Fill a kettle with freshly drawn cold water. We recommend using filtered water because the quality of your water will directly affect the taste of your tea. Many towns have water that has too much chlorine and other minerals. When the water is near the boiling point, pour a little into the teapot, swirl around, and tip away. This leaves a hot, clean teapot.
Measure the tea carefully into your teapot, allowing one rounded teaspoon or one tea bag for each cup required. Many people prefer to use a tea ball or filter to keep the leaves from spreading throughout the teapot. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Do not allow it to boil too long, as it will boil away some of the flavor-releasing oxygen and result in a flat cup of tea. Please note that green and white tea should be made with water that has boiled and allowed to cool for just under a minute.
Pour the water onto the leaves or tea bags. This saturates the tea allowing the flavor to release naturally. Do not pour the water and then add the tea, this will only result in a poor cup of tea. The differing types of tea should be allowed to infuse for the required number of minutes at the appropriate water temperatures listed below:
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If you prefer your tea stronger or weaker, never vary the brewing time; simply increase or decrease the amount of tea. If allowed to sit in the teapot, the tea can over-brew and turn bitter. Some green, oolong and white teas are good for multiple infusions - just add new hot water to the pot and increase the steeping time slightly. Repeat until the flavor starts to fade.
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