The Guardian posted these details from BS6008, the British Standards Institute (not Institution, as the story says) paper for making tea for sensory testing. Should also work for actual drinking.

  • Use 2g of tea - plus or minus 2% - for every 100ml of water
  • Tea flavour and appearance will be affected by the hardness of the water used
  • Fill the pot to within 4mm-6mm of the brim with freshly boiling water
  • After the lid has been placed on top, leave the pot to brew for precisely six minutes
  • Add milk at a ratio of 1.75ml of milk for every 100ml of tea
  • Lift the pot with the lid in place, then “pour tea through the infused leaves into the cup”.
  • Pour in tea on top of milk to prevent scalding the milk. If you pour your milk in last, the best results are with a liquor temperature of 65C-80C.

EducationGuardian.co.uk | eG weekly | The perfect cuppa