Ingredients
Tea
- 5 tsploose-leaf English Breakfast
- freshly drawn cold water
To serve
- milk
- sugar, optional
Directions
- Fill the kettle with freshly drawn cold water. Water that has been boiled and reboiled has lost its dissolved oxygen and makes a noticeably flatter cup.
- Warm the pot with a little boiling water and pour it away.
- Add the leaf to the warm pot, allowing one teaspoon per cup and one for the pot.
- Pour the water on at a full rolling boil, straight from the kettle.
- Get the water to the pot quickly. Boiling water loses several degrees crossing a kitchen, and black tea is the one category that genuinely wants it at 100°C (212°F).
- Steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Three gives a brisk cup and five a strong one, and past five it turns bitter rather than getting stronger.
- Stir once and strain into the cups.
- On milk first or last: milk in the cup first cools the tea gradually and stops the proteins scalding, which was the argument in the days of fragile porcelain. Tea first lets you judge the colour as you pour. Both camps are entirely sincere and neither is wrong.
- Add sugar if you take it, and drink it hot.
- The blend name appears in 1840s New York, where the tea seller Richard Davies marketed English Breakfast, and British firms adopted it afterwards.
Technique
- Loose leaf over bags if you can. Most bagged tea is dust and fannings, which brew fast and go bitter faster.
- The blend is usually Assam with Ceylon and sometimes Kenyan, chosen to be malty enough to stand up to milk.
- Take the leaf out or decant the pot at the end of the steep. Tea left on the leaf keeps extracting and turns harsh.
Substitutions
- Teabags, one per cup, removed after 3 minutes and not squeezed.
- Any strong Assam if the blend is unavailable.
Variations
- Builder’s tea, brewed very strong in the mug with plenty of milk and sugar.
- With a slice of lemon and no milk.
- Iced, brewed double strength and poured over ice.
History
The blend name appears in 1840s New York, where tea seller Richard Davies marketed English Breakfast; British firms adopted it later.
Frequently asked questions
What is English breakfast tea?
English breakfast tea is a drink from United Kingdom: strong black tea with milk, the national brew. The blend name appears in 1840s New York, where tea seller Richard Davies marketed English Breakfast; British firms adopted it later.
How long does English breakfast tea take to make?
English breakfast tea takes 2 min of preparation and 5 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 pot, 4 cups. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in English breakfast tea?
Yes, within limits. Teabags, one per cup, removed after 3 minutes and not squeezed. Any strong Assam if the blend is unavailable.
What is the most important thing to get right in English breakfast tea?
Steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Three gives a brisk cup and five a strong one, and past five it turns bitter rather than getting stronger.
