"Adam Schwartz" > wrote in message
news:asn1c.468548$na.1111295@attbi_s04...
> My masala tea has been coming out very week. I use 1 cup of nearly
> boiling water, 2 cracked cardamom pods, 2-4 whole cloves, and 2-3
> peppercorns, and 3+ tsp of Darjeeling tea leaves, which is more than the
> recipe calls for. I would use more of the aromatics, but they are very
> expensive (more than $2/ounce for the tea and the cardamom). I steep
these
> in a tea pot for about 8 minutes, by which time the water is usually
fairly
> cool? I'm going to search for a cheaper source of ingredients, but in the
> meantime, how can I make my tea stronger? Can I boil some of the
> ingredients?
>
> Thanks,
> Adam

You never want to boil anything to do with tea, the tea leaves in
particular. Boiling releases tannins, resulting in a bitter brew. Instead,
try steeping longer. It doesn't matter if it's cool, but you can try a
different pot if it's cooling that fast. If you use a Yixeng style pot, the
pot will retain some of the aromatics and take on the character of the tea,
resulting in a more satisfying brew over time.

kimberly