Buzz
Tea is a fantastic beverage, known for its health benefits and adored globally. It plays a significant role in the daily lives of people in the United Kingdom, as well as in Japan and China, where tea originated, and even in South America and the Middle East. Enjoying tea is a delightful way to set the mood for gatherings or quiet moments.
Steps
Serving English-Style Tea
Preparing the tea. Nowadays, you can simply brew tea by pouring hot water into a cup, but if you truly want to serve tea in the English style, you need to understand fine tea varieties and the necessary tea accessories.
- Black tea is one of the most popular teas worldwide, but serving it can be tricky due to the many varieties available. The key is to remember personal preferences. Some of the most common English black teas include Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Assam. Experiment to find your favorite.
- Of course, you can always serve tea in a regular cup, but to achieve the precision of English tea service, you’ll need the right tools. This includes a teapot (ceramic or porcelain), teacups with saucers, a sugar bowl, a creamer, a tea kettle, a slop bowl, and some serving plates.
- Keep in mind that traditional English tea time is around 4 PM, but you can serve tea anytime between 2 and 5 PM.
Prepare the right accompaniments. Traditional English tea is typically served with savories (tiny sandwiches), scones, and pastries, in that order. Of course, you can add your own twist or prepare just one or a few of these items. You can either make the accompaniments yourself or purchase them from a store.
- Ensure the food is bite-sized so that knives and forks aren’t necessary.
- There are numerous options for small sandwiches, depending on the type of bread you use (white, wheat, rye, etc.) and the shape you prefer (square, rectangular, triangular, round). Make sure to remove the crusts. You can also prepare cucumber slices with cream cheese (and perhaps some smoked salmon!), tomato slices, cheddar cheese, and watercress. Consider chicken and pesto sandwiches or other creative variations.
- For scones, you can keep them plain or add chocolate chips, citrus zest, or poppy seeds with lemon curd. Serve them with clotted cream and jam.
- For pastries, the options are endless. You can make lemon drizzle cake, almond bread, cheesecake, macarons, cookies, or banana bread.
Brew the tea. Brewing the perfect cup of tea might seem complicated, but it’s quite simple once you know the steps. This is a crucial part of serving afternoon tea (as this event is not just about the pastries).
- Place the kettle on the stove and bring the water to a boil. While heating, warm the teapot with hot water. Preheating the teapot is essential before adding boiling water.
- Add tea leaves (or tea bags) to the pot and pour in the boiling water. Use one teaspoon of tea per guest, plus an extra teaspoon for the pot. Loose-leaf tea is preferred, but if using tea bags, add one bag per guest and an extra one for the pot, similar to loose-leaf tea.
- Different teas require varying steeping times. For Assam, Ceylon, or Darjeeling, steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Adjust the steeping time if you prefer a stronger or milder brew.
Prepare milk, sugar, and lemon. Everyone enjoys tea differently. Some prefer sugar and lemon, while others like milk (never add lemon and milk together, as the lemon will curdle the milk). Ensure you have all options available.
- You can pour milk into the cup before or after adding the tea. There’s no strict rule—it’s entirely up to personal preference (historically, milk was added first to prevent cracking delicate cups, but this is no longer a concern).
- Offer alternative milk options for those who are lactose intolerant, such as almond, soy, or coconut milk. Each has a unique flavor. Almond milk, certain coconut milks, and rice milk pair particularly well with tea.
- Provide alternative sweeteners for those avoiding refined sugar, such as agave syrup, sweeteners, or stevia.
Get creative. The many rules and traditions of English tea service don’t mean you can’t add your own flair or make it more fun. Tea time is dull if you’re not enjoying it, so explore new ways to make your experience exciting!
- Host an outdoor tea party. Nothing beats sipping a special cup of tea in the garden on a Sunday afternoon. Just check the weather forecast beforehand to avoid rain spoiling your plans.
- Serve fruit instead of pastries, or offer both. This is a great idea if seasonal fruits are available locally.
- Give small party favors to your guests. Consider gifting them small tea bags, knitted tea cozies, or other mementos that remind them of the delightful afternoon—without being too expensive or bulky.
Serving Chinese-Style Tea
Learn the terminology. To serve and prepare Chinese tea properly, you need to understand the different types of tea and tea utensils used in the brewing process. Remember, Chinese tea culture is quite distinct from Western tea traditions.
- There are many types of tea to choose from: red tea (known as black tea in the West), green tea, white tea, Oolong tea, and Pu-erh tea. Pu-erh and red tea are the strongest (both are fermented), while green tea is the least processed and richest in vitamins. White tea (lightly fermented) has a delicate and mild flavor, and Oolong tea is highly beneficial for health.
- Chinese teapots (also called Yixing teapots) are smaller than Western teapots, holding about one cup (240 ml) of tea. Different teas require different teapots, as the clay absorbs the tea’s aroma.
- To Westerners, Chinese teacups resemble small bowls more than traditional teacups. They are small, short, and shallow, designed for a few sips, reflecting the Chinese tea philosophy of valuing quality over quantity.
- A Chinese tea strainer ensures your cup is free of loose leaves when you drink.
