1. Start with the freshest, highest quality loose tea.

2. Store your tea in an airtight container in a cool, dry area (away from sunlight). Do not store tea in a refrigerator or freezer because it may pick up moisture or unwanted flavors. Tea will remain fresh for several months.

3. Always use fresh cold water to brew tea. Oxygen plays an important role in brewing tea. Oxygen helps to release the best flavors of tea; therefore one must use water that is aerated (full of oxygen). Run cold tap water for a few seconds to allow aeration. Always use fresh water; water that is boiled more than once contains less oxygen. Bring the water to a rolling boil in your kettle and pour over the tealeaves. Always rinse your teapot. Pre-heat your teapot by swirling some hot water through it and pouring it out. By doing this your teapot will not absorb the heat of your tea as it steeps.

4. Use one teaspoonful of tea leaves for each six ounces of water. For more than six cups, add one teaspoonful 'for the pot". Steep your tea for three to five minutes, depending on tea type and taste preference. Small leaf teas infuse more quickly than long leaf teas, and flat leaf infuses more quickly than well-twisted leaf. Green teas generally require only a three-minute brew. Brew by time rather than by color. The coloring components of tea infuse very quickly so brewing by color can easily yield an underdeveloped pot of tea. Some teas never show much color during brewing.

Using a tea ball or a teapot with an infuser enables you to remove the tealeaves when you no longer want the tea to steep. Never fill the tea ball or infuser more than half way so that the tealeaves have room to expand.

5. Briefly stir the tea before serving to insure uniform strength of brew. Rinsing the cups with hot water before serving helps the tea keep warm.

6. Keep your tea in the teapot warm by wrapping the teapot with a tea cozy. Applying direct heat to the teapot might harm the subtle flavors of the tea. (If no infuser has been used, pour the remaining tea through a strainer into a separate warmed teapot to separate the leaves from the brew.)

7. Many tea drinkers add milk and sugar or honey to their tea. Milk is most often preferred with the heartier black teas. Cream is not used because the tannin in tea may cause the cream to curdle. if using milk, pour the milk first, then add the tea. It is said that the "scalding " of the milk is a desirable effect. Green tea is generally taken without anything in it.