You love tea but do not know how to make a good cup? Learn how to make tea and more.

Do you know what a typical Indian mom would like to teach her grown up daughter? It is nothing other than how to make a cup of good tea. It is the first lesson in cooking that a mother may give her daughter. A girl may have hate entering the kitchen but her mother might insist that, "you should at least know how to make tea."

A cup of tea has its own niche in life of many people. For many it is impossible to start a day without having tea. No wonder, the cutting chai (half cup of tea) in Mumbai is big business. Many people think that if morning tea is bad, their day will be bad. Drinking tea is a special event everyday. Read on to know more about the refreshing cup of tea how to make it.

Discovery of tea

According to a Chinese legend tea was discovered 5000 years back. It was discovered by an emperor named Shen Nung who was an expert in agriculture and medicine. He always used to drink boiled water and advice people to do so. Once when he asked his servants to boil water for drinking in his garden, some tea leaves accidentally fell in the water. When he tasted the drink he felt extremely refreshed. This is how the stimulating drink was introduced and is now a part of daily routine around the world.

How to make tea

There may be many different teas around the world. Tea-making is no just throwing some sugar tea powder and milk together. It's an art. Master the trick of making tea that everyone loves to sip. So here we go and lay down the rules of making a nice cup of tea.

1. Boil water. Take 3/4^th cup for every cup you want to make. The measure of water is important for the taste you want to achieve
2. Now add tea powder according to number of cups. You can take one teaspoon per cup. If you want the tea to be strong then add more powder. If you wish to keep it light lessen the amount of tea powder
3. Now add sugar as per your taste buds.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stop when you see a reddish tinge in the concoction. Boiling further would give it a bitter taste.
5. Sieve and pour in cups.
6. Add warm milk for milk tea. For tea without milk add some ginger drops or lime, according to your preference.

Secret tips for making special tea

• Add a pinch of salt while the concoction is boiling. It will give a unique flavour to your tea and make it special
• Avoid using cold milk in hot tea. It can ruin the warmth of tea
• Avoid boiling tea over and over again. It spoils the flavour and is an unhealthy habit. Make tea and store in a kettle or thermos

Different Teas

Now that you have become an expert in making tea, learn some more on various teas that you can enjoy. You can start with a different type of tea each day. Check out the list of different types of teas and make it right in your kitchen. This will make the every day event more interesting.

Black tea

Just add a little tea powder to a cup of hot water. Let it boil for few minute. You can add sugar if you want. Tea is ready. You can have it when you want to avoid milk.

White tea

Its preparation is as simple as black tea. Add tea powder to milk and let it boil. Add sugar as per your taste. A pinch of cardamom powder will add on to the flavor of tea. You can also put crushed ginger and let it boil for sometime. This type of ginger tea is a good remedy for cough and cold.

Green tea

If you are health conscious you can try green tea. Use a teaspoonful of green tea leaves for one cup of water. Place strainer over a cup with green tea leaves. Pour hot water over the leaves and steep the leaves. Do not steep the leaves for more than 2 minutes to avoid bitterness. An ideal green tea is ready to drink.

Lemon grass tea

Add a few strands of lemongrass to boiling white or black tea. You will get a nice lemon grass flavour in your tea. It tastes better in white tea. Lemon grass tea is good for coping with cold.

Ice tea

In hot and dry summers you can experiment with this tea for quenching your thirst. If your black tea is ready keep it in fridge to get chilled. Add a little lemon, litchi or peach syrup or squash. You can avoid sugar as it is already present in syrup. Garnish it with mint leaves or lemon slice

Spiced tea

Spiced tea is nothing but the popular 'Masala Chai' in India. For making this type of tea, a pinch of powdered mixture of spices like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and pepper is added to the black or white tea.

This tea is sold by the tea vendors from corners or road side, at restaurants, at coffee shops and even in five star hotels. You can enjoy this tea when rains are slashing down your windowpane. It tastes better when accompanied with hot pakodas (fritters), Samosas (Crispy potato snack) and Vadas (Soft spicy, round, fried Potato patty).

Already craving for some nice tea? Well, take a break and take a cup of tea. Surprise your mother one fine morning with a nice strong cup of tea. While your mother heaves a sigh of relief and asks you where you learnt it all, you can proudly make her log on to, you know where...