Clarksville weather is cold and damp and many of you probably enjoy a hot cup of tea every day. I enjoy my hot tea very much on these chilly evenings. Have you ever wondered if the tea you are making is the best you can get here in Clarksville? You might expect a restaurant somewhere to have better tea that you could make at home, but let me show you how to make an excellent pot of tea to enjoy right there in your warm, comfy home.
As an aside, I am an avid teapot collector, too. I have had the bug since about 2000. I have given a lot of them away, been given a lot more and bought several. My favorite remains the sturdy, squat and striped Brown Betty my Mother brought from England in 1993. I don’t know why but I know its true that certain coffee cups make coffee taste better and certain tea pots make tea all the better as well. I don’t know how many I have, but let’s just say… I have pots that I put out for every season.
There is really no mystery to making good tea, just good ingredients. I use a tea called Welsh Breakfast Tea that I purchase from Tasha Tudor And Family. The rest is just common sense.
How to Brew a Pot of Tea
- Fill the kettle with fresh cold water. Put on the stove and allow to come to a full rolling boil.
- Meanwhile, fill the teapot with very hot tap water, put the lid on and let it sit to warm.
- Just before the water in the kettle reaches the full rolling boil, pour out the water in the tea pot and add the tea to the pot; 1 teaspoon per tea cup of water the pot will hold (Or use one tea bag per teacup).
- When the water boils, take the teapot to the kettle and pour the boiling water in the pot, over the tea.
- Cover the pot with the lid. Let the tea brew for 3-5 minutes, depending on what kind of tea you are using. Usually, large leaf teas require longer brewing time than small leaf teas.
- Before serving, stir the tea once. Pour through a strainer into cups. Or if you don’t mind a few leaves in your tea, forgo the strainer.
- Depending on the type of tea you use, you may want to serve it with lemon slices, sugar or milk.
Lemon is used with teas like Earl Grey or Caravan. Milk is often served with medium bodied teas like English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast. Many tea authorities say that English Breakfast tea, served with milk, has the delicious aroma of “toast fresh from the oven”.
Common Types of Tea
Here are some common teas and their descriptions
- Black tea is picked when the leaves are mature then withered, fully oxidized and dried. Black tea yields a hearty, amber-colored brew. Some of the popular black teas include English Breakfast, and Darjeeling.Both English and Irish Breakfast are strong and contain a large amount of caffeine so they are normally consumed early in the day.
- Green teas are picked when the leaves are mature but not oxidized. They are withered and then dried. It has a more delicate taste than black tea and is pale greenish gold in color.
- Oolong tea, popular in China, is picked when the leaves are mature, withered, partially oxidized, and then dried. In both color and taste, Oolong is a cross between black and green teas.
- White tea is picked when the leaves are very small and immature. White tea is not oxidized, but withered and dried by steaming.
Tea Drinkers Resources
Some online tea resources that I have personally tried and liked:
- Tea Forte – This is awesomely good tea. Comes loose and in pyramid shaped bags. You can find it locally sometimes at TJMaxx though I couldn’t say how fresh it is at the store. I bought it there and was pleased.
- Tasha Tudor and Family – I don’t believe I had ever had a truly exquisite cup of tea until I had Tasha’s signature blend of Welsh Breakfast Tea.
- Mark Wendell Teas – This is the company that blended the Welsh Breakfast Tea for Tasha Tudor. They don’t sell it through their site though. The teas they do have are great. They even offer different types of sugars, tea pots, etc. They’ve been in business since 1904 so I guess they probably know tea.
Tea drinking is not as popular here in the mid-south as it is in the north of the country. However, I started making a regular tea time for my children, who are educated at home, many years ago. At 4 pm every day we sit down for a light snack and tea. We read, chat and just generally relax for about 1 hour. I highly recommend it.
