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One of the things anyone who works remotely, myself included, misses about working from an office are the tea breaks. Getting to relax every few hours with your colleagues over a nice hot brew is as much a tenet of faith for us Brits (and everyone else around the globe I’m sure) as it is about getting a hot drink in you.
So how do you make the best tea in your home office? Can you replicate the water cooler feeling of working from headquarters? The following steps should help get the most out of your hot cup of cha.
Now bare in mind whilst this is all geared towards those of us lucky few who work remotely full time, these tips will knock the socks off any of you who work from an office, follow these steps and you will be the one everyone turns to in your office for a brew!
(Just a heads up a lot of people reading my blog are in the process of designing their own home office. If you want to save some of the painstaking time I did in designing my office, you can find my recommended products here)
Ensure you have the right gear
First, we have to make the tea.
One of the most important things people forget about it is having the right equipment.
Kettles
Most people use old outdated kettles to get the water to boil.. Instead invest in something like an electric kettle which has an automatic shut off, which switches off once the water has reached its desired temperature.
There are a few kettles I would recommend for this however if I were pushed my money would have to be on the Krups Smart Kettle which you can get on Amazon here, which gives you the live temperature as you start your brew.
Tea infuser
This i’ll be essential for anyone using loose leaf tea ( we’ll talk about this later on). Tea infusers are a great way of well, infusing your tea with the flavour of the loose tea leaves.
Teacup/mugs
Now you’ll also need a solid enough teacup or even better mug, luckily you don’t need me to recommend any items for these with these being a dime a dozen!
Spoon
Whilst the world looks to invest in paper cutlery and straws you can’t beat a solid metal teaspoon to stir in your sugar and milk in with.
Just ensure you go for something slightly upend as some cheaper quality teaspoons can bend under the heat.
A hot flame
This is for anyone who does not own a kettle
Whilst induction and electric cookers are becoming more popular, in my opinion you can’t get better then a deep pan and a hot flame
Whenever I make tea out of a saucepan it always seems to have much better heat distribution via a flame then induction cooking so consider investing in some burners if your home (or home office does not have one, in which case, why do you have a hot flame in your home office?!)
Decide on your teabag of choice
So you’ve done the inventory and you’ve got the right equipment set up but what tea bags or the style do you go for?
There are literally thousands of varieties of tea out there with everyone swearing by their specific style of tea.
At the end of the day you should go for what you enjoy drinking, however if i were to throw my two cents in I would go for one of the following:
Black tea
Black tea is quite possibly the most common type of tea in most countries. Go to your local grocery store and they will house more black tea then any other kind.
And with good reason. Black tea is one of the easiest to make and relatively inexpensive.
My choice has to be good old fashioned Yorkshire Tea bags but be sure to try any variety.
Now you can also make black tea in thousands of ways but I would recommend the following which I always like:
Arabic tea
The Arabs are well known for their teas and the way they make it is no different. A traditional Arabic tea consists of black tea mixed with mint leaves, cardamon and a healthy dose of sugar.
Arabic tea usually doesn’t have any milk although try adding a little and you will notice the difference.
Turkish tea
Similar to Arabic tea, without the cardamom and mint, this usually works better without tea bags though.
Mint tea
So if you’re not one for tea bags or tea flakes and want to stay fresh consider using mint leaves for your next tea break. Simply boil dry mint leaves in your kettle or pan and wait for the juices to filter into the cup.
Green tea
For anyone ( like me) who can sometimes have stomach issues, green tea bags can be a fantastic way of getting rid of some stomach discomfort.
I usually like to do this after a heavy night of eating rubbish and it is perfect for those of us who work from home and , well, have easy access to the toilet.
White tea
For those of you wanting to infuse some anti oxidants into your daily tea drinking habits look no further then white tea.
It has a tonne of antioxidants which can go a long way in boosting heart health and can go some way in fighting a bulging waistline.
There is also a great video comparing teas which you can find here
Consider loose leaf teas
Any tea drinking afficanodes amongst you will swear that the only way to drink tea is with loose tea leaves.
And with good reason.
Loose leafs will almost always provide a better taste and texture to your tea then a traditional tea bag which can sometimes mute the flavour.
Most tea bags are cheap because they use the leftover parts of the leaves that they come from.
With loose tea leaves you will be getting the full experience, the only downside, they can be a little messy some ensure you have something like an infuser to help you out.
Bring your water to a boil
So you have your equipment ready and decide if you want to go for tea bags or tea leaves in then time to bring your water to a boil.
How long should tea be boiled for?
Tea should be brewed for 4-5 minutes at a temperature of between 18 degrees Fahrenheit to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Most black teas will be fine at the longer end of the spectrum with some mint and green teas wanting to be kept at the shorter end.
Pop in the teabag
Pretty self explanatory but ensure that you boil your water and teabag at the same time.
There is nothing worse than wanting a nice hot brew only to realise you forgot to pop in your tea bag. You want to boil your leaves and tea bag at the same time as your tea so make sure you get the flavours to flow in naturally.
