The Art Of Tea Making (June '09)

I've been thinking about tea. Tea tastes. And I have come up with a question to ponder on:


How does every person manage to make a cup of tea taste so different even if they use the same type of tea bag?

Is it the mug? Is it the milk? Is it the sugar? Is it what gets put in the mug first? Is it what gets put in the mug last? Is it for how long it's stirred? Is it for how long its stewed? Is it the temperature of the water? Is it all of these put together?

After spending a lot of time on Iona, and having an awful lot of tea made for you, you learn to appreciate lots of different tastes of tea, even though everyone uses the same tea bags. And after sitting at a craft fair today and having someone make me a cup of tea just after I've finished one I made myself, it made me again realise how different it's made. And after Sarah's mum making me tea and Sarah's dad making me tea (from the same tea bag box) I realised that they really taste very different. It's not just that one cup of tea, it's that persons tea making. Alison's = strong, a bit thick tasting and boiling. Nick's = sugary, middle strength and warm-hot. Dad's = (usually missing sugar!) strong and really hot. Sarah's = sugary and somewhere between hot and really hot. Eilidh's = not too sugary, quite milky and a good drinking temperature (but not so good if you forget it's been made!) Elizabeths = strong and hot. Davids = drinkably hot and good strength, not so sugary. Heather - not so sugary and not so milky.

See, all people make tea differently and I am (yes, I really am sad) so able to tell who made me that certain cup of tea. But why is it? Why is everybody's tea making so different? Answers on a postcard... or just a comment!