At the moment i'm into earl grey bit time and blackcurrent. The water must be straight off the boil, poured onto the bag and left for a time depending on my mood, sometimes no more than 30 seconds other times a good soaking for a few minutes,but I'm too impatient to wait that long usually, so many things to do, and usually im online and pay by the hour so.... now the most essential tip that i have learnt is to not add the milk, soy or whitener until AFTER I remove the bag or it spoils the colour of the finished product and a lovely colour cup of tea is what makes it takes really great for me. Then I add a few drops of liquid poison and 2 teaspoons of whitener (my craze at the moment as it keeps it really hot), soy is nice too. then a final stir and walla! the perfect cure for a hangover and general ill feeling.....