How to make a proper brew

Everyone has their own way of doing things, but here, our expert tea buyers reveal their secret to making a proper pot of Yorkshire Tea.

Source : www.yorkshiretea.co.uk

Get a proper pot on

Run the tap a little so the water is nicely aerated. Use water that has boiled just once - any more than that and the level of oxygen in the water is reduced and your tea can taste a bit ‘flat’.

Warm the teapot first by swilling boiling water around inside it, then warm the cups with the water from the teapot.

For a four-cup pot, use two teabags. For loose tea, use one teaspoon per person and one for the pot. (Our tea buyers like it really strong and use three or four.)

Add freshly boiled water to the pot, stir and leave to brew for 4-5 minutes depending on how strong you like it.

If you take milk, we recommend a splash of whole or semi-skimmed milk, with sugar if you take it.

A proper cuppa

Pour freshly boiled water directly onto your teabag in a mug. This way the tea infuses better than adding the teabag to water.

Leave to brew for 4-5 minutes according to taste.

Remove the teabag with a spoon giving it just one gentle squeeze.

Miffy or Tiffy?

People are very particular about their tea, but there’s one aspect of tea making that really sparks debate... milk or tea first? ‘Miffy or Tiffy?’, we call it. You’re bound to have your own theory, and if tea is brewed in a pot, there is no definitive right or wrong answer. If you’re making tea in a cup though, it’s never milk first - it reduces the water temperature so it doesn’t brew properly.

Potty about tea?

If you can make tea in a teapot, do. You’ll get the best taste out of your Yorkshire Tea. You’ll also be keeping one of Britain’s greatest traditions alive. The family members who own Taylors of Harrogate have always had a soft spot for teapots, in fact, it’s a bit of an obsession. We’ve been collecting them for years now - some date back to 1750, some have the odd chip, some cost a couple of pounds, others are extremely unusual and valuable. And then there’s the humble tea cosy of course. A few years ago, the Women’s Institute (quintessentially British and equally mad about their tea) knitted a fantastic variety of Yorkshire Tea-inspired tea cosies for us. In 2011 we auctioned off a selection of them to raise money for our Yorkshire Rainforest Project. You can take a peek into their magical world of tea cosies here.