- To make the tea stronger, don’t steep it for longer —unless it’s herbal. Steeping a tea for too long will make it bitter rather than strong. Instead, add more tea leaves or bags.
- As a general rule, use one level teaspoon or 2 grams for every cup you’re making. Fluffier ingredients like mint and chamomile or teas with larger leaves like green tea or oolong could use an extra teaspoon.A good starting point is one teaspoon of loose tea per cup of water. (Using this ration, a teapot that holds four cups of water will require four teaspoons of tea.)
- Getting your water to the correct temp is crucial—if the water is too hot, it will burn the tea. Too cool, and the tea will barely steep.For dark (pu-erh) teas and herbal infusions (tisanes), use boiling water.For black tea, bring the water to a boil, then take it off the heat and let it sit for 30 to 60 seconds.For green, white, and oolong teas, bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat, and wait for a minute or two.Finally, for any tea that’s really delicate—a particularly subtle white or green tea, say—wait even longer.
- Spring water is ideal for brewing, but not necessary for making a good cup of tea. If possible, use fresh cold water. Never use water directly from the hot water tap. Instead, if tap water is your only option, let the tap water run for a few seconds until it is quite cold; this ensures that the water is aerated (full of oxygen) to release the full flavor of the tea leaves.
- Try not to let your water reach a rolling boil, as that will release oxygen and result in a flat-tasting cup of tea.
- Many teas are good for a second (even third!) steeping. Multiple steepings can bring out more subtle flavors and notes. Commonly, oolong, green tea, white tea and pu-erh fall into this category. Give it a shot—you might end up liking the second infusion better than the first!
- Use twice as much tea as you normally would. This will make sure your iced tea is bold in flavor.
- Add your sugar or sweetener while the tea is still hot. If your iced tea is already chilled, we recommend adding agave nectar to sweeten your tea; unlike sugar or honey, agave will easily dissolve in cold tea.
- Pour the water over the tea and steep for 3 to 7 minutes-Just like the amount of tea you use, the time you spend steeping will come down to personal preference.Herbal infusions need the most steeping (5 to 7 minutes); white teas need the least (just a minute or two). For every other tea (black, green, oolong, dark), you can probably get away with 3 minutes. Taste the tea at this point—if you want it stronger, keep steeping!
- Don’t just let the tea hang out in the mug/pot forever, otherwise it will get tannic and bitter.
- Let the tea cool slightly before drinking-This sounds obvious, right? But this is about more than just temperature. Letting the tea cool slightly before you start drinking it will allow you to taste the tea’s subtle and delicate flavors. And sure, it will also prevent you from burning your mouth.
You can check out our hand-picked premium tea blends here https://natearal.com/shop/. Each tea has the correct temperature and brewing time noted for your convenience.
Wanna know more about any of our teas – head onto that tea’s specific page and read the additional info / did you know section .Some cool stuff in there.
Oh ,our experts also listed down what foods and drinks pair well with our teas.Amazing tips for all tea lovers out there.
See you on a cup of tea!
The Natearal Team