Probably no other daily article of food or drink is so commonly prepared in an improper manner as tea--which is all the more curious when we consider that perhaps none other that requires heat for its preparation is so easily made. It should be brewed by simply pouring boiling water upon the leaves, but the vessel containing the decoction should not be placed over the fire while the tea is being prepared. Of even greater importance is the necessity of allowing the water to remain in contact with the leaves only a few moments--_never more than a minute if we wish the tea to be good._ The reason for the latter precaution lies in the fact that tea-leaves contain a considerable amount of tannic acid, and, as the longer the water and leaves remain together the more of this substance is extracted from the latter, it is not difficult to see that we should be careful to allow only a brief contact between the two; the presence of this acid is undesirable, not only on account of the fact that it gives to the decoction a bitter and unpleasant taste, but because it has a tendency to cause digestive disturbances. It is seemingly not generally known that there are many varieties of tea, and that some of them are so superior in flavor and bouquet to others that they might well be entirely different substances. The best of all (in the writer's opinion) are those that are composed largely of leaves grown in Ceylon, usually mixed with India tea. If we will demand of our grocer a first-class Ceylon tea we will find that a beverage may be made from it that will appeal quite as much to the palate as a good coffee. Before dismissing this subject finally, some reference should be made to ice-tea. This beverage is exceedingly palatable when properly prepared, and under such circumstances by no means deserves the disfavor with which it is regarded by many. The latter circumstance is entirely due to two things; first, we find too frequently that it is the habit of house-keepers to pour boiling water on the leaves when the midday meal is cooked and to allow them to soak together until night, and second, the fact that lemon-juice is very commonly added to the tea before being drunk. The ice that the tea contains has little or nothing to do with the dyspeptic disturbances that frequently follow the drinking of cold tea. If we will leave out the lemon and pour off the water after it has been in contact with the tea leaves for something like a minute, it will be discovered that practically all of the ill effects usually ascribed to this palatable beverage have been done away with.