I never realized it as a kid, but drinking tea was a ritual in my family. We drank a variety of teas, each made in its own precise way. Every tea has an optimal steep time and ideal water temperature, ...

If you open up a pantry door in your kitchen, is there a box of tea or a tin of whole plucky leaves lurking inside? Do you bring it out to help you pass over that mid-afternoon hump, or slurp sleepily ...