Tea cozies are misunderstood.
Often the butt of jokes. Relegated to the
frivolous. Accused of the crimes of being useless or 'ruining/cooking' the tea. Tea cozies are the jester, the idiot uncle in the tea family.
BUT ... if you like good tea, then a tea cozy may be just the thing you need to make an even better cuppa'. I'd like to teach you how to use one properly - and perhaps - just perhaps - you will use a cozy to make an even better cup of tea than you are now. That idiot uncle might just be a genius!
Making tea is all about precision:
Perfect water
temperature - type of tea - how much tea - enough room for the leaves to unfurl
- steeping time. Knowing precisely how your equipage works is critical because you need to know how it will affect the steep.
Know your teapot:
How a tea cozy fits into your equipage depends on how well your teapot retains heat. Yes - it is all about the teapot. Determine how good* your pot is by measuring the temperature drop over the first five minutes of steeping. (boiling water, lid on, thermometer down the spout if possible) An efficient teapot drops only 5 degrees in those first five minutes, an inefficient teapot loses more than 15 degrees. Quite a difference!
Does your teapot retain heat well? Does it initially 'steal' heat from the water? Does a rinse with hot water mitigate that? Does super-preheating** help? Or is your teapot beyond hope? If your teapot does not retain heat well then a tea cozy can help. A well insulated cozy can turn that dud of a teapot into a gem.
A) IF your teapot
insulates well:
·
Heat your water to the
correct temperature for the tea you are brewing.
·
Preheat with a rinse
or super-preheat** depending on your test results.
·
Put tea into the
teapot, pour hot water over the tea and start your timer.
·
Steep tea for the
suggested time.
·
Remove leaves from
water, or decant to second preheated teapot.
·
Place cozy on teapot after leaves are separated from brew - to keep the steeped tea hot.
-OR -
B) IF your teapot does
NOT insulate well:
·
Heat your water as above.
·
Preheat your teapot as above.
·
Put tea into the
teapot, pour hot water over the tea and start your timer.
· NOW use a tea cozy to keep
the steeping tea at the correct temperature.
·
Steep as above.
· Remove leaves and replace the cozy to keep the steeped tea hot.
A well insulated tea cozy can assist in
creating the perfect steeping environment for an inadequate teapot -- BUT if
used on a 'good' teapot - one that is already keeping the steeping tea at the correct temperature, then the tea will be over steeped - and you will have made yourself a hot mess.
After the tea is steeped and leaves removed DO
use a cozy!! You will be amazed at how long a high quality cozy will
keep your tea warm - making it possible to linger with your tea longer.
* A "good" teapot: Heat retention is only one of many criteria for a 'good' teapot. How does it pour? Does the lid fall off? Is it beautiful??? A well insulated tea cozy can help with any heat retention problems.
**SUPER-PREHEAT = fill empty teapot with correct (for the tea you are brewing) temperature water. Leave that water in your teapot while you bring a fresh kettle of water to the correct temperature. Empty the now super-preheated teapot and immediately, before it cools, make your tea with the second kettle of hot water.