How To Brew Your Tea
These are some techniques which you can practise which will
help you brew a more delicious tea as compared to your previous
cups.
Clean Equipments
Before making your tea, check to be sure your teapot and
utensils are clean. While this seems obvious, kettles, teapots,
cups, strainers and other tea accessories need to be gently
washed on a regular basis with soap or baking soda (even if
they are just used for boiling water or brewing tea).
This helps to remove mineral deposits and old residue that
can taint the flavor of your freshly made brew.
Use Cold, Good-Tasting Water
Since tea is comprised of 99% water, the type of water you
use will affect the clarity and taste of your beverage. So if
your water tastes good then your tea will taste good.
The best type of water to use when brewing tea is filtered
or bottled water (not distilled water) that is free of
chemicals and chlorine.
Water and Steeping
For each cup of tea you prepare, you will want to heat 6
ounces of water. So if you are making a pot of tea, be sure you
have pre-measured the amount of water the pot holds. The water
temperature and length of steeping time varies by the blend of
tea you are brewing.
The time it takes to brew tea correlates to the size of the
leaf in your blend. This means the larger the leaf the longer
the brewing time.
Steeping times also vary with the amount and type of tea
selected. In general, we recommend using more tea and steeping
for shorter periods so you can steep the tea several times
over. Depending on the tea, the second or third steeping is
often considered the best.
Here are some general tea brewing guidelines for water
temperature and steeping times. Adjust the heat and time based
on your individual preferences.
Black:
- Water Temp: 195-210 F
- Steeping Time: 3-5 minutes
Oolong:
- Water Temp: 185-200 F
- Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes
Green:
- Water Temp: 165-185 F
- Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes
White:
- Water Temp: 160-175 F
- Steeping Time: 2-3 minutes
Herbal/Tisanes:
- Water Temp: 205-210 F
- Steeping Time: 3-5 minutes
Amount of Tea
To maximize taste, it is preferable to brew tea leaves in
loose form rather than using a small tea ball or infuser (yet
these accessories are popular, convenient, and yield tasty
brews). This allows the leaves to fully open and release all
their flavor.
Use 1 teaspoon of whole leaf tea for each 6 ounce cup you
are brewing. This is the standard for compact blends. If you
are brewing tea that has a lot of volume, consider using up to
two tablespoons per serving.
If you want the convenience of using a tea bag or sachet,
simply use one for every cup of tea you are making. The key to
good tasting brew is to make sure your tea bags are always
fresh.
The tea in commercially produced bags is typically comprised
of small pieces of leaves or fannings that are susceptible to
becoming stale faster than the well-stored loose leaf
variety.
Temperature
Only the proper temperature will draw out the best flavors
of the leaf. While boiling water can be poured directly on
black tea, water for green tea should be cooled first by
decanting the water into a second vessel, it is health benefit
plus. All teas have three primary flavors; sweetness,
bitterness and astringency. The larger amounts of amino acids
found in higher quality green teas, for example, deliver a
sweetness that is only drawn out with cooler temperatures. To
help in controlling the temperature, warm the cups and vessel
beforehand.
Serving
When your tea is done steeping, immediately remove the loose
tea from the strainer or the tea bag and lightly stir. Then
serve while fresh and hot. If your tea gets too cool, it is
best to enjoy it over ice verses re-heating the brew.
Depending on your preference, you can enjoy drinking your
beverage plain or with a bit of milk, lemon, honey or sugar. In
Asia , people typically drink tea without accompaniments.
In England , a small amount of milk is often added for extra
body and smoothness. In Russia , brewing tea and adding lemon
is common. Raspberry jam is sometimes added for
sweetness.
Yet, brewing tea is all about the experience and how you
take your tea is a matter of individual taste and enjoyment.
Experiment until you find a combination that suits your palette
“to a tea.”
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