Tea: Are You Milk First Or Last ?

[Canary42]

Personally I'm a no milk at all. But this survey is revealing.

https://yougov.co.uk/news/2018/07/30/should-milk-go-cup-tea-first-or-last/

[237SJ]

Last. Unless you reside in India then it should be first and it should be hot milk

[Hopkirk]

My father in law used to put a teabag in a cup, then milk, and finally boiling water.

[ducksie]

Last, my aunts up the country used to put it in first - they used to say it stopped the tea leaves coming to top of mug

[Baldric]

I don't think I've had a cup of tea in the last 20 years, just went off it.

[DTCwordfan]

back, maybe lemon, but the specialists suggest a 5 minute brew and then add the milk

[237SJ]

I couldn't live without tea. Loose leaf Kenyan tea in a pot every morning. I remember when I used to go to Nairobi, I used to buy great big bags of the stuff. Kept me going for months.

[DTCwordfan]

where do you buy that, sj?

[Canary42]

What I found interesting was the decline in "milk first" as age groups got younger - it's apparently dying out, down to 4% in 18-24 year olds..

[237SJ]

DT - nowadays, I can only get loose leaf Kenyan from Sainsburys

[DTCwordfan]

thanks - will seek out......

[andy-hughes]

I can still remember really clearly going to a friend's house when we were at college, I would have been eighteen. I saw him put sugar milk, and a teabag in a mug and then add the boiling water. He then was able to see the right strength of the tea, and take the bag out.


I have made every cup of tea I have made for myself in exactly the same way, from that day to this.

[Cloverjo]

I don't drink tea, but surely it should be milk last. The cold milk takes the water off the boil, so the tea isn't released so well if it's in first.

[Prudie]

If it's coming from a pot then milk first always - tea-bag in a cup than milk last always.

[Jackdaw33]

It all depends. For me it's last because I use tea bags. However, if drinking loose leaf tea from a bone china cup then milk first. The reasons are twofold:

1. The milk helps the fine china from cracking when the hot tea is added

2. As has been mentioned above, the milk prevents stray tea leaves from rising to the top of the cup.

[DTCwordfan]

tea tomorrow, my place, out comes the Meissen....a 48 piece service in it.

[ummmm]

Milk last but I leave the tea bag in to check the strength before removing it. I rarely drink tea but OH likes it strong.

[Jackdaw33]

I also like strong tea. My mother had a saying about weak tea which she probably got from her mother:

'Water bewitched and tea begrudged'.

[ducksie]

Jackdaw, I thought my aunts were just mad :) seems they were clever enough

[tonyav]

Milk always last, then I can tell the strength of the tea as I add the milk ( gotta be strong ).

[margarettom]

Definitely milk last. Tea has to be made with boiling water in my book, even tea bags. Adding milk after means I can get exactly the right amount. I hate milky tea.