I thought I was pretty much an expert on tea preparation. I drink a minimum of one cup of black, two cups of green and two cups of herbal tea a day. I always boil my water and make sure to steep for no less than three minutes and no more than five minutes. But, an article on Canwest Global Communications Corp.’s Web site told me I was wrong; all wrong.

The article spoke to two of the world's most knowledgeable tea-growers, Merrill J. Fernando, the 78-year-old founder of Dilmah Tea, and his 30-something son Malik. The father-and-son team said herbal tea is not actually tea, it’s technically called an infusion (this I already knew) and that green tea, black tea and oolong tea come from the same leaf on the camellia sinensis bush; they are just processed differently.

The process for steeping tea is thus outlined:

• Warm the tea pot on the stove before putting in water;
• Don't pour more than 220 milliliters (a little less than a cup) of water per tea bag (or about 2.5 grams of loose-leaf tea);
• Black tea should be steeped for at least three minutes in water that has just boiled;
• Keep the teapot lid closed while steeping to keep the aroma inside the pot. After a minute, take the lid off and stir the pot, then replace the lid and brew for another four minutes;
• Water for green tea should be boiled and then cooled to about 80 C before pouring it on the tea bag or in the pot. Then steep the tea for two minutes.

So I was treating green tea like black tea? Boy, do I feel embarrassed. OK, not really, but maybe I could get a better flavor if I followed these instructions while at home. At work, the break room doesn’t have a stove, so the microwave will have to do.

The tea gurus also took a shot at my stevia sweetening; they said it's best to drink tea straight without milk or sweeteners. If one MUST add a sweetener, they said honey is the only thing that will do. If one must add milk, it should be warm dairy milk.

Other facts from the article:

• Tea starts to lose its antioxidant properties after about six month, and within two years, most of a tea leaf's antioxidants are gone;
• Many teas can take months to get from the plantation to store shelves;
• Loose-leaf tea is the tastiest and healthiest, because tea bags reduce flavor and antioxidants from diffusing into the hot water;
• Tea will pick up other odors and flavors from surrounding products, so they suggest keeping it in an air-tight container.