How to make a proper brew

Everyone makes tea differently – but if you popped round to our place for a visit, this is how we’d make you a brew.

Choose your weapon

Mug or Teapot?

Proper cuppa Proper teapot

Treat your water kindly

Run the tap a little so the water’s nicely aerated, and only boil it once to keep the oxygen level up. Oxygen in water helps flavour!
Add tea and water

Pop a tea bag into your mug, pour over the hot water and stir briefly.
Wait patiently

Tea needs time to unlock all its flavour, so give it 4-5 minutes to do its thing. This is a perfect time to munch a sneaky biscuit or daydream about holidays.
Give it a squeeze

Before removing the tea bag, gently squidge it against the side of the mug. Just the once, mind – if you really mash it, it'll taste bitter.
Customise your brew

We like a splash of semi-skimmed or whole milk, but your brew is unique to you – so add milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all. Most importantly, enjoy!

Treat your water kindly

Run the tap a little so the water’s nicely aerated, and only boil it once to keep the oxygen level up. Oxygen in water helps flavour!
Keep everything toasty

Tea likes hot water, but a chilly teapot cools things down – so swirl a little boiling water around the empty pot first. For bonus points, use that water to warm the cups too.
Add tea and water

Add two tea bags to a regular teapot or one tea bag to a mini teapot. If you’re using loose tea, add one teaspoon per person and one for the pot. Pour the hot water in and stir a bit.
Wait patiently

Tea needs time to unlock all its flavour, so give it 4-5 minutes to do its thing. This is a perfect time to munch a sneaky biscuit or daydream about holidays.
Customise your brew

We like a splash of semi-skimmed or whole milk, but your brew is unique to you – so add milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all. Most importantly, enjoy!

Miffy or Tiffy

So when should you add the milk? It’s an issue that divides tea drinkers into two camps: those who pour the milk into their mug first (Miffys) and those who pour their tea in before the milk (Tiffys). Like the Montagues and the Capulets, these warring factions may never see eye to eye – but the truth is that this great debate can be solved in less time than it takes to dunk a digestive.

It’s all a question of heat. Tea brews best in very hot water, but adding milk cools things down. So if you’re brewing tea directly in a mug, it’s better to add the milk last, after it’s brewed. And if you’re brewing in a teapot, the order doesn’t matter at all – it’s just a question of personal preference!