[Militis]

Okay, I just saw the pole and I got curious. I drink a lot of tea (mainly cause I like it and partly because we happen to have a whole cupboard full of it). But I have a few questions for the tea drinkers of the forum. I have re-used tea bags before because it seams wasteful to use one bag out of a box of six and just throw it away. It isn't as strong as the first time, but if brewed long enough is almost the same. I was wondering if you get the same nutrients and affects after the first time. I would probably only want to re-use it once, but I haven't tried it a third time so I don't know what it is like. Has anyone tried a third time? Is is ok? Does anyone else think it is worth it to re-use tea bags?

And another thing. I realize that living in America yields drinking tea from major companies and so they are never as good as homemade tea like in China or Japan. I was wondering if there is another way to make tea. I have only seen it done by sticking a tea bag into hot water and letting it sit. How did it used to be done? If you just stuck a bunch of leaves and herbs into hot water, you would have to pick out all of the leaves, so I don't get how it was efficiently done 1000 years ago. Thanks for the help.