Anyone in the Lounge from the United Kingdom or a serious tea drinker. A ?

[irisblue]

I picked up some Builders Blend tea. The package says 20 second brew, the wiki article says 2-4 minutes. I like strong sweet tea when I'm cold. Help. Thanks.

[comradebillyboy]

1. I became a tea drinker after my first trip to Turkey.

I really like the Turkish black tea grown around the Black Sea. I mostly buy Turkish teas. I almost completely quit coffee.

[irisblue]

3. How long was steep time?

[comradebillyboy]

4. The Turks brew it in a special teapot.

The bottom pot is filled with water. The upper pot contains water and loose tea. On top is the lid. The whole thing is put on the stove until the tea/water in the upper pot is quite dark. That is poured into a cup and hot water from the lower pot is added to give it the proper strength. Timing was very imprecise.

Here at home I use an infuser and glass teapot. I put 2 tbsp of loose tea in the infuser. I pour hot water through the infuser to fill the pot and let it sit for about 2 minutes. The Turkish tea is fairly inexpensive, about $6 per pound at our local middle eastern grocery.

[procon]

2. Maybe this will help:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Builder%27s_tea

"Builder's tea is a British English colloquial term for a strong cup of tea. It takes its name from the inexpensive tea commonly drunk by labourers taking a break."

Sounds like its a blend of strong teas to start with, so begin with the recommended brewing time and if that isn't quite right, increase it until you find what works for your own tastes.

[backtoblue]

5. serious herbal tea drinker

Chamomile and peppermint are my daily favorites. I also lke to make ginger tea with honey and add some almond milk to cool.

[HeiressofBickworth]

6. Tea drinker here

I buy my tea from a shop in the next town over or I order it from Murchies in Canada. Over the years I have tried many different kinds of tea and what seems to happen is that I get on one for a while and when it starts to taste bland to me, I look for another. Currently I'm drinking Mt. Kenyan Black. I like tea about as dark as coffee so many times I let it steep for 10 minutes or more if I forget to take out the infuser. I don't take anything in it. Last summer my granddaughter was in London for her study abroad for her degree. She brought back two tins of tea for me. One was English Breakfast, which I thought was somewhat weak even when left to steep for a long time, but the other was really different. It was a black tea with little tiny rose buds. The fragrance is beautiful and the taste is lovely even without sugar. Not one I would drink every day, but for something special, it really is!

I concur with the other posters who say that you should try different brew times and see what suits your taste. But I must say, 20 seconds seems pretty short brew time, even if you like it on the mild side. That would hardly be enough time to color the water!