“Whoever wrote that piece of claptrap should be hanged from their tonsils.” Agent Des balled the printout and threw it behind him. “Hate tea? What nonsense is this? Not to mention, why the karak did I get an MLP fic? I didn't even watch the show!”

I like to drink my black and oolong tea varieties without sugar.

Unless I'm putting milk in. Then a little sugar brings out all the lovely complex flavors, especially if it's something like Earl Grey, whose citrusy floral notes would get buried under the dairy without a bit of sweetness to boost them. Any flavored black tea can benefit from sweetening, really. I typically use about half a teaspoon in my 12-oz mug. If it's spicy, though, like a chai, I use a full teaspoon. Chai is supposed to be sweet.

Of course, there's also the lemon-and-honey-and-maybe-whiskey route, which is excellent if you've got a sore throat. I've only done that with a robust black tea, like a breakfast blend. Wouldn't try it with, say, a Darjeeling.

I usually drink green teas straight, but if I feel like sweetener, only honey will do—these days, I like creamy honeys better than your standard amber honey. It can be really nice with your more astringent greens, like gunpowder or the historical Hyson tea I picked up in DC a couple years ago. Obviously not with genmaicha, though. That would be weird.

Then there's herbals, which I suppose you could discount as not actually tea if you're being a purist, but I will say that fruity teas (or infusions, if you like) need sugar. It's fruit, for crying out loud; and they tend to be rather acidic. Sweetness balances acid.

The trick, of course, is not to overdo it. You're adding sweetness to enhance the flavor of your tea; if you add so much that all you can taste is sugar, you're doing it wrong.

If you really want to get adventurous, try adding salt sometime. Salt interferes with bitter flavors, so if you accidentally oversteeped your brew, a tiny bit of salt will fix you up.

~Neshomeh, tea guru.

I'm no heretic.