Prepare the tea utensils. Warm and sterilize the teapot, strainer, and teacups with hot water. Pour hot water into the teapot until it overflows, and do the same for the strainer and cups. Discard the water.
Rinse the tea leaves. Add an appropriate amount of tea leaves to the pot and pour in hot water. Let the water overflow until it runs clear. Replace the lid and discard the rinse water. Keep the lid open to prevent the leaves from stewing.
- Never use metal tools or bare hands to handle tea leaves. Only use bamboo or wooden utensils.
- Typically, fill the pot one-quarter to one-third full, depending on the number of guests or the type of tea (e.g., lighter teas like white tea require more leaves, while Pu-erh needs only a small amount).
Prepare the tea. Chinese tea ceremonies have their own set of standards, similar to English afternoon tea or Japanese tea rituals. To achieve the correct flavor, you must follow specific steps for each type of tea.
- Ensure the water temperature suits the tea you’re using. For example, never boil water for green tea. Instead, use water just hot enough to form tiny bubbles. For Oolong or Pu-erh tea, use fully boiling water. For white tea, water at 68°C is ideal.
- Tea needs exposure to oxygen for better flavor, so store it in porous materials like ceramic teapots rather than metal or glass.
Pour the tea. Pour boiling (or hot) water into the teapot immediately after preparing the tea, then pour it into the cups. You won’t drink this first infusion, as it’s meant to "wake up" the tea. This step warms the teacups and prepares them for drinking.
- Fill the teapot completely, and pour the tea from the cups back over the teapot. This keeps the tea warm and cleanses the ceramic surface for better flavor.
- Steep the tea for only 10-30 seconds, roughly the time it takes to pour the tea from the cups over the teapot.
- The tea is now ready to drink. A single cup will only yield 2-3 sips, so focus on the cup and savor it slowly. Good tea can usually be brewed three times, so you can repeat the process to add more water to the teapot.
Tea Serving Around the World
Brew Moroccan Tea, also known as Maghrebi mint tea. This is Morocco’s signature mint tea and a vital part of its culture. It’s green tea brewed with mint and sugar (sometimes including pine nuts, wormwood, or lemon verbena for a citrusy aroma). This drink is served with daily meals and traditionally offered to guests.
- Use a teapot and add two teaspoons of tea leaves with boiling water. Steep for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture into another pot (preferably stainless steel) to remove any residue.
- Add 2-3 teaspoons of sugar (remember, this tea is meant to be sweet!).
- Boil the mixture to dissolve the sugar and achieve the authentic Maghrebi tea flavor. Add mint leaves directly to the tea.
- Serve the tea three times, as the flavor evolves due to the extended steeping time.
Brew Yerba Mate Tea. This South American tea is often enjoyed during social gatherings, such as meetups with friends or family. It’s renowned for its health benefits. To prepare it traditionally, you’ll need a “mate” (a gourd) and a “bombilla” (a filtered straw).
- Fill the gourd two-thirds full with yerba mate. Shake it so the leaves gather on one side, leaving a space on the other. Add a bit of cold water to the empty space, just enough to moisten the leaves. Tilt the gourd until the yerba mate absorbs the water.
- Cover one end of the bombilla with your thumb and insert the other end into the gourd, ensuring it touches the bottom where the water is.
- Pour hot water (around 65°C) into the empty space until it reaches the top of the leaves. Sip through the bombilla until the water is gone, then refill. The flavor is strong in the first few infusions, so you may want to mellow it out.
- Share with friends! Avoid disturbing the leaves and only drink from the empty side. You can refill the gourd 15 to 20 times.
- You can also brew yerba mate in a coffee maker, but this isn’t the traditional method.
Brew Indian Milk Tea. A popular tea in India, this black tea is served with buffalo milk and sugar, traditionally poured into clay cups by tea makers (chai wallahs). You can also make masala chai, a highly popular spiced tea.
- The masala chai recipe includes 4 black peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 green cardamom pods, 6 slices of peeled ginger (about 2.5 cm long), 1 teaspoon of black tea (about 2 tea bags), 3 cups of water, 1 cup of whole milk, and 2 teaspoons of sugar (brown sugar works best).
- Combine the spices with water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Reheat briefly, then remove from heat again. Add the tea and steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Strain the mixture, return it to the pot, and add sugar and milk. Stir for 1 minute over low heat.
Tips
- Ensure the tea doesn’t go cold. Warm or lukewarm tea can affect its flavor and your overall experience. Cold tea is perfectly fine, as long as it’s meant to be enjoyed that way. Just because hot tea is the standard at tea parties doesn’t mean you can’t serve iced tea alongside or even replace hot tea with it.
- You can also explore a variety of teas. Offer multiple flavors and/or types, including chamomile, herbal teas, chai, black tea, white tea, green tea, and flavored teas.
- There are numerous tea cultures worldwide, such as Japanese tea ceremonies. Immerse yourself in different traditions for a well-rounded tea experience!
Warnings
- Right after steeping, make sure the tea is still hot enough so that when you add cream or milk, it remains at the ideal temperature.
- Avoid overheating the tea. Excessively hot tea can burn your palate.
