tea for two

The friend who came up for a cup of tea after the concert yesterday evening emailed me today asking me for the recipe.  I was embarrassed to admit that I simply brew a pot of tea in my 'Mr Coffee' each morning, add some agave syrup for a little sweetness, take out the teabags after about 20 minutes, and, after my first cup in the morning, turn the pot off and just let it sit all day.  Then, whenever I want tea during the day I just pour some 2% milk and tea in a mug and heat it in the microwave.  As I was describing this process to her, I was reminded of my first introduction to Indian tea many years ago.  My daughter's best friend from third grade on is from India as are her parents.  When the girls were just getting to be friends her mom invited me over for tea one afternoon. I was very excited, thinking I would learn how real Indian tea was brewed.  Since their house had an open floor plan I was able to watch from the great room as she mad the tea. She put four Tetley tea bags in a saucepan of water, let it boil for about 15 minutes, then poured it into cups.  It was the strongest teat I have ever had. Happily, she did serve it with milk and sugar so it was actually quite good - but not as exotic as I had anticipated.  But then, why mess with a good thing?