[gregn]

This is correct. Boiling water scalds the tea giving it a burnt-out taste. Of course this depends on the tea. I find it less true for black tea such as Darjeeling (my personal favorite), but for green tea it is absolutely imperative or lest the liquid produced be undrinkable.

All this talk about boiling water must have to do with the pathetic quality of the tea being used, like hotness masks the flavor of inferior saki.