Babcia mówi, że najlepiej zaparzyć tę herbatę przez trzy minuty.

In Polish, a comma is normally placed before że when it introduces a subordinate clause.

So here:

• Babcia mówi = Grandma says
• że... = that...

The comma separates the main clause from the clause introduced by że.

This is standard Polish punctuation:

• Wiem, że masz rację. = I know that you are right.
• Myślę, że to dobry pomysł. = I think that it’s a good idea.

Że means that and introduces reported speech or a statement.

In this sentence, Babcia mówi, że... means Grandma says that...

It is very common after verbs like:

• mówić = to say
• myśleć = to think
• wiedzieć = to know
• sądzić = to believe / think

So że is linking what Grandma says to the content of what she says.

Najlepiej is an adverb, meaning best in the sense of it is best to... or best done this way.

Here it modifies the action zaparzyć:

• najlepiej zaparzyć = to brew it best / it is best to brew it

By contrast:

• najlepszy = best (masculine adjective)
• najlepsza = best (feminine adjective)
• najlepsze = best (neuter adjective)

Those adjective forms describe nouns, not actions.

Compare:

• To jest najlepsza herbata. = This is the best tea.
  
  • adjective, describing herbata
• Tę herbatę najlepiej zaparzyć... = This tea is best brewed...
  
  • adverb, describing how to do the action

After najlepiej, Polish often uses an infinitive to express a general recommendation:

• najlepiej zrobić = it is best to do
• najlepiej poczekać = it is best to wait
• najlepiej zaparzyć = it is best to brew

So the structure is basically:

• Babcia mówi, że najlepiej + infinitive...

It does not need a personal verb like zaparz ją here, because the sentence is giving general advice rather than a direct command.

Zaparzyć is the perfective verb, and parzyć is the imperfective one.

In this context, zaparzyć is more natural because it refers to a complete action: brewing the tea properly.

Very roughly:

• parzyć = to brew / to be brewing / to brew in general
• zaparzyć = to brew, prepare fully, steep successfully

Since Grandma is giving advice about how to prepare the tea, Polish often prefers the perfective infinitive:

• Najlepiej zaparzyć tę herbatę przez trzy minuty.

If you used parzyć, it would sound more like talking about the process in a more general or ongoing way.

Because herbatę is in the accusative case, and the demonstrative ta must match it.

The basic forms are:

• nominative: ta herbata = this tea
• accusative: tę herbatę = this tea (as the object)

Here, the tea is the direct object of zaparzyć, so accusative is required.

That is why both words change:

• ta → tę
• herbata → herbatę

In standard Polish, tę herbatę is the correct accusative form.

• ta herbata = nominative
• tę herbatę = accusative

Many native speakers say tą herbatę in everyday speech, and you will hear it a lot. However, in careful standard Polish, especially in writing or formal teaching, tę herbatę is preferred.

So for a learner:

• Use tę herbatę if you want the standard form.
• Recognize tą herbatę when listening, because it is very common colloquially.

Here przez trzy minuty means for three minutes.

The preposition przez is often used with a duration of time:

• przez minutę = for a minute
• przez godzinę = for an hour
• przez trzy dni = for three days

So:

• zaparzyć tę herbatę przez trzy minuty = brew/steep this tea for three minutes

This is about the length of time the action lasts.

Sometimes na trzy minuty appears in time expressions, but it does not mean exactly the same thing.

A useful contrast is:

• przez trzy minuty = for three minutes, describing duration
• na trzy minuty = for three minutes, often with a sense of setting, leaving, scheduling, or assigning something for that time

With tea, przez trzy minuty is the natural choice for steeping time.

So:

• Zaparz herbatę przez trzy minuty. = Steep the tea for three minutes.
  This is the normal way to express brew time.

Because Polish often uses an impersonal infinitive construction for general advice.

The sentence does not say:

• że ty najlepiej zaparzysz...
• że ktoś najlepiej zaparzy...

Instead it uses:

• że najlepiej zaparzyć...

This means something like:

• that it is best to brew...
• that the best thing is to brew...

English often uses it is in this kind of sentence, but Polish can simply use najlepiej + infinitive without adding an explicit subject.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English word order, although some versions sound more natural than others.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Babcia mówi, że najlepiej zaparzyć tę herbatę przez trzy minuty.

You might also hear:

• Babcia mówi, że tę herbatę najlepiej zaparzyć przez trzy minuty.

This version puts more focus on this tea.

Because Polish uses case endings, the grammatical roles are clear even if the order changes. But not every possible order sounds equally natural, so it is best to learn the most common patterns first.

A few pronunciation notes:

• że sounds roughly like zhe in measure, but with a harder Polish ż sound.
• tę contains ę, a nasal vowel. In careful speech, it is nasal, but in everyday pronunciation before some consonants or at the end of a word, it may sound less strongly nasal than learners expect.

For the whole sentence, a rough pronunciation guide might be:

• Babcia ≈ BAHP-cha
• mówi ≈ MOO-vee
• że ≈ zheh
• najlepiej ≈ nai-LEP-yay
• zaparzyć ≈ za-PA-zhych
• tę ≈ a nasal te
• herbatę ≈ her-BA-teh with nasal ę at the end
• przez trzy minuty ≈ pshezh tshi mee-NOO-tih

The biggest pronunciation challenges here for English speakers are usually:

• ż
• rz
• trz
• nasal vowels like ę

In this sentence, Babcia is capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.

Normally, babcia means grandma/grandmother and is not automatically capitalized in the middle of a sentence unless you are using it like a name in direct address or in a specially personal style.

Compare:

• Babcia mówi, że... = Grandma says that...
  
  • capitalized because it begins the sentence
• Moja babcia mówi, że... = My grandma says that...
  
  • lowercase in the middle

Yes. You can say:

• Babcia mówi, że najlepiej jest zaparzyć tę herbatę przez trzy minuty.

That is grammatical and understandable. However, najlepiej zaparzyć without jest is a little shorter and very natural.

Polish often omits jest in structures where English would use it is:

• Najlepiej poczekać. = It’s best to wait.
• Najlepiej zadzwonić jutro. = It’s best to call tomorrow.

So the original sentence sounds idiomatic and concise.

After przez, the phrase is in the accusative.

So:

• przez trzy minuty = for three minutes

With feminine nouns like minuta, the accusative plural is the same as the nominative plural:

• nominative plural: trzy minuty
• accusative plural: trzy minuty

That is why the form looks familiar and does not visibly change here.