Heat The Pot

'I always thought it was a load of nonsense... 'heating the pot'...

My 73 year old Dad changed the way he makes tea and he told me about it recently.

As Yorkshire folk, tea is a serious subject. It's a sacred ritual. Dad's story not only changed the way I make tea, it also reminded me that you can change life-long routine at any age.

We secretly (or often not so secretly) have a strong preference for how we take our tea and it's a bit of an art. We notice when it's not quite right.

I learned how to safely make a cup of tea as soon as I was old enough and I made so many, I now lean towards coffee.

However, I can't escape my Yorkshire cravings for a strong tea and I now heat the pot....

'They used to tell me all the time... and I thought it was a load of rubbish' Dad said.

'I boil the water put the teabag in the cup and pour the water straight in, let it infuse before adding milk. I never really thought about why anyone would heat the cup first..'

'OK' - I replied. While I sat in my car dreaming of a coffee.

'So I tried it and after all these years, I've been doing it wrong' said Dad.

That got my full attention and I wanted to find out what had made my Dad challenge decades of tea making... and also what made him confidently admit he was wrong about something so subjective.

'You pour boiling water in the cup and leave it to 'heat the pot' then you pour it out and make your tea.'

My first thought was it was a bit of a waste of boiling water but then Dad went on to say;

'then something incredible happens to the tea! It gets dark so quickly, when the milk goes in it's strong but not too strong and it stays hot for ages.'

I made some intelligent sounding point about the thermal properties of ceramic and porcelain and said I would go home and try it.

It was the best cup of tea I've ever had.

The infusion was amazing and it held a bit more milk without weakening. This made the temperature perfect and yes, instead of half my tea going cold in the cooler winter ambient temperatures, it stayed warm.

Granted I don't fill the pot all the way to the top with boiling water when heating it and placing it to the back of the counter away from my 3 year old's curious little hands.

The number of cups of tea that go stone cold when you're a Mum is incredible so actually, 'heating the pot' reduces the overall waste... yes, I do care about how we do things at home as well as at work.

I also find myself enjoying 1-2 really good cups of tea a day now instead of remaking it when it's gone cold.

This whole random tea enlightenment made me think about 'heating the pot' when it comes to life.

All of this week I have practiced warming up before starting a task. My emotional self and my brain. Instead of going in cold to everything, I have slowed down.

I've found it has made me much more intentional and I have enjoyed the ritual of each task much more.

It helps my focus and instead of going back and needing to improve/change/check my work, I've been able to move onto the next task without worrying as much about the prior one.

I've been looking at how we do things in great detail and my Dad's Monday afternoon tea story made me shift my perspective.

Just because you have made thousands of cups of tea in the same way for years... it doesn't mean there isn't a better way.

You're also never really stuck in your ways and preparing is not procrastinating.

You're just heating the pot.

Lots of love,

Charlotte xxx