And so it begins. I have begun my mission to find the best tea rooms in Britain. It will take a while, cost a lot of money and I’m sure I’ll pay the price on my waistline, but in order to do this I have to determine the 5 fundamentals – the elements that make or break the Great British cuppa. And I think I might have nailed it.

All good loose leaf tea needs a strainer. One that sits nicely over a cup without needing to be held is a great strainer, but any sieve-like device will certainly suffice. I don’t want to share my strainer with my husband who is having a different type of tea because no one enjoys cross contamination. If you aren’t served loose leaf and you’ve got a tea bag to contend with, a small rubbish plate is absolutely essential. I don’t need my tea bag to brew for the entire length of time it takes me to drink my tea, thank you very much!

The leaves are brewing in the teapot and your nattering away to one another when, before you know it, your tea has effectively been brewing for 20 minutes leaving a horrid bitter taste in your mouth. Fear not though,  an extra pot of hot water on the table will really make a difference and make that over-brewed and bitter tea a thing of the past. If a tea rooms give you hot water as standard, that’s a massive bonus.