How to Prepare and Serve Tea

Time for tea! Whether you're serving for a crowd, or just for yourself, teatime deserves some extra attention. When properly made, a cup of tea can warm the heart of any tea lover. But if it's prepared incorrectly, tea can also end up bitter or tasteless. Following these tried and true tips in brewing and serving brings out the flavors of tea. Here are some simple steps to improving your brew.

Things You'll Need

• Tea kettle
• Porcelain tea pot
• Tea strainer
• Loose tea leaves, or tea bags
• Sugar and creamer
• Tea cosy

Directions

1. Boil the water for 10 minutes in a tea kettle on high. Do not use a microwave to boil water. Pre-heat the tea pot or cups by adding a little boiling water to them and covering with a lid or a cosy. Once they are warm, pour out the water.
2. If using loose leaf tea, you can put the tea leaves directly in the bottom of the tea pot to get better flavor. You can also use a tea infuser, a mesh ball to hold tea leaves. Usually, one heaped teaspoon per cup is suggested but you can increase or decrease the measure according to your tastes. When using tea bags, the measuring has already been done for you – one teabag per cup.
3. Pour hot water from the kettle over the tea. Use different water temperatures depending on the type of tea being steeped. Black tea is steeped in hot water, whereas green and white teas are steeped in warm water.
4. If you are not using an infuser or tea bags, pour the tea through a strainer into each cup to catch the tea leaves.

Serving tea can be as elaborate or as simple as you wish. I prefer to use smaller cups or mugs. Everyone likes their tea differently so make sure your guests have lots of options by putting sugar, artificial sweetener, honey, lemon, cream and milk on the table. Don’t mix milk or cream with lemon in your tea, or it will curdle. Add milk to the cup before the tea to prevent the milk from scalding.

For a more traditional tea time in the afternoon, try serving sandwiches, cookies, cheese, scones, tea cakes, and desserts with tea. For best results, arrange items on platters and make sure they can be easily reached and seen by everyone.

Share These Fun Facts at Your Tea Party

• Tea readiness is measured by the brewing time, not by the color of the tea.
• After water, tea is the second most widely consumed beverage around the globe.
• The Boston Tea Party is a big reason for the popularity of coffee in America.

These are my favorite methods for preparing and serving tea.

What are your tricks and favorite foods to serve at tea-time?