When someone informs me they can't stand tea, I generally figure they've simply never sipped a properly made cup. The key reason quite a few people haven't tasted well-made tea is not difficult to comprehend, given the large discrepancy in the process of brewing for all the different types of tea. And just a few important mistakes will lead to a bad tasting cup of tea. The good news is that any type of tea can be prepared with just about any procedure. There are merely a small number of important points to be mindful of and I will list those below for some of the more common teas.

How about we begin with the easy one. Black tea doesn't generally present any issues for most men and women. Basically, use boiling water and steep the leaves for a few minutes. The common Assam tea is best brewed by using this process, plus the Chinese black teas, Ceylon teas and Nepalese teas. Darjeeling tea shouldn't be brewed with this process, though. It should be made using cooler water (80-90ºC or 180-194ºF), because it is only a little oxidized and essentially similar to an oolong tea.

Green tea is not quite as easy to prepare the right way, given the sizable difference of different kinds and the great difference in the way of preparation. The chief factors to take care to get right are the water temperature and the steeping times. If you go with a temperature of 80°C (176°F), you should have no problem with the majority of green teas.

That temperature will be too hot for the Japanese tea gyokuro, though, because its delicate leaves demand much colder water of 50°C–60°C (122°F–140°F). The roasted tea houjicha is one additional exception. Perhaps the hardest possible tea to get wrong, it can simply be prepared employing 100°C water. Check the guidelines on the package for a good steeping time to try. Otherwise, try a minute and a half for gyokuro and two minutes for any other teas.

Ignore everything I wrote above, if you're talking about Matcha green tea powder; it is altogether different from all the other green teas. As you might guess from the name, it's a powder and as such, it calls for distinctive implements and a very distinctive and somewhat complicated preparation method. Have you ever enjoyed the Japanese tea ceremony? It features matcha tea and is a great illustration of how complex the preparation procedure can be. I prefer not to bore you for the length of a major novel, so I'll refrain from getting into specifics on the preparation method for this high quality tea. Besides, since I mostly just cook with matcha green tea, there's no real need to brew it.

Also somewhat more challenging to brew correctly is white tea. It is made with new leaves, meaning they are a bit more delicate and thus necessitate a lower water temperature than all other kinds of tea. The correct range for both White Hair Silver Needle and White Peony is 75-80°C (167-176°F). I'd start with a steeping time of 2-3 minutes and modify according to your tastes. To make your tea less mild, lengthen the steeping time; to get it less astringent, decrease it.

Oolong teas are probably the hardest kind to make correctly, after matcha. The traditional gongfu method of brewing uses many quick infusions using many leaves. It is definitely possible get a good cup by employing regular methods, however. Just make sure that the water temperature is just a bit under the boiling point and your tea will taste fine.

I'm sure everyone is thinking the guidelines I've provided are very basic. Naturally, to make the most delicious cup, you'll want to use the instructions for the specific kind of tea. If you don't have those, however, following my instructions will result in a tasty cup of tea, no matter the variety. Tea is the most loved beverage in the world, apart from water and ideally you will give it another chance, if you're one of those persons who have formerly made up their mind that they can't stand it. You won't regret it.