Since you have spent time and money finding the best product you can lay your hands on, it stands to reason that you should prepare that fine cup of tea in just the right way. Since few of us have the time for the full five-hour ritual of a Japanese tea ceremony, here are some tips to brew the perfect cup of tea but in a little less time.

Decaf tea is a great addition to the tea caddy, especially at those times when you do not necessarily want a pick me up, but just a great tasting cup of tea. In fact, having tea often means the very opposite - taking a few minutes to relax, clear your mind and let the cares of the day flow away. A cup of decaffeinated tea can fit the bill very nicely.

Although the facts are debatable, tea, as a beverage, is older than coffee, wine and maybe even older than beer. Some may argue about the latter, since some types of beer may be as old as 10,000 years, while tea has only been around for about 5,000. Fair point but let's agree to disagree and just say that tea is old, whichever way you look at it.

A full traditional Japanese tea ceremony can take anywhere up to five hours to carefully prepare each component and then drink the results in a leisurely way. However, what happens when us modern busy mortals want to enjoy a truly fine cup of tea but do not have the time to follow the Japanese tradition.