'Cuppa Tay' - A Perfect Irish Cup of Tea

Author: Pat Friend
Original Source: "Cuppa Tay" - Cup of Tea

It is possible to purchase loose tea and make your own Irish tea blends. Irish Breakfast blends tend to be stronger than Irish Afternoon blends which have a more mellow flavor.

An Irish Breakfast Blend might consist of:

• 3 parts Assam tea
• 1 part Ceylon tea

An Irish Afternoon Blend would be softer with:

• 2 parts Darjeeling tea
• 1 part Assam tea
• 1 part Ceylon tea
• 1 part Keemun tea

Once you've blended or selected your tea or tea bags (whether they be Barry's, Bewley's, Lyons' or another), here's how to make the perfect "Cuppa":

Boil a kettle of water freshly drawn from the tap.

• Warm a porcelain or pottery teapot with some of the boiled water then empty the pot.
• Add one teaspoon of loose tea, or one teabag, for each cup of tea, plus "one for the pot."
• Pour the freshly boiled water on top of the tea.
• If using loose tea, stir gently.
• All the tea to steep for 3 to 5 minutes, keeping the pot warm with a tea cozy or towel.

If you have used loose tea, you will need to use a tea strainer as you pour it.

Serve the tea with milk, not cream, pouring the milk into the cup before the tea. Add sugar to taste.