For many, brewing tea is an expression of art while for many it is the way of life to get on with their favorite drink. There is no right or wrong way to make tea because Brewing tea is, at its heart, very simple. Hence, Feel free to experiment and let your palate be the guide or maybe let us help you with the basics before you advance to trying new stuff’s with tea.

Before, we get onto the brewing stage; it is essential to start with a few pointers that will go a long way into ensuring a finer cup of tea as a lot of frustrated drinkers complain about not getting the right flavor and aroma from their brew.

• Don’t use tap water unless you know for sure that it is soft and has no salt, chlorine and iron content. Any of these impurities can completely spoil the taste and flavor of tea. You can either use water from a packaged jar or from your water purifier at home that essentially creates fresh mineral/spring water.

• Use an airtight and preferably glass/ steel/ aluminum container to store your tealeaves or teabags. This will preserve the tealeaves and retain the natural aroma. This is the reason you will notice that almost all good tea packages sold in the market have sealed aluminum foil packs inside that contain the tealeaves or teabags.

• Not many are aware that using right tea accessory is extremely important getting the right aroma and flavor of the tea. Ceramic, fine china and glass are preferred over materials. If you are using a new teapot, make sure to clean it with boiling water first. Use baking powder, if possible, to clean your tea cooking utensils. Always rinse the cup with boiling water before pouring the tea. Try to use a tea cozy to keep the tea warm for a longer time.

• Try using an electric kettle or an oven to heat up the water instead of a gas stove. In case you are using a gas stove, ensure that you are using a steel container.

• For proper infusion to take place put the tealeaves or tea bags into the pot or cup and then pour hot water on it.

Now that’s that, let’s start with the brewing basics. Although, Connoisseurs debate over the exact temperature of the water, the quantity of leaf per cup, and how long the infusion should brew, most teas will produce a decent cup if you steep them all in boiling water.

While the preparation methods on the whole, for different teas are somewhat the same, they are slight variations in the approach to each one of them. To simplify all this, we recommend the following for each variety of Rakura tea:

* Just a reminder once again, Always start every time with fresh, cold, good tasting, filtered water to get the best flavor and aroma from your tea.

CTC tea:

For loose tea, we suggest you bring the fresh cold water to a rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Use one teaspoon per person and one for the pot and leave the tea to brew for 5-6 minutes or until you think its ready. Strain and Serve. You might want to add a splash of cold milk and herbs in your amazingly refreshing Rakura CTC for the good old Nepali style, or a slice of lemon or orange for the citrus twist or just drink it black. If preferred, add sugar/ honey to taste and you are ready to drink health!

For tea bags, we suggest you bring the fresh cold water to a rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Use one tea bag per person and pour boiling water onto a tea bag in your beloved cup / teapot and leave the tea to brew for 3-4 minutes or until you think its ready and then dunk at least 5 times before removing the bag. You might want to add a splash of cold milk in your amazingly refreshing Rakura CTC for the good old Nepali style, or a slice of lemon or orange for the citrus twist or just drink it black. If preferred, add sugar/ honey to taste and you are ready to drink health!

Black tea:

For loose tea, we suggest you bring the fresh cold water to a rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Use one teaspoon per person and one for the pot and leave the tea to brew for 5-6 minutes or until you think its ready. Strain and Serve. You might want to add a slice of lemon or orange for the citrus twist or just drink it black. If preferred, add sugar/ honey to taste and you are ready to drink health!

For tea bags, we suggest you bring the fresh cold water to a rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Use one tea bag per person and pour boiling water onto a tea bag in your beloved cup / teapot and leave the tea to brew for 3-4 minutes or until you think its ready and then dunk at least 5 times before removing the bag. You might want to add a slice of lemon or orange for the citrus twist or just drink it black. If preferred, add sugar/ honey to taste and you are ready to drink health!

Green tea:

For loose tea, we suggest you bring the fresh cold water to a rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Wait for a minute. Use one teaspoon per person and one for the pot and leave the tea to brew for 5-6 minutes or until you think its ready. Strain and Serve. You might want to add a slice of lemon or orange for the citrus twist or just drink it green. If preferred, add sugar/ honey to taste and you are ready to drink health!

For tea bags, we suggest you bring the fresh cold water to a rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Wait for a minute. Use one tea bag per person and pour boiling water onto a tea bag in your beloved cup / teapot and leave the tea to brew for 3-4 minutes or until you think its ready and then dunk at least 5 times before removing the bag. You might want to add a slice of lemon or orange for the citrus twist or just drink it green. If preferred, add sugar/ honey to taste and you are ready to drink health!

Natural Iced Tea

The Hot Method

1. Put in 2 teaspoons of loose tea or 2 tea bags for every glass (about 240ml) of tea.
2. Fill your pitcher or glass halfway with hot water.
3. Let the tea steep for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on personal preference.
4. Fill the pitcher or glass up the rest of the way with cold water, and then take out the tealeaves or bags.
5. Pour your tea over ice and serve.

The Cold Method

1. Put in 2 teaspoons of loose tea or 2 tea bags for every glass (about 240ml) of tea.
2. Pour cold water over your leaves, filling up your pitcher or glass.
3. Leave the tea to steep in your fridge for 3 to 8 hours, depending on how strong you like it.
4. Pour your tea over ice and serve.

Please remember that these steeping times are only approximate, and you should adjust them depending on your own personal tea taste. Oh! And one more thing, the real connoisseurs of tea would never add milk or sugar to the liquor as that somewhat changes the authentic aromatic flavor of tea. It is best to have the liquor as is without adding anything. But then again, not everyone wants to be a connoisseur. Remember, our guidelines are just guidelines, Experiment and Enjoy.