Drink Loose Leaf Tea: How to Enjoy every cup of tea

Many people think of tea as being one of the easiest beverages to prepare.  And they are right.  But like anything there is the right way, and the wrong way to do things.  Even with two simple ingredients: loose leaf tea and water – you must take care with how you prepare the tea.

The easiest way that I can recommend on how to steep the very best cup of loose leaf tea is to break it down into simple to follow steps!

Step 1:

Great tea starts with great water

Funny enough you should always start off with the purest water possible: I recommend using spring water.  Tap water with fluoride can alter the taste of tea and so for the purest tasting cup of loose leaf tea stick with spring water.  Never microwave your water! Instead bring it to a rolling boil, but be sure not to over boil the water.  Depending on what type of loose leaf tea you are steeping you may want to remove it from the heat prior to it boiling, as sometimes boiling water can damage the subtle flavors of some teas (especially white tea).  I have heard that the essential oils that are released during steeping can actually be burned by intense heat – so be careful!

Here is a general table that you can follow for temperatures, depending on what type of tea you are steeping:

Chinese green teas 70º C to 95º C
Japanese green teas 60º C to 85º C
Semi-oxidized teas (such as Oolong) 95º C
Black teas 95º C
White teas 70º C to 85º C

Step 2:

Time to infuse!

When its time to infuse your loose leaf teas try to avoid metal infusers – or if you must do not fill them more than a third of the way.  It’s vital that the leaves are given enough space to properly unfold.  You would be surprised at the difference in depth of flavor when you give the leaves a chance to fully expand.  A great alternative is to use t-sac tea filters, provided by Herbal Infusions , I find these to be really useful, especially at the office.  Metal and steel can also alter the taste of the tea – and can be hazardous if they have been cheaply made.  I once put an infuser that a coworker picked up at a dollar store in a cup for a few days and rust started to form – not something you would want to be ingesting!

Step 3:

Watch that first steep

While you are preparing your tea as in step #2, you also want to make sure you are preparing your tea pot.  Start with rinsing it thoroughly with boiling water – this helps to ’season’ or prepare the teapot for the infusion.   It also helps to keep your tea warmer for a prolonged period of time as it heats the teapot.  You can also use a tea cosy…hey whatever floats your boat.

The first steep (when referring to Camelia Sinensis) has the most caffeine.  If you want to cut the caffeine (go decaf, or close to it) then steep your tea for 1 minute, toss the tea then re-steep.  Most of the caffeine comes out within the first minute of steeping. If you are enjoying Herbal teas then most are naturally caffeine free!

Try to keep an eye on the infusion as it can be very easy to over steep a tea to the point of it being too strong. If that becomes the case you can always dilute the tea or toss it and start again.  I prefer to dilute the tea or put it aside for iced tea.

Step 4:

Clean up time

When rinsing your teapot out try to avoid abrasive soaps or chemicals.  I stick with a bit of baking soda or diluted vinegar and warm water.  If you do have the opportunity try to stick to using different tea pots for different teas.  Black teas in one, maybe green and white in another.  The teas can really absorb into the pots and come out in subsequent infusions so keep this in mind.