Common tea mistake Aussies are making

News.com.au

2 days ago

As winter approaches, few pleasures rival the comfort of dipping a biscuit into a steaming cup of tea.
For tea enthusiasts, this simple ritual is the ultimate afternoon pick-me-up. However, according to the experts, many of us might not be doing it correctly.
Suzy Garraghan, Senior Tea Buyer and Leading Tea Expert at Yorkshire Tea, has shared her insider tips for the perfect tea dunk – from the ideal angle and temperature to the best biscuit textures for the job.
Yes, there is an art to it!
As Judi Dench's character memorably explains in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: 'It means lowering the biscuit into the tea, letting it soak in there, and trying to calculate the exact moment before the biscuit dissolves, when you whip it up into your mouth and enjoy the blissful union of biscuits and tea combined'.
So, let's get into it.
1. It's all about the angle
According to Ms Garraghan, the trick to the perfect dunk starts even before the tea is poured.
'Whether you opt for a teacup or a mug, make sure it's wide-brimmed,' she advises.
'This will allow you to dunk your biscuit at the right angle.'
If you're a 'down-dunker', you might be surprised to hear you've been dunking your biscuit wrong all this time.
Apparently, you want to dunk at an almost horizontal angle, so only one side of the biscuit gets soaked.
This way, the biscuit will remain stronger, allowing for repetitive dunks without any soggy disasters.
2. Choose your tea wisely
Understandably, when you dunk a biscuit, it absorbs the quality and strength of the tea's flavour, so it's crucial to choose wisely!
'It ultimately comes down to personal preference, but for me, proper dunking teas are top class, peak season Assam teas like Yorkshire Gold, which are full-bodied and rich in 'gutty' strength and malty notes,' Ms Garraghan says.
3. Check the temperature
Monitoring the temperature of your tea is a game-changer for perfecting your dunking technique.
'The warmth of the tea dissolves the biscuit's sugar, fat and starch, so the biscuit will eventually collapse under its own weight,' she explains.
'Temperature, therefore, is often responsible for our drowned dunking pursuits.'
The hotter the tea, the quicker the biscuit will dissolve, so Ms Garraghan suggests 85 degrees as the optimum temperature for your brew, but the perfect temperature will depend on your biscuit of choice (more on that soon).
4. Watch the clock
The optimum dunking time shares a similar predicament to the ideal dunking temperature – it depends heavily on the biscuit variety.
'No matter which partners you choose, never dunk for less than two seconds or more than five seconds – and don't forget to monitor for signs of biscuit collapse!' Ms Garraghan urges.
'For a Gingernut, I recommend around three to five seconds. For a Tim Tam or a Digestive, no more than two to three seconds as these varieties are less solid and will dissolve and make a mess faster.'
5. Pick your biscuit
Now the question you've all been waiting for … which biscuits are the best for dunking?
While it ultimately comes down to personal preference, the tea expert does have some favourites.
'Gingernuts are dry and hard on their own, but with tea, they become beautifully chewy,' Ms Garraghan explains. 'The flavour means they're not universally liked, but they are excellent value for the keen dunker due to being solid enough to be dipped, bitten and dipped again'.
Her runners-up include Digestives, for their semi-sweet flavour and crumbly texture, and Tim Tams, which create the delicious mix of tea, chocolate and biscuit all at once.