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St. Nicholas Parish Church Hardwicke

It has been wonderful to welcome people back into the church,
even though it is very different at the moment never the less, the
building is open and welcoming worshipers again. Rev Richard
Martin will be ready for his first service on the first Sunday in
Advent’.

Neil and Andrew Church Wardens
A Nice Cup of Tea
Many may have seen the spoof of our teamaking on social media where an American
woman is teaching her daughter how to make an English cuppa.
“Fill the mug with water and place in the microwave for one minute. Remove from
microwave and poor in some milk, then add a teabag and there you have a mug of
English tea.”
Those who did not have an apoplectic fit at this sheer
misrepresentation of the fine art of tea making, may reflect
on their own methods of brewing the perfect cuppa.
My own tried and tested method was taught by my
grandmother in the late 1940’s. She was the housekeeper in
a large country house owned by a family who maintained
high standards and where tea making was a true art with
strict procedures.
I have always tried to stick to her principles but modern times require some adaption.
The first thing was that the water had to be “Freshly drawn”. I assume this means that
the kettle must be empty to start, and filled with cold water from the tap.
Next was to warm the pot and in her day I expect there was a second kettle simmering
away on the kitchen range ready for use. Not so easy nowadays or even necessary but
sometimes in homage to my grandmother, I heat the cup with water from the hot tap.
Now came putting teaspoonfuls of tea into the teapot, one for each person plus one for
the pot. Today this is simply putting a teabag in the mug.
The water must be freshly boiled, not one that had been simmering away all day and
when it was poured into the pot, it had to be “Turbulent”, allowed to stand for a
minute or so and then stirred. After another minute or so and it was ready to be
poured.
The family or guests would pour milk into their cups before filling it with tea from the
pot using a strainer and sugar, if required, would be added last.
Having poured the turbulent boiling water into my mug I let it stand for a minute or so
before squeezing the tea bag and removing it from the mug and then adding milk to my
liking.
I feel that I am maintaining her traditions as near as modern methods allow but there is
probably many variations and methods in families up and down the country.
A couple of years ago a mechanic offered to make me a tea. I watched in horror as the
mechanic put a teabag, milk and sugar into each mug. The boiling water was then
poured into the mugs. It was the worst tea I had ever tasted.
I could not help wondering if my method was wrong and that I should get up to date
and get used to this insipid brew. Perhaps the American woman was right all along!
Peter Hill
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