Down to a Tea: Guidelines for the Perfect Cuppa - and Some Top Brews in Bristol
Posted on: 19 Feb 2015Along with fish and chips, crumpets, lager and pork pies, Bristolians - and Brits in general for that matter - have long shared an affinity for a cup of tea.
In fact, there's nothing much more quintessentially British than a hearty brew, a cup of char, a hot, fresh mug of the steaming, sweet good stuff (well, providing you take sugar, of course).
You might have noticed over the past few days there's been a lot of media attention about this very British beverage, which has been thrust into the spotlight because of a recent report by the British Standards institution (BSI).
The BSI has released a guide with the rather splendid title, Preparation Of A Liquor Of Tea For Use In Sensory Tests. What it, erm, boils down to is a thoughtful, considered guide on how to supposedly make the perfect brew.
In the BSI's teabag-tempted eyes, milk should be poured into the cup before the tea and should be brewed for six minutes at a temperature that shouldn't be hotter than 85 degrees.
Delving even deeper in to the perpetual and elusive myths of perfect tea making, the BSI said that tea should be made in porcelain pot with at least two grams of tea for every 100ml of water. And because the average tea bag contains 1.5g of tea leaves, those brewing bods say you should use two for a small pot and four for a large one.
So who is this BSI self-proclaiming monolith to tea-making mastery then?, we hear you cry. Well, they're actually a business standards company best known for its Kitemark, the generally accepted and recognised symbol of excellence applied to everything from aircraft to manhole covers.
OK, so the BSI's guide might not be everyone's cup of tea for making the perfect cup of tea. For some it might confirm their brewing theories, for others it might simply confound their quest for the consummate cuppa.
What it does comes down to ultimately is personal choice, preference and taste. Milk before tea, tea before milk, with sugar, without sugar, strong, weak, accompanied by a packet of Bourbons? It's up to you.
However, we can enthusiastically recommend a few venues in Bristol we know for a fact serve up a fine, piping hot brew.
Some of our favourite selling and serving tea-tastic venues include Mr Tea's Teas, Cosy Club, Heartfelt Vintage, The Royal Navy Volunteer, The Steam Crane, and Cox and Baloney's.
Pop the kettle on, please.
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
