Teapot- what am I doing wrong?

[MrsRobbieHart]

I always make my tea in a mug. I had occasion recently to take a flask with me for a few days and make tea in the car. Same tea bags as always, same milk. I put boiling water in the flask and made the tea in the cup like I would at home. The tea was delicious and catapulted me right back to my youth and the tea my mum made in her stainless steel tea pot. So I’ve gone today and bought myself a stainless steel tea pot. Brewed it on the hob. But it doesn’t taste like it did from the flask or from my childhood. what have I done wrong?

I'm Scottish and my granny used to have a teapot like that, left on the hob to stay hot but she also got extra cups out of the way she did it.

Boiling water would be used at first to warm it up then poured our, 3 teabags in then more boiling water from the kettle. Cuppies poured after a few minutes, then more water was added to fill up the teapot again and it was put on the hob, smallest ring with the gas turned to its lowest setting. Two rounds of tea with one lot of effort.

@alexdgr8

OP, so when you habitually made your tea in a mug, did you not scald the mug first before making tea in it ? if so, do that and see if you like it, rather than stirring up this hobnets nest.

Oooh! Good idea. I have to have so many cups of tea tomorrow to try all these suggestions. Won’t be a problem.

Yorkshire tea or Barry's tea.

Loose leaf tea, 1 warm the pot, freshly boiled water, let brew for 5 mins with a cosy on.

Don’t heat it on the hob! Boiled tea is yuk.

this hob-on tea sounds like the everlasting tea pot from greasy spoon caffs of old.

I don't like tea but my granny did and this is how she made it.
Warm the teapot.
Boil the kettle with fresh water.
1 spoon tealeaves per cup - depends on the size of the teapot - and one extra spoon of tealeaves "for the pot".
Pour on freshly boiled water and stir gently.
Let it stand for 4 minutes. Stir once more gently.
Strain into teacups.
It was sort of a ritual. She had a teacosy for the teapot.

@Palavah

Maybe the teapot needs breaking in? Not sure how.

Always use fresh water, don't boil twice.

Yes, it needs to be used multiple times so a coating of old tea builds up inside. Then it will make good tea. Never wash the inside of your tea pot, only rinse.

@MrsRobbieHart

Ok- since I have somewhat of a collection of us here- NI people- best teabags?

Tetley for me but only cos I'm a heathen and take my tea like dishwater lol. Punjana and the like are all too strong (think I'm still traumatised by the stewed tea I used to get at my granny's 🤣🤣)

@drainrat

In India we boil water in a stove top kettle or saucepan until it’s bubbling, then add tea leaves (always leaves, never bags) and give it a very quick stir (tea is never steeped) until black. Then we remove from the heat and strain out the tea leaves immediately as we pour into a teapot or straight into cups. Old timers add brown sugar, full cream milk and a cardamom pod at the stirring stage.

I think your method is actually cooking the tea leaves, making your tea bitter.

This sounds amazing, will have to try this!

Sorry OP I've never come across that method of making tea before

For me the water used also affects the taste of tea - I'm a southerner and it takes a while for me to get used to tea made when I'm staying in the Lakes. My Midlands Grandmother used to say that soft water tea was the best ever when she went north on holiday.

OP - come and post on Craicnet! Your method of tea making is very common in Ireland. My late FIL used exactly that method in Cork, my cousins in the Midlands do the same thing, and if it's good enough for convent teas then it has the Lord's blessing!

Not NI but this sort of teapot was what my grandparents always used! I've saved their teapots and might try to brew myself one later in their memory!

@TeaAndCake

I get you OP. Irish parents here and this is exactly how I learned to make tea. I have the very same teapot, purchased for this very reason!

I don't know if it's an Irish thing but all tea has to be at nuclear temperatures to be acceptable!

We have an old AGA so the teapot lives on the top and stays warm. No need to pre-warm with boiling water.
When the kettle boils on the boiling plate (freshly drawn water, boiled only once) the teapot is placed on the boiling plate whilst the boiling water is poured over the tea leaves or bags.
It stays there for about 20 seconds then left on the (warm) AGA surface for a further 3-4 minutes to steep sporting a bespoke hand knitted tea cosy then pour out into pre-warmed mugs which have also been sitting on the back of the AGA since the last pot was brewed about an hour ago.

Of course, this method changes a little in the summer months when the AGA is switched off.
The electric kettle is filled with cold, freshly drawn water and switched on. Then run the hot tap briefly and fill the metal teapot then put on the hob to heat that water whilst waiting for the kettle. When the kettle boils, pour the hot teapot water into the waiting mugs to pre-warm. Put the teabags into the hot teapot and fill with the freshly boiled kettle water on the hob with a low flame/heat for a very short stint. Apply the lovely teacosy and allow to steep for a few minutes before pouring into the hot mugs.

Yes, I know it's a bloody faff but I don't care! This is how I like my tea and I also love the ritual!

The same in Orkney, a teapot sat ready on the warm side of an old aga all day long

First empty yesterday’s pot*, which has sat on the aga all night
Boil in the kettle then fill the pot and return to brew
Have some tea and bere bannocks, or oatcakes, plenty of butter & cheese and circulate the biscuit tin around the kids (one biscuit each)

Top up the pot as required and leave it sat on the aga

• though from the strength and flavour there may have been a few tea pots running for decades before emptying

@MrsRobbieHart

Ok- since I have somewhat of a collection of us here- NI people- best teabags?

Well I do like a bit of Punjana myself. But I live with a yorkshire man so we have an eternal battle between that and Tetley.

My ex coal miner grandfather, when retired, would make a large pot of tea (four teaspoons of loose leaf, boiling water, leave for 5 minutes, use) to last the whole day. Tea kept warm on a trivet alongside the coal fire, by the end of the day you could have stood a spoon in it, or maybe creosoted a fence with it. I've never heard of heating it, or boiling it again, on the hob. Doesn't that make it very bitter?

So this morning I boiled the kettle, put the water in the pot, swished it around to heat it, then poured the water into my cup to warm it, put two teabags (one for me one for pot) in the pot and poured the rest of the boiled water in, set it on the hob on lowest setting and left it for a few minutes.

Conclusion: it was nicer than yesterday’s tea but still not hitting that nostalgic spot. Will try without any hob at lunch time.

@longwayoff my granda (a builder) made tea like that too!!

At the risk of sounding overly invested in this (which of course I am 🤣) try it out in different cups too, I have favourites for tea and favourites for coffee and never the Twain shall meet lol.

At the risk of sounding overly invested in this

You’re in good company!

I shall try switching up my cups!

Loving this thread😂

@MrsRobbieHart You are cooking your tea leaves when you put them on the hob at a simmer. Try straining the liquid completely clean of the tea leaves or bags before doing it.

Did you add milk to the tea in the flask? If so, the milk will have "cooked" slightly, which gives quite a different taste! Suspect you would need to leave in the flask for a couple of hours at least

Cooking tea in the pot on the hob makes me sad. Poor tea.

You're definitely missing the build up of old tea in the pot. Just accept that you'll have substandard tea for a week or two while the tannins and stains build up, never wash the pot, just rinse it, and you might find it has the right flavour soon.

DH keeps putting our daily teapot in the dishwasher. I am glad our special one cannot be dishwashered; it is starting to build up a good patina now.

This is reminding me of percolated coffee, which I recall tasting hideous, having been left on a low heat to gargle away for hours. Does anyone still use a percolater?

As pp says, flask tea tastes different if the milk is in the flask too as it's slightly cooked (I don't like it).

Only hot water was in the flask. I made the tea in the cup/lid of the flask then took the teabag out and added the milk.