Take out the teabag
Now for anyone using tea bags or tea leaves this is another step that you might forget about every now and then.
It’s important to remove your tea bag before you pour in your tea, there is nothing worse than not getting a month full of bitter tea leaves so be sure to do this before you are poor.
Pour in your tea
Super easy to do if your mug is big enough but consider looking at something like a small tea sieve or funnel if you’re anywhere near as clumsy as I am.
Add a dollop of milk and stir
This step is definitely optional but for those of you who like a bit of fat when it comes to making tea in your home office, add some milk into your tea, this will help with the flavour especially if you don’t have any sugar or honey in your tea and definitely helps thicken up the texture a bit more.
If you do decide to pop in milk, sugar or anything else make sure you give your tea a good stir afterwards to fully let all the flavouring absorb with each other
Let it cool for 5 minutes
Tea is best enjoyed hot.
That being said, if it’s to the point where you burn your tongue every time you take the tiniest of sips, you’re doing something wrong.
Instead let your tea cool for a few minutes to ensure you enjoy it.
Prepare your cookies
Us remote workers definitely don’t take enough breaks and so one of the best things you can do is use your tea break to enjoy another snack.
Dipping in a good old digestive in your tea or better yet double chocolate chip cookie can be a nice way of enjoying something solid with your chai.
Drink slowly and enjoy
In my opinion the perfect time to drink your tea is 30 minutes, tea unlike other drinks shouldn’t be downed in a matter of seconds so ensure you drink slowly and enjoy your drink.
Not only will it taste better, your body will thank you for taking your time to drink.
Socialize with your colleagues
Another thing us remote workers don’t do enough of is socialising when we work from home.
Use your tea breaks to socialise with your colleagues and catch up remotely doing so.
Using something like Microsoft teams or Google hangouts can really help you build bonds with your head office.
Start by putting in time for once a week and go from there.
Consider coffee
Finally if you’re anything like me and need something with a bit more oomph to get you going in the morning, consider coffee.
Not only does it have more caffeine in it to keep you alert for longer but can also blunt your appetite and can be a good way to ward off things like diabetes and liver disease
Benefits of drinking tea
Drinking tea has a number of benefits including:
- Reducing your risk of heart disease
- Full of antioxidants
- Less caffeine than coffee
- Can help strengthen your bones
- Can help you lose weight
- Will help to boost your immune system
What are the best teas to keep you alert?
One of the things a lot of us remote workers have to deal with is staying alert.
It’s not uncommon for us to do 12+ hour shifts from our desk. For any of you that are in roles like programming or accounting, staying alert for that long could mean the difference between getting something right or looking embarrassed in your next meeting.
The best drink to keep you alert during this period would be coffee however with a lot of people intolerant of coffee I would recommend a cup of black tea. Just ensure you try to avoid any sugar that might spike your blood glucose and cause you to crash later.
What teas won’t keep you up when working remotely?
If you struggle to fall asleep after a long day of working from home consider going for a white tea blend which has much less caffeine then it’s black counterpart. You might want to also infuse this with natural agents like chamomile which has been known to help people relax.
When should you drink tea when working from home?
The best time to drink tea when working from home or from a home office would be 20 minutes after a morning meal. This should give your body enough time to start digesting its food whilst also giving you enough energy for the day ahead.
Is drinking too much tea in the office bad?
Drinking too much tea or more than 3-4 cups a day can cause some digestive issues and headaches. In an office environment if you drink too much tea or go for too many tea breaks you might be seen as a more unproductive employee compared to those of them who don’t drink
Is it better to drink tea from work or from the home office?
Drinking tea at home is more productive then drinking in the office. This is because you will lose about 25 minutes per day to tea breaks. With remote workers being more productive then office based workers, tea drinkers who work from home will essentially have the time to spend.
Tea drinking in work however does have some benefits over home office workers with social aspects being formed in person as opposed to over video calls.
How to avoid spillages when making tea?
The best way to avoid spillages when making tea is to use a kettle instead of a pot, using a sieve when pouring your tea in, using a coaster to place your tea on, and not filling up your mug to the top.
Investing in a desk with a large enough tabletop will also be useful so you can drink whilst you work.
How much sugar should you put in your tea when working remotely?
Ideally you should put no more than one spoon of sugar in your tea when working remotely. Too much sugar will cause your blood sugar to spike causing you to feel tired and lethargic as the day goes on.
How to make the best tea from your home office
So hopefully you now know how to make the best cup of tea from your home office, if you do decide to pop into the office you can rest assured that you will blow everyone away with your incredible tea making skills.
In my experience a lot of tea drinkers don’t drink enough water so feel free to check out this post on how to drink more water when working from home.
Finally a lot of people reading my blog want to know what products I recommend for a home office/remote working. You can find out my recommendations here and learn how I make money whilst working remotely on the side here.
The content on this on this site has been written by Fehed Nicass who has over a decades worth of experience in sales and has worked remotely for the past 2 years.