Is it really necessary to teach someone how to brew tea? Isn’t it the most basic thing in the world?
Both yes and no. You can certainly microwave a mug of water, add a bag of tea, and go about your business. When you understand how to properly make tea, though, you may avoid drinking weak mugs of hot, brownish water and instead enjoy robust pots of something pleasant and energizing.
So, if you ever want to put that pot of coffee down, have a look at our guide to learning how to brew tea properly. It may appear complicated at first, but with just one practice run, you’ll be brewing tea like a pro—quickly and perfectly.
There are thousands of different tea kinds, but they all fall into one of five categories: white, green, oolong, black, or dark (the dominating dark being Pu-erh from China’s Yunnan Province). The degree to which the tea leaves are oxidized during processing is the main variation between them. The more work done to the leaves, the darker the tea will be.
What exactly is it? You want chamomile and rooibos, right? Herbal infusions or tisanes are herbal infusions, not teas. However, they’re made in the same way as tea, so keep reading.
Measure out your tea once you’ve decided on it. Because the ideal tea-to-water ratio is subjective—some people enjoy stronger teas, while others prefer lighter teas—you’ll want to experiment. However, one teaspoon of loose tea per cup of water is a decent beginning point. (A teapot that holds four cups of water will require four tablespoons of tea using this ration.)
Are you using tea bags? Approximately 1 teaspoon of tea is held in most bags. Use one for a single cup of tea, or several if creating a pot.
Related articles:
1.How to make green tea – Tips for Tea Lovers
2.Caffeine in green tea vs coffee: Which has more?
3.How to make green tea in the Vietnamese way
Choose and measure out your tea
It’s critical to get your water to the right temperature; if it’s too hot, the tea will burn. If the temperature is too low, the tea will hardly steep.
To make matters even more complicated, different teas require varying water temperatures. Black, dark, and herbal teas prefer hot water; green, white, and oolong teas prefer colder water. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Use boiling water (212°F) for dark (pu-erh) teas and herbal infusions (tisanes).
You can bring the water to a boil, then remove it from the heat and set it aside for 30 to 60 seconds (the water is around 200°F).
Bring the water to a boil for green, white, and oolong teas, then remove from the heat and wait a minute or two—you want the tea to be between 158°F and 185°F.
Finally, any tea that is exceptionally delicate—say, a delicate white or green tea—should wait even longer. You’ll need water that’s around 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to brew tea: Fill the teapot fully with water and steep for 3 to 7 minutes.
The amount of time you spend steeping is a personal choice, just like the amount of tea you use. (You, like your cup of tea, are a lovely, one-of-a-kind snowflake.) White teas require the least steeping (5 to 7 minutes), whereas herbal infusions require the longest (just a minute or two). You can definitely get away with 3 minutes for any other tea (black, green, oolong, or dark). At this point, taste the tea; if you want it stronger, steep it longer! But don’t leave the tea in the mug/pot for too long, or it will become tannic and harsh.
Before consuming, allow the tea to cool somewhat.
Isn’t this self-evident? But it’s not just about the temperature. Allowing the tea to cool somewhat before drinking allows you to appreciate the subtle and delicate tastes of the tea. And, of course, it will keep your tongue from burning.
How do you take your tea?
Lemon, sugar, and milk?
Throughout the 1700s, as sugar imports from the Caribbean islands increased, the English popularized and the Americans embraced the practice of drinking tea with milk and sugar. According to legend, by 1800, the English were eating 212 pounds of tea and 17 pounds of sugar per capita.
Another popular addition to the traditional English afternoon tea tradition was lemon. With each cup of tea, guests can choose the option of milk or lemon slices. (Tip: Doing both may cause the milk to curdle due to the acid in the lemon.) There is evidence that adding lemon and sugar to tea was a widespread practice in India, some Arab and African countries, and Russia at various times throughout history. And the original late-nineteenth-century Southern American sweet tea recipes asked for a lot of sugar, a lot of ice, and a hefty dosage of lemon for flavor.
So, what’s the deal with these chemicals becoming so popular? One purpose was to show off their affluence in a social setting. Having tea, sugar, milk, or ice on hand to serve guests used to be a sign of wealth and prestige, as most of these products were considered a luxury that not everyone could buy. There was also a limited supply of imported tea at one time, and not all of it was of the greatest quality. As a result, these chemicals would have aided in the flavouring of a lower-quality tea, making it taste better and more palatable.
Tea is now more widely available and admired for the seemingly endless range of tea varieties and flavor profiles available. A tea that is taken straight and pure, without any additives such as milk or sugar, can be more enjoyed for its various delicate and subtle flavors of the actual tea, much like superb wine.