For hydration, while I lived with the Zen master, he recommended buying the tea gear. Once you buy the tea from him, be able to store the tea. Then when it's time to brew the tea, have the appropriate gear to drink two gallons of hot tea per day. As my practice evolved, I also realized that the same mechanism can be used to drink regular water, but with the same quantity. I don't buy any tea except from the Zen master. This is my devotion to him. I only want to buy tea from him. If I buy ready made tea out of necessity once in awhile, for example Starbucks, that is an exception. However for my zen practice, I only love his tea. One time, I was in the Ferry Building in San Francisco and visited a tea store. The store owner, a lover of the tea. The employee was a tea drinker herself. She showed me lots of competitive teas, that is, pu erh tea, which is what Zen master teaches with, green or red. The pu erh tea is one of the oldest traditions in China. However, my intuition said no. He would be mad if he finds out that I am buying tea from other sources. So I left the store. Recipe: Order a Stanley thermos. The thermos can be bought at Amazon and other camping stores. Stanley is one of the oldest brands. It is also used in Military. It is solid and unbreakable. Luckily, when I was ready for tea practice, I received the 100 years anniversary model. Zen master was amazed. The thermos holds 64 oz of water. The water stays hot for 24 - 36 hours. Order an electric tea kettle. This is the most convenient way to boil water. Boiling water removes the impurities. The zen master uses a wooden stove. He loves to chop wood, and uses that to create the wood element in his tea. His stove is metal and a collector's item. This goes back to the ancient zen practice, having earth (tea), water, fire (heat), wood and metal for his practice. Take pu erh tea, small amount and add to the thermos. Add the boiling water into the thermos. Let the tea soak in for 15 minutes. The hot tea is now ready for consumption! Drink the whole thermos. Once finished, don't remove the pu erh tea, rather add more boiling water again. Study the difference. According to the zen master, the whole reason behind drinking tea is drinking water. With lesser tea in the water, the vibration of the tea changes. This is called palate work. Study the lighter dimension of the tea. Taste the difference. Allow your palate to experience the change. Soon enough, everything will start to taste better. Food will be delicious again. Wine would show up wide variety of flavors. This is the key and goal of the zen master, tea practice.