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Well, there are a few that are often thought of as the sort the British drink. Most blends the British go for tend toward the more robust end of the scale. But, as far as singular varieties go, Darjeeling also has a passionate following in Britain, as well. It's a milder flavor, with a sort of smooth, delicate note. That one of often enjoyed unadorned, so as to better experience its flavor.

If that blend you tried is one you particularly relish, I'd advise finding out where it came from, so you can get a good supply and enjoy it at your leisure and to your heart's content. I'm not up on actually blending leaves to create your own mixtures, but as far as brewing the perfect cuppa goes, there are a few words of wisdom on that one.

The first thing is to invest in some quality loose-leaf tea of whatever you've settled on. The blends you like, for example (like that British Blend), a delicate Darjeeling, or a nice golden-tipped Assam.

The next thing is a good kettle for heating the water, which should probably be filtered, at least. Bottled water works pretty well, too. There are a few electric kettles on the market designed to heat the water precisely to the temperature you need, but I use a Chantal "teaball" whistling kettle to admirable effect. For black tea, you want the water to be quite hot, but just short of boiling (neighborhood of 200 degrees). The British typically use boiling water, though.

The general rule for amounts of tea is "one teaspoon for each person, and one for the pot." This works well if you're brewing any black tea in a teapot, but tougher if you're doing a single cup or using other teas. For better precision, there are actually measuring spoons designed for the purpose of doling out the perfect volume of tea leaves. I use a generously-sized mesh ball in the pot so the leaves have plenty of room to swim around in there, and a spring-loaded single-cup infuser at work when I confuse the entire office by ignoring the Lipton. The better contact the leaves have with the water, the better a brew they'll make. That's where teabags quite often fall down, no matter how well they're engineered for flow. Well, that, and it's the "fannings" or "dust" that winds up in the teabags, and they generally make a more bitter brew than leaves do. Today, it's a lot easier to find smaller infuser baskets, hinged spoons or similar for those situations where it's just you and your mug: just put in enough to not fully fill the thing. The leaves will expand during infusing.

If you're using a teapot, it's considered best to warm it up first. This is generally accomplished by pouring very hot water into it and swirling it around awhile until it's nice and toasty to the touch just before you start messing with your leaves prior to actual infusion. Takes the chill off. biggrin

Pour your nice hot water over your leaves, and let them sit undisturbed for about 3 - 5 minutes (shorter or longer to taste - the longer they sit, the more robust the flavor, but only to a point: too long and it'll start to get bitter or astringent). Darjeeling only needs about 3 - 4. Then, lift out the basket, and let it drain, but don't squeeze the leaves, because that bruises them, imparting a bit of bitterness. Once the basket's mostly dripped out, set it aside. You can use the leaves more than once, because unlike teabags, they aren't nearly as fragmented and do not dump all their tannins and flavor into the hot water at once. I can only get two decent brewings out of mine at the most (I often only do one), but I like my tea quite strong. Trot-a-mouse tea they call it over there, because it's strong enough to "trot a mouse" across the surface. I presume nobody actually tests it this way. But, the used tea leaves make truly superlative composting material, I'm told. I think it's roses that particularly love them.

Now, here's where it gets tricky. What you add in after pouring depends not only on taste, but on the variety of tea you're drinking. For most British Blends, sugar and milk are the perfect English accompaniments (provided you like milk in your tea, that is). Lemon is the proper additive to Earl Grey, rather than milk (though I'm a total heathen, and absolutely adore milk in my Earl Grey). Honey only works in a few blends, but I normally reserve that for the herbal ones that need it, or maybe some of the green ones I have.

After that, it's all doilies, pinkies up, cucumber sandwiches, crumpets and "playing Mother" for the Complete Experience. blaugh ("Playing Mother" is actually the term they use for the action of pouring tea into the cups.)

I hope this helps (and that I comprehended you properly)!

How did I know I'd see an uber-post here from you? biggrin

My favorite is an English tea called Boston Harbour Tea from Davidson, Newman and Company. It was one of the original teas in the Boston tea parties. In fact, one of the only places I can find it is in Boston, so I always ask my brother to bring me some back when he comes home for holidays. 3nodding

Usually I drink it with enough milk to make it cloudy and two spoons of sugar. Delicious.

WAAAH now I want some. emo

I like a nice earl grey with mint. Good tea , grow my own mint.

Wow. Thos person really knows their tea