If you start using loose-leaf tea (which is a much better value when compared to bagged tea), you should do some research on the proper brewing techniques to be able to enjoy your tea to the fullest extent (you can start by looking at this webpage: http://www.cooksshophere.com/products/Product_Info/tea-steeping.htm ). Remember, the tea that you liked probably was a loose leaf tea.

(I am assuming that you were using a generic bagged green tea) When you use tea bags, many of the same principles apply as with loose-leaf tea, including the temperature of the water and the amount of time steeping. For green tea, the water temperature should be around 170-180 (the water temp. is crucial), and it should be steeped for less than 2 minutes. It doesn’t really matter what size the cup is (or how much water you use), but the more water there is, the longer the bag should be steeped. Just do some experimentation with the timing to find one that you like. Preparing the tea properly can have a major effect on the final quality of the tea. I’m sure that once you learn to prepare it in the right way, you will come to love it.

In order to make loose leaf tea you will need a few things. Most importantly, you will need quality water. The quality of your water greatly affects the quality of your finished tea, so much so that the same tea prepared with different water types can taste and look like two completely different teas. I have done many experiments with water for tea, and I have found that natural spring water works the best. You want your water to be very pure and free of most minerals, but you don’t want it to be too pure. Tea needs some amount of minerals in the water to really bring out the flavor. I have tried tea with distilled water (which is pure H2O and has nothing else in it) and was very dissatisfied with the taste. You don’t want to use tap water as it will have many minerals and/or chlorine and other chemicals depending on where you live. You could use a reverse-osmosis water filter on your sink or another generic kind of filter to get pure water, but I have never tried these methods. I simply buy gallons of spring water that I use solely for my tea.

There are so many different types of tea out there and so many different ways of preparing each one, weather in formal ceremonies or just everyday drinking, that it is hard to tell you what other materials you will need. If you just want materials for everyday drinking, I would recommend a good teapot, a strainer, a second (lower quality) teapot, small teacups (about 6 oz), an electric or stovetop water heater, a thermometer that you can find the temperature of your heating water with, and a timer.

While there are many different types of teapots each with their own qualities, I would recommend a cast iron or ceramic. These are pretty generic and can be used with most any type of tea. You would need either a strainer to place over the second teapot while pouring the finished tea from the first pot into it to block the leaves, or a basket infuser inside the first teapot. I recommend the former as it will allow the leaves to unfurl fully in the pot and give better overall flavor.

Obviously, you will also need quality tea leaves. This may seem easy enough, but it is actually hard to find quality leaf at the proper price for that quality. One tea website I have found that has quality leaf and price can be found here: http://www.teatrekker.com/main.htm . I also recommend reading up on the subject of tea. There are many different tea books out there explaining so many interesting things about tea that you probably have never known about. Most of them have different explanations on how to brew tea properly, so it is interesting to see what they have to say. They also will usually explain about the many different tea ceremonies that exist, and what you will need for them. I recommend “The Story of Tea” by the owners of the tea shop that I provided the link to above. You can also check out this large online tea forum for any additional information you may need: http://www.teachat.com/

Other teas that are dark I prefer to add a little sugar and a little milk. Some teas are better with honey and lemon in my opinion. Chinese teas tend to be weaker and I drink them without anything added.

It will depend on the countries you have experienced tea you enjoyed, I would determine what you like best (English, Chinese, South America) first. Then look up what the particular teas might be. Determine from this where to purchase the freshest product and what the best method of preparing is.

If I am using a tea pot with loose leaf, I do what a Brit told me, if you have 4 people, one teaspoon of tea for each person, and one for the pot, or was that an Aussie that told me that. Either way, when your pour the “hot” water into your tea pot, it needs time for the water to pick up those tea flavors.

Take medium size team pot and put 1.5 tea spoon of tea. When your water is boiled, let it sit for 30 seconds before you pour it into the tea pot. Once the water is in the tea pot, let your tea brew. You can open the tea pot and stir the water with the spoon to speed the brewing process. I typically allow 1 minute for tea brewing.

And you can always learn more on http://www.teavana.com, my favorite tea distributor. Enjoy!

There may be many different teas around the world. Tea-making is no just throwing some sugar tea powder and milk together. It’s an art. Master the trick of making tea that everyone loves to sip. So here we go and lay down the rules of making a nice cup of tea.
Boil water. Take 3/4th cup for every cup you want to make. The measure of water is important for the taste you want to achieve
Now add tea powder according to number of cups. You can take one teaspoon per cup. If you want the tea to be strong then add more powder. If you wish to keep it light lessen the amount of tea powder
Now add sugar as per your taste buds.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Stop when you see a reddish tinge in the concoction. Boiling further would give it a bitter taste.
Sieve and pour in cups.
Add warm milk for milk tea. For tea without milk add some ginger drops or lime, according to your preference.

Secret tips for making special tea
Add a pinch of salt while the concoction is boiling. It will give a unique flavour to your tea and make it special
Avoid using cold milk in hot tea. It can ruin the warmth of tea
Avoid boiling tea over and over again. It spoils the flavour and is an unhealthy habit. Make tea and store in a kettle or thermos

Different Teas

Now that you have become an expert in making tea, learn some more on various teas that you can enjoy. You can start with a different type of tea each day. Check out the list of different types of teas and make it right in your kitchen. This will make the every day event more interesting.

Black tea

Just add a little tea powder to a cup of hot water. Let it boil for few minute. You can add sugar if you want. Tea is ready. You can have it when you want to avoid milk.

White tea

Its preparation is as simple as black tea. Add tea powder to milk and let it boil. Add sugar as per your taste. A pinch of cardamom powder will add on to the flavor of tea. You can also put crushed ginger and let it boil for sometime. This type of ginger tea is a good remedy for cough and cold.

Green tea

If you are health conscious you can try green tea. Use a teaspoonful of green tea leaves for one cup of water. Place strainer over a cup with green tea leaves. Pour hot water over the leaves and steep the leaves. Do not steep the leaves for more than 2 minutes to avoid bitterness. An ideal green tea is ready to drink.

Lemon grass tea

Add a few strands of lemongrass to boiling white or black tea. You will get a nice lemon grass flavour in your tea. It tastes better in white tea. Lemon grass tea is good for coping with cold.

Ice tea

In hot and dry summers you can experiment with this tea for quenching your thirst. If your black tea is ready keep it in fridge to get chilled. Add a little lemon, litchi or peach syrup or squash. You can avoid sugar as it is already present in syrup. Garnish it with mint leaves or lemon slice

Spiced tea

Spiced tea is nothing but the popular ‘Masala Chai’ in India. For making this type of tea, a pinch of powdered mixture of spices like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and pepper is added to the black or white tea.

Also use loose tea leaves rather than bagged.

How are you making your tea?