The start of a collection of How to Make Tea essays.
There is a very simple principle to the making of tea and it’s this – to get the proper flavour of tea, the water has to be boiling (not boiled) when it hits the tea leaves.
Christopher Hitchens (after Orwell):
If you use a pot at all, make sure it is pre-warmed. (I would add that you should do the same thing even if you are only using a cup or a mug.)
George Orwell (via Hitchens):
[O]ne should take the teapot to the kettle and not the other way about.