Category Archives: Science

How to make the perfect cup of tea

  • Use Assam tea leaves (never a bag)
  • Use a clean, warm china or glass pot (never a metal pot as it taints the tea)
  • Add one teaspoonful of tea per cup plus one more teaspoon
  • Use freshly drawn water, boiled once only to retain as much oxygen as possible to bind with tea polyphenols
  • Avoid hard water (calcium ions) to prevent tea “scum”
  • Best flavour is achieved using a high temperature, but short time infusion
  • Stir the tea
  • Leave to brew for 3.5 to 4 minutes
  • Put a little cold milk (never hot milk or UHT Milk) into the cup
  • Add the tea to the milk using a strainer (never pour the milk onto the tea)
  • Add sugar if you like but only use white sugar and not too much
  • Drink tea at 60-65°C.
    • Thanks to the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)