CONFORMI-TEA: The Standard Way of Brewing Tea

If you, like yours truly, consider yourself a bit of a nerd, I have exciting news. There is an International Standard dedicated to brewing tea.

The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) has published 22077 International Standards, covering a wide range of subjects, including "Tea - Preparation of liquor for use in sensory tests".

The fact that this document even existed didn't come to my attention until I received it as a birthday gift, but now it's framed and proudly placed on a shelf to be shown to the world. Well, anyone who comes to visit at least.

Now, it's not like I whip this out every time I'm making a cuppa, but it does contain some interesting stuff.

First of all, the fact that there is even a standard way of making tea is pretty interesting.

This is not meant to define the "correct" way to make tea, but rather to establish a way to brew tea to make comparisons, for example between different blends. So worry not, there is no wrong way to brew tea!

But let's get to the exciting stuff, how do you make a standard cup of tea?

First of all, you need a pot. This pot needs to be of white porcelain or glazed earthenware, and the lid needs to sit loosely inside the pot. A large pot should hold 310 ml and weigh 200 g, while a small pot should hold 150 ml and weigh 118 g.

You can use any mug, but they recommend either a small mug of 200 ml weighing 105 g, or a large mug of 380 ml weighing 200 g.

For each 100 ml of water used, 2 g of tea should be placed in the pot. Pour freshly boiled water

within 4 to 6 mm of the brim and put the lid on. The tea should brew for 6 minutes.

When pouring the tea, hold the lid back to keep the infused leaf from escaping the pot.

If you're using milk, the milk goes into the mug first. This is to avoid scalding the milk. Use 5 ml for a big mug and 2.5 ml for a small mug.

It is possible to add the milk afterwards, but the tea needs to be between 65 and 80°C for the best results.

There you have it, a standard cuppa!

Maybe a little too much effort for your morning brew, but potentially something to try with a couple of the teas in your cupboard.

Although, if you're Irish, you might want to forget all of this.

Ireland is the only ISO member body to have disapproved the document "on technical grounds". The standard has been criticised for not mentioning to heat the tea pot.

Now whether these are the technical grounds Ireland disagree with, or if it's the fact that the standard prefers to add the milk first, you can always have a little think or giggle to yourself about.

#ISO #tea #brew #ISO3103