How to make the perfect cup of tea

I thought I'd change it up a bit and include some articles on my blog in addition to the usual reviews. Today I would like to teach you how to make the perfect cup of tea, using a tea bag.
First thing is first. Put some water in your tea kettle. My tea kettle is electric and automatically stops when the tea has come to a rolling boil. While waiting for the water to boil, whether you're using an electric kettle or a good old fashioned on the stove kettle, decide which tea you're using and set it aside.

Here's where my method differs from most. Before putting the teabag into the mug, pour some of the boiled water into the mug. Swish it around. It warms the mug, which in return will keep your tea warmer, for longer. Additionally, in the cold winter months it will keep your hands warm as you hold the mug. You don't need to put much hot water into your mug before swishing it around and pouring it out down the sink. Maybe a couple ounces. Then, put your teabag into the mug and pour the hot water over the teabag. This is key because putting the teabag in first is essential. Don't put the teabag in after. I can't give you scientific reasons as to why it's important to pour the water over the bag, just trust me.

Depending on the type of tea you're brewing, wait for the teabag to steep before removing it. Make sure you do take care to remove the teabag. If you over steep the tea, it can taste too strong. Here are the general steeping times, but generally you should find that the steeping times are on the outside of the box of your tea.

If you're one of those people that has a kettle that will boil water at different temperatures (like this one) feel free to pay attention to the temperatures aspect of this neat little infographic. Otherwise, just boil the water as you normally would. I don't pay attention to water temperature, mainly because I bought the kettle that was in my budget, but if that's what you like then go ahead. 

After steeping your cuppa for the allotted amount of time, remove the teabag and add either sugar, milk or neither, depending on your taste. I always add sugar and milk to my black tea, I find it brings out the flavor. That's all you need to know about brewing the perfect cup of tea.

Leah