My mother recently hooked my wife and I to regular tea drinking. She makes the most glorious cup of tea - Indian style, with milk (usually whole).

We use an Indian brand, Wagh Bakri, that I buy from an Indian grocery store. It is an unknown mix of black teas. I have read that the best black teas are exported from India to Europe, so it was surprising she gave it high remarks. My mom says it is the best tasting tea brand she has had and I trust her judgement.

I was 100% with you until you mentioned milk!

I make it with tea bags at the office - I'm partial to PG Tips at the moment but I usually like Earl Grey.

Just enjoying some nice Lapsang Souchong (loose leaf of course) now. How delightful.

When at home I have a couple cups of tea (Earl Gray) in the morning but not in the afternoon or evening. When traveling at hotel it could be morning or aft or both, but I don't drink tea in the evening.

Cheers.

Early in my freshman year, my new advisor invited the newbies over for afternoon tea. I was offered milk or lemon and I said both. I was given a chance to modify but I stood my ground. Over the four years, he was a great friend and mentor. And I never made that mistake again.

Good, evening is for whiskey.

I've never understood the allure of Earl Grey. For me, the orange peel (?) and bergamot mask the flavor of the tea. Heretical though it may be, I use a 16 ounce ceramic mug (pre-warmed) with a "sipper" lid, a heaping teaspoon of loose tea (a variety of Black teas or Irish Breakfast) in the bottom with a heaping teaspoon of "Turbinado" sugar, "Not quite" boiling water, and steeped long enough for the tea leaves to settle. No milk, but from October through April, I have fresh Meyer lemons "in bulk" from my daughter's trees, so I often drop in a slice.

In the off season, both preserved in sugar and North African style in salt, Meyer lemons form an almost un-matched luxury.

In my previous job I would gauge my lunch break based on my cup of tea. It generally took 20 minutes, uninterrupted, to drink the cup. When the cup was gone, lunch was over, and I would resume doing regular work. Lunch would begin promptly at 1 PM, and if I was lucky I'd be done eating my now cold sandwich at 2, and the tea would be gone by 3 PM. This wasn't because of being lazy, it was simply because I would get interrupted so much. And for the record, nothing tastes quite as bad as cold earl grey where you left the tea bag in.

So you like your tea with cheese...

I agree about the Meyer lemons. I have killed every tree I have planted so you are lucky to have them.
But Earl Grey is just a heavenly combination of flavors and there is something intoxicating about bergamot. I do tea bags and love the organza ones from Tea Forte. I love the smell of coffee but not the taste so tea is my caffeine delivery system.

A friend snobbishly told me in response to my stated affection for Earl Grey that the blend is made with inferior quality tea, and the bergamot's purpose is to mask the taste.

I said I didn't care. I still like Earl Grey.

Richard Feynman did the same thing, taking both milk and lemon at an afternoon tea (or something such)--as related in the book, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surely...g,_Mr._Feynman!

So you are in good company.

(I'm not going to ask about the spelling of your screen name--:D )

My backup blend has been Lady Grey.

You'll have to excuse me, I need to go brew a cuppa.

Your friend is, if I may say so, wrong. He's just not buying the right kind. I'm a great fan of Earl Grey and start every morning off with a cup or two. I buy mine here:

https://www.teegschwendner.de/en/teashop/bestseller/2179/earl-grey-no-69

And having tried pretty much everything out there, it's my favourite. Luckily I'm in Germany very regularly so we never run out.

"Earl Grey, hot."

You can also get Picard's tea cup (having used it I would advise against it, single wall, and a small handle plus a hot liquid. Very uncomfortable.)