While baristas train to make 20 kinds of coffee, 99.9% of the tea available in cafes and restaurants in Aotearoa is prepared by shoving a teabag (or two) or leaves in a pot or cup, adding boiling water and serving.

I've learned to extract the tea strainer or bag very soon after the drink is served. Then I just grit my teeth and swallow an inferior drink.

Today's green tea though was so undrinkable I sent it back.

As tea steeps for longer it becomes more bitter. More leaves make it stronger too. The cup I poured was awful.

Then I looked in the strainer I'd removed from the two-cup pot. There were enough tea leaves for the 15 or 20 people at the table!

A saucer half-covered in a pile of green tea leaves.