There’s nothing quite like a warming cup of tea. Whether you favor a classic English Breakfast with a dash of milk, a relaxing mug of chamomile or an aromatic Chai with honey, there’s the perfect tea out there for everybody. Tea is a simple pleasure, but it takes some know-how to get the right brew, taste and pairing.
The Perfect Cup Of Tea: Some General Brewing Tips
- Use fresh boiled water; don’t recycle the leftovers from the last time you used the kettle. The water should be freshly oxygenated for the best cup.
- If you are using loose leaf tea – especially herbal leaves like peppermint – fresh, whole leaves are preferable to broken or stale ones.
- Store your tea, whether it’s in loose leaf or bag form, in a dry, dark place.
- If you prefer a stronger cup, the key is volume rather than duration. Don’t leave your tea to steep for longer; use more leaves or an extra bag from the beginning.
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Black Teas
The Benefits
The health benefits of black teas are manifold: they provide a caffeine boost for those who find the kick of coffee too strong, have antioxidant properties and can even work as appetite suppressants.
Preparation Tips
Steep your tea for at least two minutes before drinking.
Pungent black teas like Chai or Russian Caravan, which bridge the gap between black and herbal, are generally best without milk and sugar, so you can savor the spices.
I am a terrible English descendant and put my milk in first (the tea stirs the milk in- no need for a spoon! It seems logical) but my English friends swear by adding the milk last. I believe this is an etiquette quirk and doesn’t change the quality or taste of the tea, though I certainly invite those who feel passionately about this serious issue to contribute their thoughts!
Pair It With
A good cup of English or Irish Breakfast tea goes perfectly with cakes, biscuits and, of course, breakfast. Darjeeling is good with cheese. Earl Grey complements citrus. It’s also not called morning tea, high tea and afternoon tea for nothing.
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Herbal Teas
The Benefits
Anything and everything. Peppermint can assist with anxiety, lemongrass, ginger, rosehip and rooibos with the immune system, cinnamon with metabolism, hibiscus with blood pressure, chamomile with insomnia. The list goes on.
Preparation Tips
Keep it simple. Fresh, boiling water and the largest mug you can get your hands on.
Pair It With
Herbal teas are perfect by themselves just before bed, to help you slip into a lazy, sleepy state. But I’m partial to an antioxidant-rich dessert of dark chocolate and peppermint tea.
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Green Tea
The Benefits
Green tea boasts myriad health benefits, including boosting your immune system, digestion and metabolism.
Preparation Tips
Strong green tea can be an acquired taste, but many adore it. As with other teas, brew with piping hot, fresh water. The best green tea doesn’t have any additives; just those pungent leaves and water.
Pair It With
Green tea – or jasmine – is the perfect bookend to a Japanese or Chinese meal. But I also like to reach for green tea instead of snacks when I’m bored-hungry. Feel free to adopt that little trick yourself.
Are you an avid tea lover? What are your ultimate tips and pairings?
By Gemma King
Top photo credit: Photo courtesy of Nejron Photo via Shutterstock. .
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
