23-05-2025
Do you make your tea like the classic Telegraph reader?
It's the great British beverage debate that refuses to cool: how to brew the perfect cup of tea. Milk first or last? Tea bag or loose leaf? Ceramic mug or a bone-china cup and saucer?
Drinks writer Josh Barrie waded into the hot water of public opinion this week, unveiling his own take on the ideal brew: a thin-rimmed bone-china cup, boiled water left to sit just briefly, a two-minute steep, a gentle squeeze of the tea bag, and finally, a dash of milk to deliver that all-important caramel bronze hue.
But the ritual of tea making is as personal as it is traditional. So is there a universally perfect method? We asked Telegraph readers to weigh in on how to make the perfect cuppa. Here's what you had to say.
Milk: first, last, or none at all
Despite the abundance of tea-making advice, the question of when to add milk – or if it should be used at all – still divides opinion.
Reader Mark S. says: 'If you make your tea in a mug starting with milk, the liquid will not be hot enough to make a proper brew. Personally, I prefer milk last and to stir while I add it until the tea is the correct colour.'
Jill Davidson questions: 'How do you get the colour 'just right' unless you add the milk at the end?'
Whereas Acacia Wood declares: 'Milk in first is a criminal offence to tea drinking.'
But not all milky tea drinkers agree. Rather, many believe that adding milk first is critical to getting the taste and texture just right.
Nick Sargent is bewildered by adding milk to an already brewed tea. He says: 'I am disturbed by the images of milk being added to brewed tea, rather than the tea being added to the milk. I may need to go and have a lie down.'
Reader Rix Sims argues: 'Putting cold milk into a large quantity of hot water can give the milk a slightly scorched taste. Putting hot water into cold milk, on the other hand, helps avoid this.'
Rosa Jones adds: 'As a chemist, I can tell you that milk should go first to buffer the tannins. Tea first leads to brown stains on the cup. Let's stop this snobby idea that milk has to go last.'
However, Malcolm Sparrow fancies himself as a tea purist and suggests that tea, when brewed properly, can stand up on its own.
He says: 'There should be absolutely no milk in tea! It's far more refreshing with a slice of lemon or nothing at all.'
Reader Robert Eadie adds: 'Many people choose to drink tea without milk. There is an anecdote suggesting that tea without milk has anti-oxidant properties, which is believed to be beneficial to health.'
Loose leaf versus tea bags
As any good tea connoisseur knows, the type of tea you use is just as important as when to add milk. Whether you're a loose leaf drinker or enjoy the convenience of tea bags, it's clear that Telegraph readers have strong preferences.
Eunice Theaker says: 'I always use Assam loose leaf tea. A heaped teaspoon in a strainer resting on the cup or mug and boiling water poured through is my preferred method. I leave it to drip for a second or two then remove it.
'I don't like the idea of tea bags, which is like rinsing something else together with the tea. Also the contents leave a lot to be desired.'
Greame Archer adds: 'Loose leaf tea does taste better. It's fresher and brighter, which I imagine is because of the 'freedom' the leaves enjoy as the boiling water hits them.
'We use a mix of four Earl Grey and one Assam in our early morning pot. We have a strict five minute brew time, then into bone china cups on saucers.'
And reader N. Griffen shares: 'I've started using an infuser to brew loose leaf tea in a mug. It works really well and there's more choice of different teas. I've got the family infusing as well. Tea bags are just a habit that can be changed.'
Fergus Nicolson, however, is partial to a tea bag. He says, 'I prefer Ringtons or Yorkshire Tea bag dropped in to a warmed mug, which is then filled with freshly boiled water. It must be freshly boiled. If not, the bag sinks in the de-oxygenated water and tastes unpleasant.'
While Leslie Leighton argues: 'The perfect cup of tea starts with an M&S Gold tea bag. Boil the water and brew the bag for three to four minutes. Pinch the bag and remove, add milk and enjoy!'
Tea abroad
However you take your tea, there's one thing Telegraph readers seem to agree on: having a proper cup abroad is a risky business.
Reader Ignoikan Jack says: 'I just got back home from a month in Sri Lanka – perhaps one of the more important tea growing countries. However, my wife can safely state that they have no clue about brewing the stuff.
'Hotel after hotel, restaurant after restaurant. One bag in a pot, a bag in a saucer next to a cup with warm water, thermos jug with hours old tea, etc. Lovely country, fantastic people, but their tea presentation was unique. We brought some tea home with us from a tea plantation in the hills and it is lovely.'
While reader Cat Arwood 'shudder[s] to remember trips to Italy, where tea arrives as a Lipton's bag in yellow paper served neatly on a saucer with the cup filled with lukewarm water tainted with coffee. It's coordinated revenge for what we do to their cuisine.'
