Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Serve English tea
• Method 2 of 3: Serve Chinese tea
• Method 3 of 3: Serve tea from around the world
• Tips
• Warnings

Tea is a nice, healthy drink that is consumed all over the world. In England, Japan, Taiwan and China (where it originates), serving tea is a serious business, and in South America and the Middle East, tea also occupies an important place in everyday life. You can drink tea as a social activity, or just to calm yourself down.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Serve English tea

1. Prepare for the tea. Of course you can always hang a tea bag in a mug of hot water and drink tea, but if you really want to serve tea the English way, you need to know what the best teas are and what equipment you need to make the tea.
   • Black tea is one of the most popular types of tea worldwide, but there are so many types of black tea that it can be difficult to choose which one to serve. It really comes down to personal preference. The most common varieties of English black tea are Darjeeling, Ceylon and Assam. You will have to experiment to find out which one you like best.
   • You can of course just pour tea in a cup, but if you want to serve a real English tea you have to have the right stuff. You need a teapot (porcelain or earthenware), tea cups with saucers, a sugar bowl, a milk jug, a kettle, a waste container and plates for food.
   • Remember that English tea time is normally around 4 pm, but you can basically serve it anywhere from 2 to 5 pm.
2. Get the right snacks. English tea is traditionally served with small sandwiches, scones and pastries, in that order. You can of course vary yourself, or choose just one or a few of these snacks. You can prepare it yourself or buy it in the store.
   • Note that all snacks must be very small so that you can eat them without cutlery.
   • There are all kinds of options for making the small sandwiches. You can choose different types of bread (white, wholemeal, rye bread, etc.), and you can cut them into all kinds of shapes (rectangular, square, triangular, round). Make sure to cut the crusts off. You can top it with slices of cucumber and cream cheese (and maybe some smoked salmon!), Or cheese with tomato and watercress slices. Or how about smoked chicken with pesto? Have all kinds of different sandwiches.
   • You can make regular scones or scones with chocolate chips, lemon zest, or poppy seeds. You can serve a nice dot of fresh whipped cream and jam.
   • Pastries also come in all types and flavors. You can make a lemon cake, almond cake, Cheesecake, macaroons, biscuits or banana bread.
3. It can seem complicated to brew the perfect tea, but it is actually very simple once you get the hang of it.
   • Put the kettle on the fire and bring the water to a boil. In the meantime, rinse your teapot with warm water. The teapot must be preheated when you pour in the hot water.
   • Put the tea leaves (or bags) in the pot and pour the hot water on top. You need about a teaspoon of leaves per person, and then one more in the teapot. Loose tea is better than tea bags, but if you use tea bags you put one per person, and one more for the pot, just like with the loose leaves.
   • Although different types of tea have to brew different times, you can expect between 3 and 5 minutes in Assam, Ceylon and Darjeeling. Of course it also depends on whether you like strong tea or not.
4. Serve with milk, sugar and lemon. Everyone wants their tea differently. Some people like lemon and sugar, others like milk (but never mix lemon and milk together, it will curdle). Make sure you have all the ingredients at home.
   • There is a fierce discussion among tea enthusiasts about when to put the milk in the tea. Some think that you should first put the milk in the cup and pour the tea on it, others think that you should pour the milk into the poured tea. This again comes down to personal preference. In the past, the milk had to be put in the cup first so that the cup would not burst, but this is no longer necessary.
   • Offer alternatives for people who don't want to drink milk, such as almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk. This all has its own flavor that you may have to get used to. The better lactose-free alternatives are almond milk, certain types of coconut milk, and rice milk.
   • You can also try sugar alternatives, as not everyone likes regular white refined sugar. For example, you can put agave syrup or stevia on the table.
5. Be creative. There are a lot of rules and mannerisms for serving a real English tea, but that doesn't mean you can't be creative. After all, it's all about having a fun moment, so let your imagination run wild and make it a beautiful experience!
   • Go outside. There is nothing better than drinking tea in the garden on a sunny afternoon. Make sure you check the weather forecast first, because you don't want the high tea to fall into the water.
   • Serve with fruit instead of pastries. This is especially nice when it's the season for summer fruits such as raspberries or strawberries.
   • Give your guests a small gift, such as felt teapots, something to remind them of the fun afternoon. It doesn't have to be big or expensive!

