A Taste For Tea
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Second only to water, tea is the world's most popular beverage. And American ingenuity did much to stimulate the international appeal of this drink. Our contributions? The tea bag and iced tea.

Broadly classified, there are three types of tea - black, oolong and green.

Black Tea - Derives its color from a special processing treatment in which the leaves are allowed to oxidize. This turns the leaves black and produces a rich brew.

Oolong Tea - Is semioxidized. Its leaves are brown and green. It brews light in color.

Green Tea - Is not oxidized, thus the leaves remain green. The brew is pale green in color.

The tea you buy is a delicate blend of some 20 to 30 varieties. Quality varies according to the soil, climate and altitude in which the tea is grown and the age and size of the leaves when they are picked. How these varieties, there are literally thousands to choose from, are combined and balanced creates the differences in tea flavor. Not surprisingly, tea companies carefully guard the formulas for their own particular blends.

Preparation Method

Whether loose tea or tea bas are used, the preparation method is the same.

Start with a spotlessly clean glass, china or earthenware teapot. Pour in rapidly boiling water; let stand a few minutes, then pour out.

Meanwhile, heat freshly drawn cold water to a full rolling boil. Use immediately.

Add tea to the warm teapot, allowing 1 teaspoon loose tea or 1 tea bag for each cup of tea desired. Pour the boiling water over the tea (3/4 cup for each cup of tea), let steep 3 to 5 minutes. Stir the tea once to ensure uniform strength. Strain the tea or remove tea bags. If desired, serve with sugar and lemon or hot milk.

Do not judge the strength of tea by its color. Taste it. If you prefer a weaker tea, add boiling water after brewing.

To make iced tea, brew as directed above except - use double the amount of tea. Strain or pour over ice. Tea that has been steeped too long or refrigerated will become cloudy. Pour a small amount of boiling water into tea to make clear again.

To make do-ahead iced tea, use 2 teaspoons loose tea or 2 tea bags for each cup of cold water. Place tea in glass container; add water. Cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours. Serve over crushed ice.

If making instant tea, follow the directions on the jar or envelope.

To make tea for a crowd, prepare a concentrate by placing 1/4 pound (1-1/2 cups) loose tea in a large container and pouring 2-1/2 quarts boiling water over tea; steep 5 minutes. Strain tea leaves. Mix 1 part concentrate to 3 parts boiling water and serve as needed. This concentrate will make about 50 servings of tea.