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How to brew tea (Earl Grey) – The English Way

I’ve been on a reading binge lately. With quite a few hours of flying time, and long waits at airport lounges, I got the chance to catch up on my reading. Went through two books this time around, the placid, but mildly interesting “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri (skip the book and watch the movie.. way better) and the exhilariting final masterpiece, “The Salmon of Doubt”, (wikipedia entry here) by the new age, space comic, Douglas Adams.

The Salmon, is a collection of various bits of Douglas’ writing, and it reveals the quirky, and funny guy that he was. I couldn’t resist putting this anecdote online (although it might be breaching some copyright – so please don’t copy it any further and if someone wants to take this down, just drop me a comment)

How to brew Tea – Douglas Adams

1. Go to Marks and Spencer and by a packet of Earl Grey tea.
2. Go back to where you are staying and boil a kettle of water.
3. While it is coming to boil, open the sealed packet and sniff.
4. Careful – you may feel a bit dizzy, but this is in fact perfectly legal.
5. When the kettle has boiled, pour a little of it into a teapot, swirl it around , and tip it out again.
6. Put a couple (or three, depending on the size of the pot) of tea bags into the pot. (If I was really trying to lead you into the paths of righteousness, I would tell you to use free leaves rather than bags, but let’s take this in easy stages.)
7. Bring the kettle back upto a boil, and then pour the boiling water as quickly as you can into the pot.
8. Let it stand for two or three minutes, and then pour it into a cup.

He continues, “Some will tell you that you shouldn’t have milk with Earl Grey, just a slice of lemon. Screw them. I like it with milk.”

now, there it is. That’s how you make a wonderful pot of tea for yourself. Earl Grey at that – the English Way. And, what do you know, he likes it with milk, just like I do! Now, go make yourself a pot of tea and sip at it!!