Black tea - not bitter

[motorizer]

Chuck a big dollop of honey in it

[Mojooo]

OK one step at a time - PG Tips but not strong and will play with temp

I tned to make my tea boiling and the milk cools it. So will have to adjust my habits now.

[bint]

Mojooo said:

OK one step at a time - PG Tips but not strong and will play with temp

I tned to make my tea boiling and the milk cools it. So will have to adjust my habits now.

Put a little cold water in the mug first and add boiling to it? Or cool the mug down by swilling it with cold water, and add the boiling water before the tea bag?

[ali_kat]

Mojooo said:

OK one step at a time - PG Tips but not strong and will play with temp

I tned to make my tea boiling and the milk cools it. So will have to adjust my habits now.

Talked to my MiL who is a Tea Specialist at UniLever (who make PG Tips).

PG Tips need boiling water, she advised you to make as usual, just don't leave it in for long!

[Mojooo]

OK

I spose it makes little difference to taste how hot the tea is?

Without milk I have to leave the tea standign for a while to cool down so I can see why people dont use boiling water for non milk tea.

[ali_kat]

Mojooo said:

OK

I spose it makes little difference to taste how hot the tea is?

Without milk I have to leave the tea standign for a while to cool down so I can see why people dont use boiling water for non milk tea.

Black tea needs boiling water, strength is determined by how long you leave it to steep.

If it helps, when I can't get Darjeeling I have PG Tips & leave the bag in the cup for about 90 seconds max

Green, flower, fruit etc teas should be made with very hot water, but not boiled

Add the same amount of cold water as you did milk to cool it, or stick an ice cube in it (which is what I do with takeaway coffee).

[Mojooo]

I bought 3 varieties of tea today - Twinings Everyday, Tesco Finest Earl Grey and English Breakfast

Just tried PG Tips v Twnings Everyday - 3 mins brewing.

Definitley a big difference. Twinings feels 'cleaner' and definitley less bitter taste.

I'll try them again tomorrow with maybe 90 secs.

Bit of a faff having to wait so long to actually drink the damn tea though - even after 3 minutes they are still too hot to drink without milk.

[Chimune]

Great fragrant earl grey is Williams. Not in every shop tho...waitrose sell it in a silver box. It has changed its name and packaging a few times in last 5 years, but its a good one.
Milk is evil.
That is all.

[dapprman]

I tend to drink black tea during the day at work. My main choices are
Bo-ley/Pu-erh (cheap tea bags from Chinese supermarkets)
Oolong (again as above with cost)
Twinings Lady Grey

I also do genmaicha (brown rice tea) and sencha (Japanese green tea in leaf format) - both of these depend on time of year and brewing techniques as you can't leave green tea in the water too long, but you need a stronger brew for the genmaicha.

[jet_noise]

Mojooo said:

<snip>

Bit of a faff having to wait so long to actually drink the damn tea though - even after 3 minutes they are still too hot to drink without milk.

Add a bit of cold water to your mug/cup after pouring/removing the tea bag. No more burnt mouth/impatience ,

regards,
Jet

[Mobile Chicane]

Whichever tea you drink, always use freshly-boiled water.

My office has one of those hot water urn things, and the tea made with water from it is rank.