A Nice Cup of Tea

Steps

1. Pour freshly-drawn water into a tea kettle, and heat it to your desired temperature. An electric kettle is fast and convenient.
2. Pour some hot tap water into your teapot and let stand for about several seconds to a minute to pre-warm it. Alternately, you can swish some of the hotter boiling water from your kettle around in the teapot for a few seconds. Pour out this water before adding the tea to the teapot.
3. If using loose tea, place it into an infuser, then into the teapot. If using teabags, place them into the teapot.
4. When the water reaches the preferred temperature, pour it from the tea kettle into the teapot. As you pour, try to avoid pouring directly onto the tea (especially important for green and white teas) to avoid scalding the leaves.
5. Allow the tea to infuse quietly (i.e. do not stir the teapot or "dunk the teabag"). Agitating the tea releases more of the bitter compounds and degrades the taste. Watch the time to avoid over-infusion, and remove the infuser or tea bag when the time is up.
6. Pour tea into your cup(s). Add sweetener and milk or lemon to taste.