Brewing tea.

Ah the brewing process! This is really part of the whole tea drinking experience and shouldn't be over looked. China and Japan have intricate brewing ceremonies, with strict methods that must be adhered to, but even if you just want to make a cup of tea in your kitchen; "One should conduct oneself with the utmost dignity". Well said, I should say.

So first off, there's the tea bag method. Boring. Unless you're using one of those new fangled pyramid shaped bags (they allow for unbroken tea to be packaged in a tea bag due to their rigid shape), you're going to get a sub standard cup of tea. Besides, everyone knows how to drop a tea bag in hot water so there's no need to cover that.

Infusers-

Whether you are using a t-sac (basically a large tea bag that you fill yourself), a glass infuser (glass cylinder with many small holes), or a metal infuser (mesh cylinder, or sphere), the method is pretty much the same. You heat your water in a kettle, pour the water into a tea pot and you sink the tea laden infuser into the pot with the hot water. Allow the tea to steep for the desired amount of time (notes on that below), remove the infuser, and enjoy your tea. Pretty simple (tea is not terribly complicated really).

So of all these methods, I prefer the glass infuser. The holes in a glass infuser are usually a little bigger, so more sediment ends up in your tea, but you avoid any chance of getting a metallic taste in your tea. Metal taste is not really a big issue, but for some reason it concerns me. The t-sac style infusers work fine, but I feel that they compress the tea too much for it to brew completely in the water. Tea really needs room to breath if you want it to steep properly. Oh, and there's on other method; a tea sock. It's basically a cloth infuser, which is fit around a plastic ring. the ring sits on the rim of your tea pot during steeping, and the tea filled cloth sock, soaks in the hot water. Again, it works fine, but it's not ideal. If given the choice I will choose the glass infuser over all these other methods.

But! The best method doesn't use an infuser at all! I picked this up in India, and now it's the only way I brew tea. Just heat your water in a sauce pan, drop in the tea, when the water reaches the desired temperature, let steep for appropriate time (you can kind of smell when the tea is ready, look for a full bodied character to the aroma), and then pour the tea through a common metal sieve, or strainer, into your pot. The tea brews completely this way. It brews faster, and you can actually use less tea. Also, the tea drops to the bottom when it's done brewing. This is a good way to determine proper brew times if you don't know how long it should steep for. Over brewed, bitter tea is not awesome.

Always use clean, cold water. Spring water if possible. I read somewhere that our DNA actually won't accept substandard water, and it can get thirsty if it doesn't get good water. Never use municipal tap water. Try to use spring water, it's the best. and make sure it starts out cold, and don't over boil it-over boiling will rob it of oxygen. Cold water has more oxygen in it, and that will make your tea taste better. That's a note on water.

Each tea requires a different steeping time, and temperature. If you drop the ball on the temp. it's not going to be a big deal, but getting it right can definitely help you out. The brewing time is kind of important, pay attention to that. You want your tea to have brewed just the right amount so that the flavor is optimized. Not over brewed, and not weak. This table is useful guide, but it's better to get to know your teas. A fine Darjeeling will require a much shorter brewing time than a dark African tea, even though they're both black teas. Just pay attention to your favorite teas, and you will learn the secrets to each of their steeping times. Check out the table below.

Green Tea	160 degrees F	1 - 3 minutes
White Tea	180 degrees F	4 - 8 minutes
Oolong Tea	190 degrees F	1 - 8 minutes
Black Tea	Rolling Boil	3 - 5 minutes
Herbal (tisanes)	Rolling Boil	5 - 8 minutes

Remember also, that if you want stronger tea, just start with more tea. don't brew it longer, or it will get bitter. And if you don't have a thermometer; don't sweat it. For the lower temp. teas, take the water off the heat just before it boils. that will work fine.

So I think that's it. Seriously, try the sauce pan/strainer method. You don't get to use any specialized accoutrements, or fancy tea devices, but you will get the best cup of tea. That's the point right? Unless of course you're all about the gadgetry, and looking cool. I'm judging you, by the way.