Miss Bennet’s Perfect Cup of Tea

Reprinted with permission from Cooking with Jane Austen & Friends by Laura Boyle

"But indeed I would rather have nothing but tea." —Sir Thomas Bertram in Mansfield Park

Regency ladies perfected the art of brewing as yet another way of showing off their accomplishments as a hostess. Tea was an expensive commodity kept under lock and key. The lady of the house or possibly the housekeeper would keep the key to the tea, along with those to the sugar and wine, on her person, doling out only what was necessary, when it was required. 

In Jane Austen’s novels, when the “tea things” are brought in, these would be not only what we’d expect by way of tea pots, saucers, china cups, sugar and cream, but also a large hot water urn filled with boiling water, a mote spoon (for removing stray leaves from the teacup) and a slop bowl (for emptying out the last dregs of tea and bits of leaves). A typical china tea set would contain 43 pieces, including 12 teacups and 12 coffee cups. Silver sets were much more expensive and contained fewer pieces, namely, a tea pot, coffee pot, cream jug, sugar bowl and possibly a slop bowl. To this you would add your own China cups and saucers, preferably matching, though “harlequin” sets were also acceptable if they “consist[ed] of none but the most elegant articles.” 

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• Start by preheating your tea pot. To do this, pour very hot water into the pot, let it stand a few minutes while your water boils and then pour it out again. This will help keep your tea hot and avoid shocking the porcelain pot with the addition of boiling water.
• Fill your kettle with fresh water and bring it to a rolling boil. Allow the water to boil for a few seconds, but not too long or all the oxygen will be released.
• Add the loose tea leaves to your tea pot, allowing 1 tsp per cup of water to be added. You may wish to put the tea in a tea strainer before adding them to the pot, as any leaves left in the pot after brewing will continue to brew making the tea strong and bitter.
• Pour the desired amount of water into your pot, cover it, and let it steep for 3 to 5 minutes (three minutes is preferable). The time varies for different types of tea, but all tea becomes bitter the longer it steeps.
• Remove the leaves or pour the tea through a strainer into your tea cup.
• Serve with sugar, lemon or milk. Although cream and milk seem to be used interchangeably, most authorities agree that cream works best with coffee and milk in tea.