how to brew a perfect cuppa

Rays rules

Ray's dad was a chef and a Royal Marine. He passed on to Ray the best way to brew a perfect cuppa. If it's good enough for the Royal Marines, it's good enough for us.

Never use water that's been previously boiled. Throw away any old water and get some fresh.
Use a teapot if at all possible, and your teapot should have a wide neck, so you can pour the boiling water in quickly and easily.
Pre-heat the teapot (or the mug, if you're brewing in a mug). Tea brews best at a high temperature, and pre-heating your teapot or mug also means the tea stays good and hot for drinking. Use china cups and a china teapot if you can - the thinner china cools the tea less than a thicker ceramic mug. Also, it looks classier.
Pour the water on to the tea whilst it's still bubbling. The aim is to scald the tea with water at boiling point to bring out its full flavour.
Having scalded the tea, let it brew for about three minutes.
Milk and sugar to taste, and enjoy.

Milk first or milk second? We're not going to comment. Oh, no. I refer you to the great debate.

more tea?

Want to know more about in tea brewing? Some people take this seriously. Very seriously indeed.

Tea out of an urn is always tasteless, while army tea, made in a cauldron, tastes of grease and whitewash. George Orwell

There are actually a set of ISO British Standards on tea making, and the Royal Society of Chemistry have a whole booklet on the topic.