Slow brewing

SIR – I think that Boris Johnson and all the other teabag users are best to leave us if they consider teabags any way to prepare a cup of tea (Letters, November 24).

Many problems are on the way to being solved as I ponder the world while waiting five minutes for my brew made with loose-leaf tea – in a pot if others join me, or in a mesh ball if I’m on my own. Loose-leaf tea is also less expensive per cup than plasticcontaining teabags, which pollute our environment – so really there is no excuse. Tony Parrack London SW20

SIR – Tea should be made in a warmed china pot. Leaf tea is added to one’s preferred strength and infused with water, boiled but not boiling.

This fragrant (and far more delicious) infusion should be rested for a few moments and then poured through a strainer into a china cup – or mug if you must. Finally, add either milk or sliced lemon. This soothing ritual affords a moment of calm in a hectic day, and allows one to consume a second and third cup without having to leap up to dunk another bag. Felicity Thomson

Symington, Ayrshire