After you have selected the teas, the most common question is How to brew a perfect cup of tea?

Different leaves require different treatment. Some need boiling water, some slightly cooler water, and all need to be infused for a different length of time. However, if we are talking about a traditional black tea, the process goes something like this:

  1. Warm the teapot by rinsing it out with hot water.
  2. Fill the kettle with fresh water from the tap. Water that has been boiled already will affect the taste of the tea.
  3. Put into the teapot one rounded teaspoon (or caddy spoon) of tealeaves for each person and one extra spoonful ‘for the pot’.
  4. Turn off the kettle (or remove it from the stove) just before the water boils and pour into the pot. It doesn’t need to be stirred.
  5. Leave to infuse for three to five minutes, depending on taste. Serve, using a tea strainer.

If you are making tea in a cup with a tea infuser, the same rule applies – one spoon of tea, use water just off the boil and infuse for 3-5 minutes.