Hello group! I'm a tea lover, but not a connoisseur... Yet.

I've been a tea lover since high school, and that was fifteen years ago. I knew I liked Earl Grey, and Lipton... As I tried new teas, I discovered Oolong, Green, and English Breakfast. Great teas, but I was buying fannings in a bag.

I bought twinings tins of Earl Grey, Irish Breakfast, Ceylon, Russian Caravan, etc. Usually making them with a coffee maker with very mixed results. I've always used a couple of pyrex dishes, and a strainer. I like the way tea tastes the most when I get water SCALDING hot, not BOILING, and I steep black tea for 3 minutes or so. I stir the tea, leaves flying around everywhere in one of the pyrex dishes. I then pour it into a warm SECOND pyrex dish through a cheap strainer. By this time it is quite warm, but not HOT tea. I consume it rather quickly. It's a little messy, and uncouth as a process goes, and if this is the best way to do it, then I'll keep doing it this way.

My instincts tell me that this is NOT, however, the best way to do it. My favorite teas right now are actually NOT stand-alone teas. I'm on a diet, so decaf is a necessity for now. (Minus 40 pounds since January, by the way.) My favorite varieties in order:

1.) Green Tea with Mint 1.5) Earl Grey 2.) Monk's Blend 3.) Czar Nikolai (but I can't drink that one because it's not available caffeine free.)

Stand Alone tea...

1.) Darjeeling (wonderful flavor/complexity) 2.) White Tea 3.) Green Tea

I drink a lot of herbal teas as well. Rooibos is a staple, chamomile, fruity/etc... Think Celestial Seasonings, and that's all it is. My wife enjoys them too.

I made a decent sized purchase at

and was at first disappointed in their Earl Grey, but I'd followed their suggestions, and put their teabags in BOILING water. I got bitter, rancid filth that had me emailing them, and complaining about the quality of their tea. When I used my decade of experience, using hot, scalding water, it worked out just fine. The teas I'm drinking that I got from them are just fine. I enjoy them, but I am as interested in quality as I am saving money.

This brings me to my main set of questions:

1.) is there a all-in-one teapot that is feasable for use in the workplace that can be used in conjunction with a microwave to help brew superior tea?

2.) Is there a consensus within this group where to buy the finest teas online, and a place to get the best prices for them? I would be interested in learning of both.

For those of you who read this all the way through, I think you very much. Tea has been a major part of my life for a long time, and I want to learn more, and try more. There are tea purists who would snub me for my liking such a variety, I'd think... Considering the "fruity" nature of Monk's Blend, but I was nonetheless quite impressed, and taken with it. Earl Grey has been a favorite ever since I first heard of it watching Captain Jean Luc Picard on Star Trek. (You must admit, he had to increase the sale of the stuff!)

Now that I have my brewing technique mostly down, I would like to buy appropriate equipment for doing this. When I'm home, I don't mind the silly/uncouth ritual, or something similar, but I would like to try and avoid the pieces of leaves that I get in my service pot (which are plenty... The filter isn't quite fine enough.) What I *DO* know, though, is that tea DOES like to be out in the open when brewing. It is a superior tasting brew if you can avoid getting enough tea leaves in your main service to cause bitterness. I'm just looking for a better method (if there is one) and to hear some more suggestions on teas to try.

I'm a little interested in this "Pu-erh" stuff... Can anyone describe the flavor characteristics, and can one buy this decaffeinated?

Thanks a million for your anticipated response! This seems like a nice, friendly group.

Regards,

Daniel