A Quick and Easy Guide to Brewing Perfect Tea
How to Brew The Perfect Cup of Tea
For black, herbal, rooibos teas, or tisanes, remember 5-1-1:
5 – minutes brew time
1 – teaspoon of tea
1 – cup of boiling water
For oolong, green, and white tea, remember 3-1-1:
3 – minutes brew time
1 – teaspoon of tea
1 – cup of "just below the boil" water or between 165 degrees and 185 degrees.
How to Brew the Perfect Pot of Hot Tea
- Start by selecting your favorite tea.
- Fill the kettle with cold, filtered water and begin heating.
- Warm the teapot with hot water.
- Discard the water in the teapot.
- Using an infuser basket or tea filter, add 1 teaspoon of tea per cup to the pot.
- Pour the hot or boiling water over the leaves in the pot. Allow to brew for the appropriate time.
- Remove the leaves from the tea and serve!
A tip for you - measure how much water your teapot holds so you know how much tea to use. We have found that some "two" cup teapots are really three cup teapots.
How to Brew the Perfect Pot of Iced Tea
The rule of thumb for iced teas is to use 2 teaspoons of tea for 8 ounces of water. This helps the flavor of the tea stay strong and bold, without getting watered down by the ice.
- Bring fresh drawn, cold water to a boil.
- For black tea, rooibos, and herbal tisanes pour immediately over tea and steep 5 minutes.
- For green, oolong, and white tea, let water stand for a minute or two and then pour over tea. Steep for 3 minutes.
- Pour over one cup of ice and enjoy!
The above is a starting guide for time and temperature. For example, you might like your particular blend of black tea very strong and use a heaping teaspoon per cup instead of a level teaspoon. If the steeping time is lengthened by much, you might feel your cup of tea is bitter. A natural part of the leaf, called a tannin, are released from the tea leaves after seven minutes and are bitter tasting to most people.
If you are looking for more flavor, we recommend adding more tea leaves, not more steeping time.