Anybody can boil water, but not everybody knows the few key components needed to brew the perfect pot of tea. Water quality, tea quality, tea quantity, temperature, and the proper tools, are essential to bring out the full expression of the leaf.

Items you may need to brew your tea:

• Tea Strainer
• Tea ball
• Tea bags (that you can stuff with loose leaf tea)

Freshly brewed loose leaf Oolong tea

Water quality
Starting with good water is crucial to creating a delicious pot of tea. If the water is highly chlorinated, that flavor will be transferred to your tea. Hard water is also a problem for tea drinkers. Not only does the hard water add unwanted minerals and impurities, it can also corrode your tea pot. If you’re unfortunate enough to have hard water or highly chlorinated water, you would be better off using bottled or filtered water to make your tea.

Tea quality
Always use loose leaf tea for optimal flavor. Pre-bagged, grocery store teas are pulverized into tiny particles to allow for quick diffusion. They are produced for convenience, not quality. Flavor bearing essential oils evaporate rapidly from these pulverized teas. This is why grocery store teas are often bland. Stick with loose leaf tea if you want the full scope the leaves flavor.

Tea Quantity
Make sure you are using the correct proportion of tea to water suggested by the producer. Generally speaking, 1tsp of to each cup (8 oz.) of water should yield a tasty brew. However, feel free to adjust to your preference. Some herbal and green blends may require a smidge more than the 1tsp rule. See our tea guide for the proper portions and steeping times for teas based on variety.

Temperature
Start off by filling your pot with cold rather than hot water. Cold water contains more oxygen which aerates the tea, releasing it’s flavor. Black teas should be steeped in water that has been brought to a rolling boil, about 190-210 degrees Fahrenheit and steeped for 3-4 minutes. Green and other delicate teas (some herbal varieties) should be steeped in water that has been removed from the heat source just before it has begun to boil. Extremely hot water can burn green tea and give it a bitter flavor. If you think the water might be too hot… add 1 part cold water to 3 parts boiling to cool it down before steeping. Green tea should be steeped in water between 170-190 degrees Fahrenheit.

To Prepare the Tea:

1. Fill your pot with the appropriate amount of cold, filtered, water
2. Bring to a rolling boil for black tea or remove water from the heat source just before boiling for green tea
3. Gently pour water over the producer suggested quantity of tea for your serving size
4. Let tea step for 1-3 minutes for green or herbal teas, 3-4 minutes for black tea
5. Remove tea leaves and serve

Quality teas can be infused multiple times. In fact, tea looses almost all of it’s caffeine content after the first steeping. If you are sensitive to caffeine, steep the tea once, discard, and re-steep the tea for a caffeine-free cup. See our article on caffeine content in tea for more information.

Tags: black tea, brewing, brewing tea, green tea, preparing tea, steap time, steeping tea, tea, tea infusers