Fresh Recipes for a Great Tea Party

Elaine Terman, proprietor of Elaine's Tea Shoppe in Sylvania, Ohio, offers a foolproof method for making a perfect pot every time:

Begin with fresh, cold water. Filtered is best because the process removes chemical tastes such as chlorine.

In a tea kettle, bring the water just to a boil to properly oxygenate it. Overboiling drives off oxygen.

Pour some of the hot water into the teapot to warm it, then discard the water. Add tea leaves directly to the pot, or use a ball-shape infuser. How much tea is a matter of taste, but a good rule is about 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of tea, plus one for the pot. Pour the hot water over the leaves immediately (for black tea), or let it cool to the proper temperature for other types of tea (see below).

See next slide for how long to steep your tea.