How to brew tea
What is the best water to brew tea?
Use fresh water each time you prepare tea. Artesian spring water is preferred over tap water.
Tap water should be avoided due to municipal water treatments which add chlorine and fluoride and can greatly affect the true flavor of your tea. Purified and spring waters differ in mineral content, and therefore must be chosen based on personal taste.
Never use hot tap water to speed up the boiling process. This adds additional impurities from your home's water heater.
How long should I steep tea?
How long you steep your tea depends on how strong of a tea flavor you prefer. Whole leaf teas take a notably longer time to reach their optimum flavor.
OUR GENERAL RULE OF THUMB:
For herbal tea and black tea: 4 to 5+ minutes
For white tea and green tea: 3 to 4 minutes. These can become bitter if over-steeped.
TEA TIP
Try steeping tea for 2 minutes, then start sipping every 30 seconds until you find your ideal flavor. (Traditional paper tea bags have a much shorter steep time - 2 min or less - because the cut of the tea is much finer.)
How does the water temperature affect tea?
If black and herbal teas are not steeped at hot enough temperatures, they can lack the full depth and breadth of flavor.
Meanwhile, for green and white teas, adding water that’s too hot can scald the tea and release an off flavor.
Tea Tip
Steep black, herbal and red teas at full boil (around 208˚ - 212˚F) and green and white teas just off-boil (around 170˚ - 185˚F). Don’t forget that altitude affects your boil temp. Where we live, at 6,600 feet above sea level, water boils at 200˚F (which means we often burn our mouths on that first sip of tea at sea level.)
More Tea Brewing Tips
1. When possible, use filtered water as the minerals in water absolutely affect the tea’s flavor.
2. Many teas, like ourJasmine Petal green tea, can be steeped multiple times. Notice how the flavors change with each “wash” of the tea.
3. Try steeping Japanese-style greens or white tea at a very low water temperature (140˚F) for a long, long time. This will give a nice gentle flavor with low caffeine release.
4. Try infusing tea in cool water. Add a sachet or to two a glass jar in your fridge and leave overnight. Or pop one of our Purpose-Filled Teas in your water bottle and start sippin'.
5. Sensitive to caffeine? Smaller tea leaf, hotter water, and longer steep will all result in higher caffeine extraction. Even decaf teas contain small amounts of caffeine. However, herbal “tisanes” are naturally caffeine-free.
How do I measure loose leaf tea?
To prepare loose leaf tea, use 1 teaspoon of loose tea per large cup (that's how the teaspoon got its name!). Or use a kitchen scale to measure out the perfect cuppa.
We recommend around 2.5 or 2.7 grams, depending on the type of tea and personal preference.
What tools do I need to brew tea?
Not sure what teaware you need to brew your perfect cuppa?
This is different for every tea lover but in general we recommend: