I know it would sound odd but why can't I use "cook" instead of "make or prepare"? I don't know how you guys make/prepare tea, but the way I make it seems like I am cooking it. Here is how I make it: I light up my mud stove, put my mud pot, pour a little more than a cup of water, let it boil for one minute, put a spoon full of crushed tea leaves, add some chopped ginger, three basil leaves, three mint leaves, one clove and a cardamom, a spoon full of honey, a pinch of black salt, let it as it is for two minutes. The moment I get that specific aroma, it is ready to be sipped. That's why I think I should say, "I am cooking my tea.":))
Do you cook your tea or simply make it???
I think the verb we use in English is BREW. It is a process in which you deposit tea leaves or other herbs (in this case it is called infusion) in hot water until it gradually develops flavor in the container we are using (usually a tea pot).
COOK is used when preparing food.
Hiya Troglodyte
In Britain, "tea" means either
1. A hot drink
or
2. A meal that you eat in the evening. (Other English speakers may call it "dinner" but lots of us in Britain call it "tea").
The meaning changes depending on what verb we use. Here are some things we say:
"I'm cooking [the] tea" means "I'm cooking some food for the evening meal."
"I'm making some tea" means "I'm making a hot drink"
but
"I'm making the tea" is ambiguous, and it could mean you're making the evening meal OR you're making some specific tea (a hot beverage) that somebody wanted you to make. It's always obvious from context what people mean though.
Also:
I'm eating my tea means I'm eating my evening meal
I'm drinking my tea means I'm drinking a hot drink
In my house at least, we wouldn't usually say "I'm brewing some tea" because tea brews itself. It doesn't require anyone to brew it. To brew tea, you don't do anything to it. you just leave it alone and wait! Instead, you could say "the tea is brewing" or "I'm waiting for the tea to brew" or "I've got my eye on the tea while it's brewing."
Troglodyte, this could cause some misunderstanding. In Britain, some people refer to various meals of the day as "tea". So you could be preparing that instead of a hot beverage. In fact, your visitors might expect food and then all they get is a cup of (very nice I believe but still) tea.
