Why?

[--Pete]

Hi,

BTW, ISTA on the tea. I like to steep my darjeeling until the bag falls apart.[right][snapback]62846[/snapback][/right]

Oh, my. A bag? A tea bag? Ah, please make the pain go away! ;)

Check out this site for a decent intro to things *really* tea. I find their Darjeeling rhapsody 22 to be fairly good (for a darjeeling). Boiling water, five or six minutes and it is not too bad. However, trying to brew a strong, dark cup of tea with a darjeeling is an exercise in futility. If you want strong, dark, and good, try their Ceylon Sonata. It'll brew up darker with less bitterness.

By the way, the cost for loose tea is much less (per cup) than for bags. You get a lot bigger choice. You can *blend* your own mixutes. And you can get two or more infusions (each with its own characteristic) out of the big loose leafs in a way the powder in bags would never do.

I simply use a pot sized tea infuser (never use one of those tea balls or eggs, there isn't enough room for the leaves to expand) in a big (20 oz) Starbucks mug. That way, I can brew a 'pot' at a time and drink it all by myself :)

Have fun over the break,

--Pete