be added?

I do make my tea by boiling water it in a teakettle on my stove. I changed to green tea about a year ago, but I drink it without milk or any sweetener, just plain: They say green tea’s very good for you.

I drink hot tea year round. (I gave up a 25-year coffee habit a couple years ago.)

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us.

Joya

[A knight without armor]

Me, too. I’ve been drinking hot green tea every day since the first week of May 2007. I use Kroger tea bags and drink it plain. I just boil a cup of water in a pot and pour it into a cup containing the tea bag.

[ccmay]

Interesting that it’s better to pour the hot tea into the cold milk than vice versa.

It really, truly does make a difference. There is much more flavor and texture when you put the tea into the milk.

I found this interesting: ‘The first cup you pour out will be the best and should be given to your most honored guest.’

Probably just a tradition with no basis in fact. But if you're going to do it, why not do it the way your ancestors did it?

Steep 3.5 minutes? I thought it was supposed to be five minutes.

Really, after about a minute, most of the essence of the tea has already been removed from the leaf. If you like it better at 5 minutes, carry on.

For folks who want their tea sweetened, what type do you recommend, and at what point should it be added?

I never use it, but I would say after you've mixed the milk and tea.

I like green tea too, but black tea will always be my favorite.

[grame]

I make a quart every morning, for myself, and I’ve always thought 5 minutes was too long. But I thought that because I can’t wait 5 minutes. I sweeten the whole quart just as I’m taking out the bags. I use 3 bags of the pink stuff and a couple of tsps of the real stuff(sugar).