A nicely packaged box of loose tea leaves, flavored with vanilla, mango, citrus or some other fancy addition, can be a beautiful gift item. However, not many people know how to properly make tea out of loose tea leaves. Too used to convenient little tea bags, many of us don't even own a teapot. People avoid loose tea leaves for fear that the process of using them is too much of a nuisance.

In reality, it is not so complicated. Yes, using loose tea leaves takes a little more time and effort than just sticking a tea bag in a cup and adding hot water, but you will be greatly rewarded by much richer flavor, additional healthy elements, and of course the esthetics of a "proper" English tea party.

You will need a tea kettle of boiling hot water and a teapot. When the water is ready, the first thing you do is pour a small amount into the teapot, as if to rinse, and quickly pour it out. Now, place a teaspoon or two of dry loose tea leaves into this heated, steaming teapot. This is an old trick that helps to achieve better taste and release all the healthy elements of the tea leaves, as I had mentioned earlier.

Now pour hot water into the teapot, making it a little more than half-full, cover it with the lid, and place a large hotpad on top. Let it sit for about five minutes, and then you will be ready to serve your tea.

The tea in the pot will be too strong, and it is not meant to be drunk as it is. What you do is pour some in a teacup, filling only a third or even a fourth of it, depending on how strong you want your tea; then you fill up the rest with hot water from the tea kettle.

That's it! Now you can enjoy traditional, properly made tea. Remember to pour slowly and carefully if you don't want any tea leaves to get into your cup. Another thing you can do to avoid it is to get a little strainer, or a special teapot that has a separate inner compartment for tea leaves and keeps them there.

The amount of dry tea leaves you use depends on the size of your tea party. For one or two people, a full teaspoon is usually enough. Larger groups will require more. Also, different brands of tea vary in strength, so you might want to try every new one and see how you it works before you invite company.