ThirstyforKnowledge

An encyclopedia of drinks — mixed, poured, brewed and whisked

No. 108 Tea

The perfect cup of Yorkshire Tea

Yorkshire Tea's own method for a proper brew in a mug: freshly drawn water, 4–5 minutes, one gentle squeeze, milk last.

A mug of tea with milk seen from above on a wooden table
A mug of tea with milk Photo: Gaurav Dhwaj Khadka, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recipe card

Makes 1 drink · about 6 min to make

Ingredients

  • Tea bag Yorkshire Tea or another black tea 1
  • Water freshly drawn, boiled once
  • Milk (optional) a splash, semi-skimmed or whole
  • Sugar (optional) to taste

Method

  1. Run the tap a little so the water is nicely aerated, and only boil it once to keep the oxygen level up.
  2. Pop a tea bag into your mug, pour over the hot water and stir briefly.
  3. Wait 4–5 minutes so the tea can release all its flavour.
  4. Before removing the bag, gently squeeze it against the side of the mug, just once. Mashing it makes the tea bitter.
  5. Add a splash of milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all, as you like.
Glass
Mug
Technique
Brewed
Difficulty
Easy

Printable recipe card

About the The perfect cup of Yorkshire Tea

This follows the brewing advice Yorkshire Tea publishes on its own website. The two things that make the difference are time and order: give the bag a full 4–5 minutes, and add milk after brewing when you make tea in a mug, because cold milk lowers the water temperature.

In a teapot the order of milk doesn't matter, according to Yorkshire Tea. See loose-leaf tea in a teapot.

Background

Yorkshire Tea calls the milk-first camp 'Miffys' and the tea-first camp 'Tiffys'. Its verdict: in a mug, add milk last; in a teapot, it's personal preference.

Tags: black tea builder's brew milk last

Watch

How To Make A Proper Brew — Yorkshire Tea on YouTube. The video loads from YouTube when you press play. Watch on YouTube

Go deeper

  • How to make a proper cup of tea Fresh water, the right temperature, enough time and milk at the right moment: tea-making advice from Yorkshire Tea and the UK Tea & Infusions Association.

Sources

  1. Yorkshire Tea — How to make a proper brew
  2. UK Tea & Infusions Association — The perfect brew

Checked when this entry was written. Links open the original source in a new tab.

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