Method 2 of 3: Serve Chinese tea

1. Learn the terminology. If you want to properly prepare and serve Chinese tea, you need to know the different types of tea and the right equipment. Chinese tea is very different from Western tea.
   • There are many different types of tea to choose from: red tea (what we call black tea), green tea, white tea, Oolong tea and Pu-erh tea. Pu-erh and red tea are the strongest (both fermented), while green tea is the least processed and contains the most vitamins. White tea (only slightly fermented) has a mild, light taste and good Oolong is very healthy.
   • Chinese teapots (called Yixing pots) are smaller than Western teapots. It holds about 250 ml of tea. You need a different teapot for each type of tea, because the clay in the teapot absorbs some of the flavor of the tea.
   • Chinese tea cups look more like small bowls than cups. They are small, low and shallow, and only take a few sips of tea in, putting the emphasis on the quality rather than the quantity.
   • A Chinese tea strainer ensures that no more leaves float in your cup when you start drinking the tea.
2. Prepare the equipment. You need to heat and sanitize the teapot, strainer and cups with hot water. Pour hot water into the pot until it overflows and also pour some over the lid. Do the same with the cups and the sieve. Throw out the water again.
3. Rinse the tea leaves. Measure the correct amount of leaves in the pot and fill it with hot water. Let the water run over the rim of the teapot until the water runs clear. Put the lid on the pot and pour out the water. Now take the lid off again, otherwise you will boil the leaves.
   • Never touch the tea leaves with anything made of metal or your hands. Only use bamboo or wood.
   • Normally the pot is filled to 1/4 or 1/3 with tea leaves, depending on the number of people you are making tea for and the type of tea you are using (more leaves if you are making a lighter tea such as white tea, and less with a strong tea such as Pu-erh).
4. Make the tea. As with making English tea, there is also a correct way to prepare Chinese or Japanese tea. To get the taste just right you have to follow the specific procedures for the individual teas.
   • Make sure the water temperature is right for the tea you are using. For example, with green tea, the water should not boil. You only heat the water until small bubbles can be seen in the kettle. For Oolong and Pu-erh, the water has to boil. With white tea, the water should be 68 ° C.
   • Tea needs oxygen to taste good, so a porous pot like clay is better than a metal or glass pot.
5. Pour the tea. Pour the hot or boiling water into the teapot and then into your cups. You do not drink it in the first round, because this is only to prepare the cups. The flavor can now infuse a bit into the cups and they are heated up.
   • Fill the teapot again with water and pour the contents of your cups over the teapot. The teapot stays warm and the clay is treated by it so that the tea tastes better.
   • You only let the tea steep for 10 to 30 seconds, which is about the time you need to pour the contents of the cups over the pot.
   • The tea is now ready to serve. There are only 2 or 3 sips in your cup, so make sure you drink very slowly and carefully. You can refill a good tea about 3 times, so repeat the procedure two more times.

Method 3 of 3: Serve tea from around the world

1. Make Moroccan tea, also known as Maghrebi mint tea. This is the mint tea that is widely consumed in Morocco and is very important in Moroccan culture. It is a green tea mixed with mint and sugar (and sometimes with pine nuts or lemon verbena). It is drunk during dinner as well as in between and especially when there are guests.
   • Place 2 teaspoons of green tea leaves in a teapot of boiling water. Let it steep for 15 minutes. Pour it through a sieve into another pot (preferably stainless steel) so that all the small pieces and leaves are out.
   • Add 2-3 teaspoons of sugar (it should be very sweet!).
   • Bring this mixture to a boil so that the sugar hydrolyzes making it taste like a real Maghreb tea. Now put the mint leaves in the tea.
   • Serve the tea 3 times, because the taste will keep changing because the leaves keep pulling.
2. Make yerba mate. This tea drink from South America is mainly drunk in a social setting, for example with friends or family. It is said to be very good for health. To make it the traditional way, you need a "mate" (a type of gourd) and a "bombilla" (a straw for filtering).
   • Fill the gourd 2/3 with the yerba mate. Shake the gourd so that the yerba mate is on one side while leaving room on the other. Put some cold water in the empty space of the gourd, just enough to keep the top of the yerba mate dry. Tilt the gourd until the yerba mate has absorbed the water.
   • Cover the top of the straw with your thumb and insert the other side into the gourd so that it touches the bottom on the side where the water is.
   • Now pour hot water (about 65 ° C) on the empty side of the gourd until it reaches all the way to the top of the yerba mate. Now suck on the straw until all the liquid is out, then refill it. The taste is very strong the first rounds, but it gets milder.
   • Pass the gourd to your friends. Avoid touching the yerba mate and only drink from the empty part of the gourd. You can refill the gourd 15-20 times.
   • You can also make yerba mate in a coffee maker, just like you make normal coffee. But that is of course not the traditional method.
3. Make Indian tea with milk. In India, black tea with buffalo milk and sugar is mainly drunk, which is served in small earthenware cups. You can also make masala chai, which is the popular spicy chai tea.
   • The recipe for masala chai is as follows: 4 peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, 6 cardamom pods, 6 cloves, 2 cm ginger (peeled and sliced), 1 teaspoon black tea (or 2 tea bags), 750 ml water, 250 ml whole milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar (preferably brown sugar).
   • Mix all the herbs with the water and bring it to a boil. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and let it steep for another 10 minutes. Then bring it back to a boil and remove it from the heat. Add the tea and let it steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Strain everything and put it back in the pan, and add the sugar and milk. Then heat it for 1 minute on low heat.

Tips

• Make sure the tea is not too cold. Lukewarm tea is not good. Cold tea can be tasty, if it is meant to be. So you can also make iced tea if you have a tea party.
• You can also try different teas. Consider chamomile tea, herbal tea, chai, black, white and green tea or flavored tea.
• There are many different tea routines worldwide, such as the Japanese tea ceremonies. Try different ways for a special experience!

Warnings

• Don't drink the tea too hot. You can burn your mouth.
• After brewing, make sure the tea is still hot enough to add milk and sugar.