For tea drinker's.

[Eden]

I have a Thermos commuter bottle. It is fantastic. It keeps my tea hot, like seriously really hot all day long. The all stainless one is better than the colored ones, which have a plastic skin on them. I bought my husband the blue one and I swear it's not quite as good.

[OakLeaf]

I have a stainless steel insulated travel mug, just a cheap one that my dentist gave out as a promotional item a few years ago. Lots of different companies make them. I still get some off taste from the plastic lid, but it's better than a whole plastic mug.

[rebeccaC]

Simple Instructions for Black Tea: boil the water (in a pan or a kettle or something - can be hard to do in the microwave). Pour over the leaves. Start with 1 tsp a cup (8oz). If it's really dense (little pieces), use less. If it's really fluffy (big leaves), use more. Remove them in about 4:30 for most black teas (darjeelings are odd - if it feels like you have a mouth of cotton at that, you probably have one and need to steep for a lot less time). There are different guides, and you can adjust to your taste - but that's where I start with new black teas.

I learned this method for green tea from a Chinese girl friend in college….i bring some good bottled spring water to a boil, pour it into my yixing teapot and wait a minute+ (depending on the leaves being used) and then fill the teacup/s I’m using and discard what little water is left. then I add the amount of tea wanted to the teapot and pour the water from the cups into the pot and steep. I’ve brought down the temperature of the water to match the type of green tea, prewarmed the teapot and cups and have just enough tea for the cups wanted.