How to Brew a Great Cup of Tea

brewing time image

Good tea can be brewed many times. Notice the evolving color of each infusion. (Tea shown above: 2001 Hua Yuan Ripe Puerh Bowl)

 

As the Chinese say, good tea, good water, and good teaware are where all great cups of tea start. Now we're ready to brew some tea. But before doing so here are three more important factors to keep in mind when brewing up your favorite cup of loose leaf tea.

 

Quantity of Tea:

Whether preparing a cup or a whole pot the quantity of tea you use is important. Things to consider are the size of the vessel in which you plan to infuse the tea as well the variety of tea you're infusing. Make sure your teas have enough room to breath. Infused leaves can expand up to five times in size so we want to make sure the water is able to pass freely over the entire surface of the leaves.  See the guidlines below for some helpful tips. 

 

For more info see this article: "Quantity Matters".

 

 

Temperature of Water:

Not all teas are created equal. In order to get the best flavor and aroma out of every cup of loose leaf tea we need to be aware of what water temperature best suits what type of tea. For both green and white teas boiling water won't do. It tends to make the teas bitter, slightly acidic and in some cases will cause an excessively grassy aroma. As for black and oolong teas are concerned sub-boiling infusions are a no-no. These teas need boiling water to bring out the tea's best aromas and full body textures. Follow the list of guidelines below to get you started. Don't take our word for it though. Give it a try yourself. You won't be disappointed!

 

For more info see this article: "Water, The Mother of Tea".

 

 

Duration of Infusion:

Why haven't we mentioned infusion times? Well, this is our way of saying drinking tea is about experimenting and only through experimentation can we really determine what infusion times best suit our own palates. Concerning infusion times however we will mention that the length of each infusion affects the relative strength of each brew. As a rule of thumb we suggest starting with shorter infusion times and slowly increase each infusion according to your own taste preferences. If that's still not enough to convince you, each tea on our website is accompanied by a suggested brewing time which can be found in the 'Brewing' tab located on each individual tea product page.

 

 

Tea Brewing Table
Preferred Brewing Method (listed in order of preference)
Water Temperature
Quantity of Tea per 200ml/6.57oz Water
White Tea

Glass Cup

Ceramic Teapot

155?175?F

70?80?C

4-5 grams
Green Tea

Glass Cup

Ceramic Teapot

167?185?F

75?85?C

3-4 grams
Oolong Tea

Clay Teapot

Ceramic Teapot

212° F

100° C

7-9 grams
Black Tea

Clay Teapot

Ceramic Teapot

212?F

100?C

5-7 grams
Puerh Tea

Clay Teapot

Ceramic Teapot

 

212?F

100?C

5-7 grams

 

We've laid the basic foundation for you now it's time to go and brew some tea.  And don't forget loose leaf teas can be steeped multiple times!