Steps to Good Tea

5. Use quality tea leaves. Seems obvious, but so many folks use tea bags day in and day out it's amazing. The tea in tea bags is literally the dregs, the stuff from the bottom of barrel, the bottom of the factory floor. Once you get some good tea leaves and start brewing good tea for yourself, you will not go back to bags. A whole new world of sensuality and pleasure will open up for you. Know that "tea" is made from one plant in the world, and one alone, Camellia Sinensis. Anything else is a "tisane", or herbal infusion, or maté.

4. Get yourself the proper utensils for tea prep: the right pots for the right kinds of tea, the right cups, etc.. Black tea leaves really do work best in a pot meant for them. Same for oolong, same for green. The world--an ancient one--of tea utensils is many splendored and will enhance your tea life as much as the tea leaves themselves.

3. Follow the following basic steps whenever you make tea. Boil fresh clean water (preferably spring/mineral water, definitely not distilled or RO water). Always heat pots and cups with boiling water before adding leaves or brewing. Give a quick rinse, with boiling water, to both black and oolong teas; pour this hot, splash water into the cups you're working with. Green tea, being more delicate than the others, should not be rinsed (though, again, pots and cups should be warmed with hot water). Black teas need 3-5 minutes to steep (you'll learn to smell when it's done, and the time will vary depending on whether you have a full-leaf tea, smaller-leaf, etc.). Oolong teas are traditionally brewed (the way I do it) in so-called Yi-xing pots, made of unfinished clay (a great selection can be found at Holy Mountain Trading Company). The pots are filled considerably with dry leaves, the leaves rinsed and then steeped repeatedly, for slightly longer each steep, starting with about 30 seconds (high-grade oolongs can be steeped numerous times with no depreciation in aroma or flavor). Black and oolong teas must be brewed with water that's boiling. That is to emphasize that water which has just boiled doesn't cut it--the water should be boiling hard and steaming. [If you're a career tea drinker like me, you may wish to experiment with the different ways you can have fresh, boiling water at all times. A thermos is no good (water will cool and get stagnant). The stove is okay unless you want to be at your dinner table enjoying tea with friends. There are many electric water kettles which serve a good purpose]. Green teas (including jasmine) should always be brewed with water that is cooler than boiling (let the water sit for a few minutes to cool). With water at the right temperature, green teas can take as long as black ones (again, learn to smell). Amounts of tea leaves are harder to prescribe. Very generally, one heaping teaspoon (not a measuring spoon) of dry black tea per cup of tea being made (again, as above, amount needed will vary with tea-leaf size, type, etc.). Oolongs brewed in Yi-xing pots should have the pots filled so that when the leaves (usually rolled tightly) have fully unfurled (after several steeps), they will fill the pot being used. Green tea, and especially jasmines, tend to vary a great deal (there's plain green, roasted green, green with toasted rice, etc.) so one has to experiment a bit to get the right balance of delicate green flavor with just enough (but not too much) of a satisfying bite.

2. Learn which types of tea are appropriate, or good for you, at which times of day. I find oolong tea (being half-way between black and green in terms of the quick assimilability of the caffeine within it) is great for me to start and continue throughout the day. With oolong, one does not get frazzled from continuous drinking (ever try that with black tea or coffee?). Sometimes, I'll finish the tea day with some black tea at tea time (about 4pm). More rarely, I'll feel like having some green tea on a lazy Sunday or something. _Beware_ that though green tea does not pack the immediate punch of black and oolong, it has just as much caffeine. Don't make the mistake of thinking that green tea is a good bedtime drink.

1. Don't bother leaving your house if you really want a good cup of tea.