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The Perfect Cup of Tea
There are many ways to brew loose tea. Here are some basics.
Start with 1 teaspoon of tea leaves or herbs for every 6 oz. cup of tea. Then adjust to your own taste.
Place the desired amount into the mesh strainer of a teapot or tea ball. Never fill more than half way to allow the tea leaves to expand. Tea leaves can also be placed directly into the water and strained after steeping.
Always use fresh water, the type of water you use will affect the taste of the tea, the better the water the better the taste of the tea.
The next factor to a great cup of the tea is the temperature of the water; this will vary based on the type of tea being brewed. Use the chart below to determine the right temperature.
Herbal (tisanes)— Rolling Boil
Black Teas — 200 degrees F
Oolong Teas — 190 degrees F
White Teas — 180 degrees F
Green Teas & Yerba Mate — 160 degrees F
You can use a kitchen thermometer till you get a feel for the right temperature, error to the cooler as you learn to brew, if the water is too hot it will scald the tea leaves, and can make your tea bitter.
Add the desired amount of heated water.
After the water has been added the next step is to allow the tea "steep". (Sit and soak)
It is than preferred to cover the cup or tea pot.
Steep Times
Herbal Beverage 5 — 8 minutes
Herbal for Medicinal Purposes 10 — 15+ minutes
Black Teas 3 — 5 minutes
Oolong Teas 1 — 5 minutes
White Teas 2 — 8 minutes
Green Teas 1 — 3 minutes
Yerba Mate 3 — 5 minutes
Just as with water temperature, steeping time will affect the taste of the tea, error to the lesser time till you find your personal preference. Green teas especially can become bitter with water that's too hot and initial steep times that are to long.
After steeping remove tea ball or strain. Add lemon, a sweetener, milk or juice to taste if you so desire. (Yes, fruit juice is commonly added to yerba mate in Brazil.)
Many high quality teas can be steeped multiple times. It's been said Oriental royalty would not drink tea from the first steep. Try a 2nd and 3rd steep for yourself and see how the flavor becomes more refined.
Herbal teas (tisanes) are not usually infused more than once, when used medicinally, boiling water and long steep times are used because the intent is to extract the medicinal properties of the herb and not delicate flavor.
We explain more about this and the other ways to prepare herbs on the Making Herbal Preparations page.