How to brew Once Upon a Time like Cinderella

We recently met up with Cinderella for some lovely afternoon tea and chit-chatting. She gave us a wonderful step-by-step tutorial on the proper way to brew black tea {she also gave us the *tea* on her morning routine - so let us know if you would like to read that as well}! Cinderella was taught how to make tea by her late mother, and we could not be more honored to be able to share her method with all of our friends and fae.

All that is necessary to make a good cup of tea is tea and hot water. However, a few more frills are required to make a perfect cup of tea that is to the liking of one of our very favorite fairytale princesses...

Materials:

• Once Upon a Time loose tea from Fairy Tale Teas
• Filtered water of choice - we prefer water from the local enchanted well, but whatever you have on hand will suffice
• Your favorite heat-safe teapot
• Tea infuser
• Thermometer (optional)
• Extra pixie dust (optional)

• Favorite Teacup

Method:
1. Boil water until it reaches about  195℉ / 91℃. {Cinderella's Tip: "If you do not have a thermometer, as I did not for quite some time, take your teapot off the heat once it has begun to boil and wait about 30 seconds - it should then be the perfect temperature for brewing black tea!"}

2. Warm up your favorite teacup. Pour a little bit of the hot water into your teacup and swirl it around so that it reaches the entire inside, then pour it out. This is to prime your teacup which prevents it from cracking when lots of hot water is being poured into it.

3. Add tea to the tea infuser and pour hot water over it. Use 1 tsp of tea for every 6oz (1 cup) of water.

4. Set a timer to steep them for the correct amount of time, Once Upon a Time is a black tea that can be brewed anywhere from 3-7 minutes depending on how strong you prefer your tea. {Cinderella's Tip: "I never leave the tea leaves in my water after they're done steeping - it makes the tea taste bitter due to too many tannins being released."}

5. Remove the tea infuser and sweeten if desired {"I like to use honey given to me by some incredibly friendly honeybees that live near the palace garden!"} 

6. Add extra pixie dust for an extra magical tea time- whether you got it from our FTT fairies or as a gift from your fairy godmother, pixie dust is always a must for a magical tea time and a fabulous way to wow any guests!

{Cinderella's Tip: "If you would like another cup right away, bring some more water to temperature and pour over your used tea leaves, but add an extra 1-2 minutes to your timer for the second steeping."}

Enjoy your tea!