Linda Shenton Matchett: Brewing the Perfect Cup

Brewing the Perfect Cup

Instructions from Jane Pettigrew's The New Tea Companion

Green Tea:

Select a teapot of the correct size for the number of cups required.
Fill a kettle or pan with freshly drawn cold water and bring to a boil.
When the water is almost to boiling, pour a little into the teapot, swill it around adn then pour the water away.
Measure the loose tea or count the teabags (allowing one bag per cup to be brewed) into the teapot and when the water is at the correct temperature (158-185 degrees), pour liquid over leaves/bags.
Brew as follows:

Black Tea:

Select a teapot of the correct size for the number of cups required.
Fill a kettle or pan with freshly drawn cold water and bring to a boil.
When the water is almost to boiling, pour a little into the teapot, swill it around adn then pour the water away.
Measure the loose tea or count the teabags (allowing one bag per cup to be brewed) into the teapot and when the water is just coming to a rolling boil, pour liquid over leaves/bags. Whenever possible, place teh leaves inside an ifuser that can be lifted out of the liquid once the tea has brewed.
Allow 0.09 to 0.10 ounces of tea per 6 1/2 - 7 ounces of water.
Put the lid on the pot and set a timer for the correct number of minutes for the tea being brewed.

After the correct number of minutes, lift the infuser out of the pot and discard leaves. If not using an infuser, immediately strain all the tea into cups or into another heated pot to keep warm.
Keep the pot warmon a special hotplate that is heated by candle light or cover the pot with a cozy. Never keep a pot of tea hot in this way if the leaves are still in the pot as it will render the tea bitter and unpleasant as it continues to stew.