Tea Loose

How do you make loose tea?

I've NEVER had loose tea; I'm used to the good old commercial tea bag. I have some gourmet tea, no bag, and a strainer. I don't know where to begin. Do you boil the water and add the loose tea OR do you boil the water with the loose tea? What do I do with the strainer?

As a former chef and having worked in hotels were we did High Tea, and having sat in on the Twinnings reps talk about proper tea brewing, the first thing is do not boil the water, you will bruise the tea, make sure the tea pot is very clean, as tea will pick up old flavours, rinse the pot with hot water, and use 1 teaspoon for evey 2 cups of water, so if you making 6 cups of tea, depending on the variety, use 2-3 teaspoons, fresh water, brought to a boil then allowed to rest 30 seconds, poured over the tea and steeped for 3-5 mnutes, to your strength, poured through a strained or the teaball is a good why to, milk added after you pour and if you must sugar, but it is not nessessary and does take away from the taste some what.

I like Orange Pekoe, any good Indian or Ceylon tea, for a real difference, Lapsong Suchong it is smokey and rich in flavour, Earl Grey is fine, but has the oil of the Bergemont plant in it, Russian or Green teas are a nice change, it is best to try as many as you can and then set your favorite.

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