I recommend 2–3g of leaves per teacup (150ml). This is roughly one teaspoon of broken, black tea or a dessert spoon of whole leaf teas which are lighter and more bulky.

A good rule of thumb is that if you like stronger tea use more tea but do not infuse longer. Over time it will just become more bitter – the really interesting flavours will not intensify.

The amino acids in hand-crafted leaf tea that give it flavour, dissolve at different temperatures (not so in teabags where a great deal of the decent flavours are destroyed in the industrial processing).

White and green teas work better at lower temperatures – around 70°C – to bring out their delicate sweetness.

Black teas are best with water at 80°C if you drink them without milk or 90°C with milk. Like a deep and rich red wine, you want to taste the tannins that dissolve in hotter water. The hotter the water the more tannic the tea. Boiling water is really only best for tea bags.

Unless you are making a herbal infusion – peppermint, lemongrass and rooibos need boiling water to bring out their top notes.

With this in mind, I would recommend investing in a temperature-controlled kettle. There is a very decent Bosch one at under £50. Or you can add a little cold water to tea leaves in the pot before adding the boiling water – add one shot (25ml) of cold water per cup of black tea and a double (50ml) for green. This will reduce the temperature.

This really depends on how you like your tea. The longer you leave tea to brew, the stronger and more tannic it will become. As a general rule, one minute for a light infusion, two minutes for a strong infusion and three for a very strong infusion.

Once at your desired strength, drain every last drop from the pot so that the leaves don’t continue to infuse. This is called ‘The Golden Drop’ which has the most flavour. When you are ready for your second cup, just re-infuse the tea leaves with fresh water. Often the second cup is even more delicious than the first. Some teas will infuse many times.