# Enjoying tea Tea should always taste excellent, and will only taste disgusting for several possible reasons: - The water to steep it was lukewarm instead of hot. - The water was so hot it burned the tea. - The tea was low-quality. - The tea steeped for too long. Most fast food restaurants and convenience stores steep low-quality tea too hot for too long. So-called tea drink mixes and carbonated tea drinks are tea-flavored, but barely resemble tea. ## Tea is good for you Tea has many health benefits: - Removes toxins from the bloodstream - Prevents clogged arteries as a blood thinner - Helps the circulatory system from increasing blood flow - Protects lungs from cigarette smoke damage - Expands the airways to help asthmatics - Strengthens the immune system - Lowers cholesterol levels - Helps with weight loss - Keeps blood sugar levels in line - Stimulates relaxation Tea also decreases the risk of some diseases: - Various cancers - Stroke - Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases - Tooth decay - Infections and inflammation Compared to [coffee](fun-coffee.md), tea has about 1/4 the caffeine and won't stain teeth nearly as much. ## Types of teas Tea has over 1,500 varieties worldwide. Excluding herbal tea, all tea comes from the tea plant Camellia Sinensis: - Black: taken from the tea plant after the leaves have turned black - Pu-erh: fermented black leaves - Oolong: taken from the plant halfway between black and green tea - Green: taken from the plant while the leaves are green - White: made from tea plant buds Herbal tea includes everything else and is usually other plants' leaves or flowers (e.g., chamomile, cinnamon, mint, lavender). ## Find good tea Grocery stores typically have low-quality tea. Don't buy teabags. - They're tea plant leftovers and impede the steeping process. Shop online for tea to get the best price and variety. - Sample before stocking up if you can't try before buying. Look for high-quality tea shops: - The tea display is larger than the pastry display. - The tea is stored in airtight, opaque containers under subdued lighting. - Don't get tea stored in fancy non-airtight containers directly under lights. - The staff is knowledgeable about teas. - It's a tasteful, relaxed atmosphere without too many distractions. - Several dozen tea varieties. - A wide variety of practical, not fanciful, tea accessories. ## Get everything together Use oxygenated water: - Use freshly drawn tap water or filtered tap water. - Bottled water has a plastic flavor and very little oxygen. - Distilled, boiling or boiled water doesn't have minerals that capture oxygen particles. Get a heating element: - Electric water kettles are quicker than a stove top or microwave to heat water. - If you're microwaving pure water, set a toothpick in it or it'll overheat instead of boil. Use a good teapot: - A teapot is both the brewing chamber and prevents the tea from cooling. - You can use glass measuring cups or anything else, but a dedicated teapot adds to the [ritual](habits.md). - Cast-iron teapots are often expensive, but they can absorb and retain plenty of heat. - Ceramic and porcelain are usually cheaper than iron and transfer heat very slowly. - A decent teapot comes with an infuser. - An infuser is a small basket-shaped filter designed to sit inside the teapot. - Don't use the infuser during steeping, but keep it as a strainer. Get a teacup: - Ceramic cups keep the tea hot the longest. - Small cups are quaint, but they're typically too small for most people. ## How to brew good tea A. Start heating water: - The tea leaves will soak up some water, so put in a little more water than you expect you'll want. B. Preheat the teapot and wait for the water to boil: - Fill with hot tap water to avoid losing heat later. C. Pour the water out of the teapot when it's hot enough: - Green: when you first see bubbles - White: shortly before it comes to a boil - Black, Oolong & Herbal: right after it starts boiling - If you prefer, blot with a paper towel. D. Add tea to the teapot: - Use a real measuring spoon, don't guess. - Add about 1 teaspoon for every 8 ounces of water. - The measurement is called a teaspoon for this reason. - Add 1.5 teaspoons for every 8 ounces of white tea. - Add extra for stronger tea and experiment to find your preference. E. Add the water back in and steep: - The longer your tea steeps, the bitterer and stronger it becomes. - Green: 1--3 minutes - Oolong: 1--9 minutes - Black: 3--5 minutes - Herbal: 5--7 minutes - White: 4--15 minutes - Tea needs room to spread out. - The water needs to circulate through the leaves. - Infusers and tea bags impede the steeping process. - Herbal tea needs at least 5 minutes, but extra steeping doesn't make it bitterer or stronger. F. Run hot water into the teacup to prepare it: - Discard the water by pouring it through the infuser over the sink. G. Pour the tea and drink: - Pour your tea into a cup through the infuser or a mesh filter. - Add extra flavor with a cinnamon stick as a stirrer. H. Cleanup tea leaves usefully by composting them or sending through the garbage disposal.