[andersonsonson]

I'm sure I read this somewhere. Does it make any difference?

[Welsh-lad]

If you're making it in a cup definitely not.

The tea must come into contact with boiling or near boiling water if the infusion is to be successful.

If the brewed tea is coming out of a teapot into a cup then you can add milk first or afterwards. (According to etiquette you add milk after pouring the tea.)

[walterwhite]

Definitely not. See here for details:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtK_vfp8po8

[Isambard Brunel]

One thing I have learned by experience is that it's better to add the tea bag to the water rather than pour the water over the bag. The tea brews more consistently.

[swingaleg]

I'm fairly new to tea but it never occurred to me to put the milk in first........it just seems so wrong

[barbeler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swingaleg

I'm fairly new to tea but it never occurred to me to put the milk in first........it just seems so wrong

Just do the right thing and buy a teapot. Nobody who really appreciates tea would ever make it in a mug.

[swingaleg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbeler

Just do the right thing and buy a teapot. Nobody who really appreciates tea would ever make it in a mug.

The last time I regularly drank tea would have been as a student 40 years ago in shared digs.........and one of memories is of penicillin or something worse growing in teapots.......

and clogged sink pipes.....

I think I'll stick to tea bags this time round !

[dellzincht]

Water before milk, anything else makes you an animal.

[barbeler]

I'm an animal then. I would never even contemplate adding the milk last.

[fizzle90]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbeler

I'm an animal then. I would never even contemplate adding the milk last.

Finally someone talking sense!!

[Welsh-lad]

I usually use tea leaves (not out of snootiness, my family never used teabags even when they were seen as being the exciting innovation in the 1950s).

The tea leaves (bagged or not) must come into contact with boiling (or very hot) water if their rich flavour is to be extracted in the infusion.
If you're adding hot water to cold milk with a teabag in it, you're not getting the authentic taste of a proper cup of tea.
That's not a criticism - I like plenty of things that aren't authentic myself.

[Watcher #1]

I always thought it was

Teabag in mug - boiling water in first (to brew the tea properly), add milk when brewed

Tea in pot - milk first in cup, add tea - adding hot gradually to cold warms the milk up more slowly, and doesn't 'cook' it and change the flavour

[barbeler]

I suppose it might be possible to make a reasonable cup of tea in a mug if you made sure the mug was already really warm. Tea that isn't brewed properly (how most people seem to drink it) is really quite nasty and not at all like it is when given at least three minutes in a teapot - preferably with a cosy on top to keep the heat in. Properly brewed tea is a wonderful thing.

[dellzincht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbeler

I'm an animal then. I would never even contemplate adding the milk last.

I should have clarified, I was referring to tea made in a mug.

If using a teapot (which should always be the preferred option) then milk in first, obviously!

[barbeler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dellzincht

I should have clarified, I was referring to tea made in a mug.

If using a teapot (which should always be the preferred option) then milk in first, obviously!

That makes sense then.

I honestly believe that every household in the country should have a teapot delivered to them out of public funds. My dad has a stainless steel one that has a double skin to keep the heat in. It also came with a steel mesh cone that the tea is supposed to go into, but I keep hiding it. He was only filling half the pot, so the tea bags were barely getting damp and were left stranded after the first cup.

Incidentally, I know that loose tea should taste better than tea bags in theory, but after years of comparing them I honestly can't tell any difference – except that the tea leaves are a pain to dispose of.

I'm currently veering between Aldi Gold and Tesco Extra Strong. The Aldi perhaps have a slightly more subtle flavour, but the Tesco ones have that extra kick. Knowing how these teas are produced, it would't surprise me if the Morrissons Extra Strong tea bags are made from the same tea.

[eugenespeed]

Tea / Coffee, then milk, then hot water. Always done it that way.

A lot of people have told me I'm uncultured!

[earthling13]

Traditionally milk first as tea used to be an expensive commodity drunk by the wealthy from fine bone china and putting the hot tea in first could result in a broken cup. This could, of course, by a load of bull! Personally I always add the milk to the tea infusion, just enough to colour it and definitely no sugar!

[Welsh-lad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earthling13

Traditionally milk first as tea used to be an expensive commodity drunk by the wealthy from fine bone china and putting the hot tea in first could result in a broken cup. This could, of course, by a load of bull! Personally I always add the milk to the tea infusion, just enough to colour it and definitely no sugar!

Actually this changed. The affluent classes eventually began to buy more expensive bone china of superior quality that could withstand very hot water.
This meant that only the lower middle classes were still stuck with the old-fashioned cups that cracked unless the milk was put in first.

Modern etiquette requires the milk to be put in last... though that's only if one gives a damn about etiquette! I just do it out of habit.

[jez37]

I'm a milk first person but i get that from my mum.

[burton07]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbeler

Just do the right thing and buy a teapot. Nobody who really appreciates tea would ever make it in a mug.

This is very true. Make the tea in a warmed pot and leave it to brew for 4 minutes. The idea of adding the milk first is to prevent your bone china cups cracking from the heat of the tea.

[Miss XYZ]

I always add the milk after the water.

[brangdon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welsh-lad

If you're making it in a cup definitely not.

If you're making it in a cup, you probably aren't the kind of person who could taste or care about the difference.

(I was brought up to be a bit of a tea snob, despite not drinking it myself now. If I did make tea, I wouldn't be using tea-bags.)

[barbeler]

I could almost cry when I see somebody trying to make a mug of tea with the tea bag ready dunked in the milk. Anybody who does that can have no idea of what tea is supposed to taste like.

I always used to use loose tea, but then I discovered that as long as you use a good quality tea bag you really can't tell the difference. I defy any loose-tea enthusiasts to tell the difference in a blind tasting, as long as the tea is made properly.

[wildpumpkin]

Tea made in pot.....then milk in cup/mug first before pouring tea
Tea in cup/mug with tea bag...then milk last

Coffee in cup or mug ....milk last!