Today im going to teach you all how to make a nice cup of Tea. So we can all enjoy one of Britains favourite pass times you will need the following..........
1 - Teabag - Dont try and save on these. Buy a well known and reliable brand such as PG Tips and Tetly. Personally i prefer Yorkshire Tea bags and Twinnings are well worth a try
2 - Water & Electricity supply
3 - Kettle
4 - Milk & Sugar (Both optional)
5 - Teaspoon
6 - Cup/Mug
The Fill
Take your kettle and open the lid. I like to let the cold tap to run for about 10-15 seconds before filling the Kettle up with the required amount. Rember filling up more than you need will mean a longer boil and waste of electricity! Plug your kettle in or sit on its base and switch on.
The Prep
Take your Cup and place 1 Tea bag inside. Try and make sure the inside of the cup is dry or your tea bag will get a bit soggy and look horrible pre pour! At this point you can add your sugar if you wish and some people even add milk at this point which basically is like milk suicide! Its so easy to misjudge pour to much and get the dreaded milky brew - unless you like it that way! Me personally i prefer no sugar and to add my milk at a later point but we will come back to that later in this tutorial.
The Boil & Pour
Wait for the kettle to make a click and this indicates the kettle has now boiled and ready to pour. If you miss the opportunity to make the pour within 10-15 seconds of the click i would advise to flick the switch for another quick reboil. As long as you have caught the flick early, your ready to pour. This is the most dangerous part in the art of brew making and i myself bare a scare on my arm from my early brew making days - 2 years old in fact when i pulled the kettle chord.........ouch! Anyway firmly grip the handle and with kettle in one hand and tea spoon in the other hold the kettle approx 6-8" above the cup and start to pour. Once you have experience and feel confident with the pour you can move on to a more advanced technique which involves slowly moving the kettle up and down by approx 2-3" whilst pouring but this is basically to show off your brew making skills. Once the cup is approx half full and the tea bag is afloat slowly stir the T bag creating a gentle whirlpool of darkness. Leave for about 20-30 seconds to enable the Tea leaves to absorb as much water as possible.
The Squeeze
Once your Tea has been left to stand for no more than 30 seconds its time for the final squueze. Take your Teaspoon and using the smooth back, pin your now soaking bag against the wall of the cup. Using the front of the spoon may result in split of the Teabag which if goes unnoticed can lead to Leaves in the mouth disease. At best you get a total tear and you have to start this process all over again! Anyway gently squeeze the bag against the side of the cup getting all that flavour out but dont over squeeze or your brew will become yukky and you will pull a funny face when drinking it. One last stir and dispose of Tea bag. Becarful not to drip all over the kitchen sides and floor leaving a trail of Tea Wee all the way to your bin or Teabag jar!
Pour & Stir
In my humble opinion now is the time to add your extras to your now well brewed nice cup of Tea. As mentioned i just like milk so by using the pour & stir technique i hold the milk approx 2" above the surface of the tea and slowly pour whilst at the same time stirring with the teaspoon once again creating a gentle whirlpool which if done right can slowly turn from darkness to the desired colour within a couple of seconds. Note how i hold the milk only 2" above the tea, this is to prevent splash back and over pour. Once final colour is achieved you can now add any sugar you may require. You might want to consider using a dry Tea spoon or you end up with sugary boulders in your sugar jar. Once added one final stir and your ready to enjoy.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! thats nice!!!!!!!
The Clean Up
Leave for girlfriend to do after all there gonna moan about something anyway!
Next Week
Next week we will learn how to make Bacon on toast whilst making a brew at the same time where timing is everything! God! im bored Friday night and im writing this bollox!
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