Trinity Cookbook Recipe: Tea

Tea

By William Margraf (click here to read his sermon from July 14)

For thousands of years, tea has provided an essential way to unwind, collect oneself, and gently insist that you deserve a quiet moment to pause, reflect, and restore yourself.  Tea drinkers around the world have found how Tea fortifies the tea drinker so they can re-engage their day feeling heartened and renewed.  It has been said, "Tea restores."

Making tea is simply more than some hot water in a mug.  It is about giving yourself some time to be soothed from a busy day.  It is about honoring you.

I have found the interplay between boiling water, tea, and air is key to achieving a deep, full favored tea. Despite these deceptively simple ingredients, Tea is something to be savored perhaps like a good wine.  And like the appreciation of a good wine, having the time and space to enjoy tea makes it more than simply a beverage.  Pouring hot water over a tea bag will not produce the restorative and gently re-energizing conditions for the ideal cup of tea.  Thankfully, preparing tea is not rocket science.

Ingredients

·       Cold tap water

·       Tea kettle or electric tea kettle or even a regular pot

·       Black tea (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, or your favorite supermarket brand) 

·       Milk (your preferred milk or milk alternative)

·       Teapot

·       Cup (with saucer, if desired)

·       Time

Steps

1.      Heat cold, fresh tap water until it comes to a boil.

2.     Pour about a cup of the boiling water into the tea pot.

3.     Swish the boiling water around the teapot until the sides the pot feel warm or even hot.  Warm teapots, like warm people, offer a hospitable place for the tea to be at its best.  

4.     Pout that water out.

5.     Begin pouring boiling water into the teapot so the water in the pot seems like there is a tempest stirring.

6.     While pouring the tempestuous water, toss in three to five tea bags or a few teaspoons of loose tea. 

7.     With a towel or a tea cozy, cover the tea pot.  Allow the tea to steep for about five minutes.

8.     In the meantime, pour some boiling water into the tea cup.  This helps the cup ‘greet’ the tea with warmth.

9.     When you are ready to serve the tea, pour half a cup of tea into your tea cup.  Lift the teapot lid for a moment, allowing some air in, and then resume pouring.

10.  If desired add milk and/or sugar or honey.  

11.    Enjoy your cup of tea!