Time for a Nice Cuppa

I have always loved tea, but found loose tea to be a pain in the ass to brew. It's complicated, messy and you end up spitting out little bits of stray leaves that land on your tongue. Finally, I found a teamaker that is as easy to use as a French Press, and it brews the perfect pot of tea. Teavana, an Atlanta-based company with a store in Russian Hill, makes it. It's not pretty, but trust me, it works.


First I start with really good loose tea. I love the teas from Lupicia, a Japanese company that has a couple of retail stores in San Francisco. This is the Paradise Green Tea that Michael gave me as a gift. Teavana also has a wonderful Lemon Green Tea - when they make it for you there, they transfer it to an ironware teapot and present you with the leaves. So it's not so newfangled-looking.


I put a couple of scoops into the teamaker, which has a very fine filter at the bottom. Then I fill it with boiling water (I actually use the hot water from the water cooler, which is hot enough).


While the tea is brewing, you have to rest it on this little stand or it will spill all over the place. That is what happened the first few times I tried it, and I got so frustrated that I almost threw the thing out the window. Then I read the directions. I like being able to see the tea brewing, as I ususally gauge done-ness by color. After it's done, you lift the teamaker off of the stand and place it on top of your teacup or mug. It has a trigger and will start pouring a stream of tea into the cup. Tea pee, if you will. A glass cup or mug would be easiest to use, but I can usually tell when it is full. As soon as you lift it off, the stream stops.



And there you have it, the perfect cup of tea.