Preparing a cup of tea might seem an easy task, pouring hot water over dried tea, wait to infuse and enjoy. Often though, you will hear people say that tea is too dark, too bitter, too strong or just not pleasant to drink. Hence, many feel the need to add milk, sugar, honey etc.
Choose your preferred full leaf tea from our extensive tea collection.
As a general rule, add one teaspoon of dried tealeaves per 150ml cup and for larger tealeaves, like Pai Mu Tan, add one tablespoon per 150ml cup.
Pour heated water over the tealeaves, cover the teapot and let it infuse.
It is best to use fresh cold water for every new cup, do not re-heat previously boiled water. Fresh water yields better cup of tea, we recommended using filtered, bottled or spring water.
Water temperature is essential. Never boil the water, unless it is for hygienic reasons. At boiling point, water looses oxygen, which is necessary to transfer the aromas of the tea.
Excessively high water temperature “burns” the fine tea leaves, destroys the amino-acids and accelerates the elimination of polyphenols making the tea bitter. Likewise, too low temperature will not unroll the very tight tea leaves, like oolongs or compressed teas.
Depending on the tea type, the infusion time varies. It is a highly debatable topic and it is only a matter of personal taste. Normally, high quality tea leaves require shorter steeping time than the standard quality ones.
When steeping time is over, remove the tealeaves from the pot immediately. Do not over–cook the tea.
*For a stronger cup of tea, increase your tea quantity not the steeping time. It is advised to stick to the steeping time to avoid bitterness from over steeping.
| TEA TYPE | WATER TEMPERATURE | STEEPING TIME |
|---|---|---|
| White | 80-85 | 1-3 min |
| Oolong | 85-95 | 2-4 min |
| Black | 90-98 | 3-5 min |
| Pu Erh | 90-98 | 3-5 min |
| Herbal | 90-98 | 5-7 min |
Heating the water to the recommended temperature is easier with a temperature controled kettle. We like this Breville kettle to make the process painless.
Tea leaves are very absorbent of odors, keeping it away from coffee, spices, cheese or any other strong smelling food is important.
Biggest tea enemies are light, humidity and odors. In order to prolong the quality of your tea, never keep the tea in a glass container.