What Is a Long Black and Should Milk Go In Before the Tea?
George Orwell set out eleven rules for brewing black tea, covering leaf origin, teapot choice, water, and whether milk goes in first. He insisted on Indian or Ceylon leaf and rejected Chinese tea as lacking stimulation, a judgment tea drinkers in China dispute sharply. He also favored a small teapot over an urn, arguing urn-brewed tea tastes weak and cauldrons leave grease and lime.
Orwell's rules remain a starting point for Western tea drinking rather than a settled verdict. Historians note his personal ties to India and suggest limited exposure to Chinese tea shaped his view, and writers have answered that pu'er or gojicha delivers its own comfort. The milk-first question follows the same logic brewers apply to espresso drinks such as what is a long black, where water and coffee order changes the cup.
When brewing a cup of black tea, which tea leaf should you actually use? Should the teapot be preheated? Should the milk go in first or the tea? These questions may seem trivial, yet they have puzzled Western tea drinkers for decades. George Orwell once proposed his famous eleven golden rules for brewing tea, offering his own answers one by one, from the origin of the tea leaves to the brewing method. This article will use these ten rules as a thread, combining the differences between Eastern and Western tea-drinking habits, to re-examine every detail of brewing black tea—including common questions such as whether black tea is better the more astringent it is, and whether milk can be added—while weaving in different voices from Chinese tea enthusiasts. Whether you are a devoted fan of Earl Grey or a daily drinker of English Breakfast, you can find brewing ideas worth considering.
Only Indian or Ceylon tea can be used for brewing
The core of Orwell's first iron rule lies in the choice of the tea leaves' origin. He stated unequivocally that one should brew tea only with Indian or Ceylon tea, excluding Chinese tea entirely. His reasoning was that although Chinese tea is economical and drinkable even without milk, it lacks a certain "stimulating" quality he valued—after drinking it, one does not feel more alert, more courageous, or more optimistic. The often-quoted phrase "a good cup of tea," in his view, referred to Indian tea.
Historians offer different interpretations of this. Some believe it was related to Orwell's own ties to India, while others suspect he simply never seriously tasted Chinese tea and had quite limited understanding of Chinese tea culture. Tea drinkers around the world, especially Chinese tea enthusiasts, naturally find this judgment hard to accept. Orwell placed Chinese tea in the category of "incompetent tea makers" and specifically emphasized its lack of invigoration. A Chinese author responded pointedly: Orwell probably never tried Yunnan pu'er tea or Japanese gojicha, whose soothing comfort anyone can feel immediately after a single sip.
Tea should be brewed using a teapot
The second rule advocates brewing tea in a small teapot rather than a large cauldron or urn. Orwell believed that tea brewed in an urn always tastes weak and insipid, while tea boiled in an army cauldron carries the smell of grease and lime. He recommended porcelain or earthenware pots, considered silver pots and teapots made in Great Britain second best, and enamel pots the worst.
Behind this rule is his personal military experience as a footnote. His criticism of army tea—greasy and with a painted taste—clearly stems from unpleasant memories. In any case, when it comes to brewing tea in a teapot itself, he insisted on the principle of "less is more."
The teapot should be preheated beforehand
Almost no one would object to the third rule: warm the teapot before brewing tea. The reasoning is simple—a cold pot will quickly cool the hot water, while tea leaves need the high temperature of near-boiling water to fully release their flavor. If the teapot is cold, the temperature drops sharply after pouring in hot water, and the tea leaves do not steep long enough within the effective temperature range, ultimately compromising both the strength and aroma of the tea. Preheating the teapot is equivalent to creating a stable high-temperature environment for the tea leaves.
The tea should be brewed relatively strong
Orwell had a particular fondness for strong tea. He gave a specific ratio: for a one-quart teapot, filled to near the rim, about six teaspoons of tea leaves are needed. During the era of rationing, drinking this way every day was not realistic, but he insisted that one cup of strong tea was better than twenty cups of weak tea. He also observed that true tea devotees not only prefer strong tea, but as they age, their taste grows ever stronger—a point that seems to have been confirmed by the extra tea rations distributed to elderly pensioners in Britain.
Of course, categorizing all tea lovers as "drinking it stronger and stronger" is not necessarily accurate. Taste varies from person to person, and preferences for strength do not depend solely on the intensity of the tea itself.
Tea leaves should be put directly into the pot
The fifth rule explicitly opposes the use of strainers, muslin bags, or any device that restricts the movement of the tea leaves. Orwell mentioned that in some countries a small basket hangs below the spout of the teapot to catch broken leaves, and he considered this design harmful rather than helpful. In his view, swallowing a small amount of tea leaves is no big deal, but if the leaves are confined and unable to unfurl freely in the pot, they will never release their full flavor.
However, this rule is not without controversy. Different types of tea—green, black, white—have different steeping times, and one must also consider the harvest season and the number of infusions. If there is no removable filtering device in the teapot, prolonged steeping of the leaves can easily lead to over-extraction, releasing unnecessary bitterness.
Move the teapot to the kettle, not the other way around
The sixth rule emphasizes temperature control when pouring water: the water must remain at a rolling boil, and the brewing should be completed beside the flame. In other words, one should take the teapot to the kettle, not carry the kettle to the teapot. Some also add that only freshly boiled water should be used, though Orwell himself said he never tasted any difference. Considering that modern kitchen equipment is quite different from that of the 1940s, the specific operation of this rule may need flexible adjustment, but its core spirit—maintaining the pouring temperature—is still worth following.
Stir the tea after brewing
The seventh rule suggests that after the tea has brewed, it should be stirred, or more thoroughly, the teapot should be gently swirled, then left to stand so the leaves settle to the bottom. The purpose is to make the tea's strength uniform, avoiding a weak top layer and a strong bottom layer.
Enjoy it in a thick-walled breakfast cup
The eighth rule concerns the choice of cup. Orwell recommended a cylindrical breakfast cup rather than a flat, shallow teacup. The reason is practical: a breakfast cup holds more tea, while tea in a shallow cup often goes cold before one is even halfway through. This view bears a distinct personal stamp—a good cup of tea, in his eyes, is itself an expression of taste and elegance. Although India has no specific concept of "breakfast cup tea," Orwell's point is still worth pondering.
Skim off the cream before adding milk
The ninth rule suggests skimming the cream off the milk before adding it to the tea. This depends on personal taste and how much one values the tea. It may work in the West, but in India, where tea is traditionally drunk with cream, this rule does not fully apply.
Pour the tea first, then the milk
The tenth and most controversial rule: pour tea into the cup first, then add milk. In Britain, almost every household is divided into two camps over this.
Those who advocate adding milk first can present many strong arguments, but Orwell believed his position was irrefutable: pouring tea first and stirring allows precise control of the amount of milk, whereas doing it the other way around makes it very easy to accidentally pour too much.
However, adding milk first actually has a scientific basis as well. If milk is poured into hot tea, individual droplets of milk separate from the main body and come into direct contact with the hot tea, giving them enough time to undergo noticeable denaturation and degradation. Pouring milk first and then adding hot tea can, to some extent, soften this impact.
Whichever camp one follows, true tea lovers know in their hearts how much milk a cup of tea should have—this is an intuition accumulated through years of practice.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
