How to Brew the Perfect Cup or Pot of Tea....
What you’ll need:
- loose tea
- a teapot
- Tea Kettle
- bottled water
- a mesh strainer
- tea cup
How to brew your tea
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Fill your kettle with fresh cold water and heat until it reaches a boil
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Pour a little bit of water into teapot, swirl it around and discard the water. This will heat the teapot which will help keep your water at the proper temperature.
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Place 1 rounded teaspoon of tea the teapot for every 6 ounces the teapot holds. For example, if you have a 24oz teapot, use four rounded teaspoons of tea.
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Now it is time to pour the heated water into the teapot. If you are using black tea or a dark oolong, pour the boiling water into the teapot.
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If you are using green or white tea, boil water, wait 5 minutes for it to cool and pour the water into pot
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Steep tea for 3 minutes for green, 4 minutes for black. Do not over-steep.
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Pour the brewed tea into a teacup. I like to pour the tea through a mesh filter so the leaves do not get into my teacup.
Mistakes to avoid
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Pay attention to the steep time on the label of the tea you are using. You do not want to overstep your tea otherwise the tea will get bitter. The general rule is black tea should be steeped for 3 minutes, green, white lemon myrtle and oolong for 1 minute. This can vary greatly so be sure to experiment with each tea you own.
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Do not use poor quality water. Tap water contains a lot of chlorine and other chemicals. Since brewed tea is mostly water, you will taste all these chemicals in your tea. At a minimum, use filtered water.
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Avoid using the water at the wrong temperature when brewing your tea. If you use boiling water for your green teas, green oolong teas and lemon myrtle, they will burn and get bitter. Likewise, if you use water that is too cool on your black teas, they will taste weak and watery. The ideal temperature for black, dark oolong teas and rooibos is 220 degrees Fahrenheit. For lemon myrtle, green and white teas it is 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Be sure to use the proper amount of tea when brewing. If you use too little, your tea will be too weak. If you use too much you will be wasting your tea and your money. The ideal amount of tea to use is 2 grams, which roughly equals a rounded teaspoon.
Conclusion
As you can see the extra time and effort needed isn’t as big of a deal as some people make it out to be. Once you try tea the proper way, it will be hard to go back to large commercial brands.