Ingredients
- one teaspoon of tea
- one teacup of hot water is the usual allowance
Directions
"Polly, put the kettle on, and vre'U a^l take Tea."
For of all " cups that cheer " there is nothing like the smoking hot cup of tea, made with boiling water, in a thoroughly scalded tea-pot ; and if it is the good old fashioned green tea of " ye ancient time," you must just put it to draw and not to boil ; if it is gen- uine " English Breakfast" or best black tea, the water must not only be boiling hot, at the very moment of pouring it on, but the tea must actually boil for at
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least five or ten- minutes. To insure " keeping hot" while serving, make the simple contrivance known as a " bonnet " which is warranted a " sure prevent- ive" against that most insipid of all drinks — "a warm- ish cup of tea." It is merely a sack with a loose elastic in the bottom large enough to cover and en- circle the entire tea-pot. Make it with odd pieces of silk, satin, orcashmere,lme(J, quilted and embroidered, if you like ; draw this over the tea-pot as soon as the tea is poured into it, and it will remain piping hot for half an hour. One teaspoon of tea and one teacup of hot water is the usual allowance for each person. Freshly boiled soft water is the best for either tea or coffee. Always have a water-pot of hot water, on your waiter, with which to weaken each cup if de- sired. Serve with the best and richest cream, but, in the absence of this luxury, a good substitute may be found in boiled milk prepared as follows : place fresh new milk in a pan or pail, set where it will slowly simmer but not boil or reach the boiling point, stir frequently to keep the cream from separating and rising to the top, let simmer until it is rich, thick and creamy.