WHY YOU REALLY DO NEED A TEACOSY
The teabag has made it possible to make a cup of tea in a mug. It is possible to do all sorts of things these days - from having your mouth artificially inflated till you look like a codfish, to jumping of a cliff attached to an oversized kite. Not all of these things, you must admit, are desirable. Plastic surgery will never give you the naturally sensuous mouth of Sophia Loren, and strapping yourself to a kite won't turn you into an albatross. Teabag tea, though sometimes convenient, isn't the Real Thing.
When you have time, make a proper cup of tea using loose tea leaves and a teapot. Warm the pot beforehand with water from the kettle; rinse it round and tip the water away. Add the tea leaves. If you don't like 'poncy tea' like Earl Grey, choose a good Indian tea like Assam or Ceylon. (Assam is more subtle and rounded, Ceylon stronger with a tannin kick). Make sure the kettle is really boiling and add the water to the tealeaves without delay. Allow to brew to taste, under a teacosy to keep everything hot. Oh, and you'll need a tea-strainer too. Sorry.
Because keeping things hot is essential. Trying to make tea with not-quite-boiling water (or, horror of horrors, putting the cold milk in the mug with the teabag before adding the water) produces something which lacks the essential flavour of tea. Sorry, but it's true - try it.
Green tea, by the way, asks for water not quite boiling, so that's a different matter entirely!
Right: teacosies at Prospect Cottage
When you have time, make a proper cup of tea using loose tea leaves and a teapot. Warm the pot beforehand with water from the kettle; rinse it round and tip the water away. Add the tea leaves. If you don't like 'poncy tea' like Earl Grey, choose a good Indian tea like Assam or Ceylon. (Assam is more subtle and rounded, Ceylon stronger with a tannin kick). Make sure the kettle is really boiling and add the water to the tealeaves without delay. Allow to brew to taste, under a teacosy to keep everything hot. Oh, and you'll need a tea-strainer too. Sorry.
Because keeping things hot is essential. Trying to make tea with not-quite-boiling water (or, horror of horrors, putting the cold milk in the mug with the teabag before adding the water) produces something which lacks the essential flavour of tea. Sorry, but it's true - try it.
Green tea, by the way, asks for water not quite boiling, so that's a different matter entirely!
Right: teacosies at Prospect Cottage