It's easy to boil water and pour it over a tea bag, but to have the perfect cup of tea, you need a real art. Start by heating purified water to a boil, pour it over the tea of your choice, and steep until the flavor reaches the desired intensity and taste. The process is slightly different depending on whether it is green, black, white or herbal tea. Read on to learn how to proceed.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Preparing the Tea Supplies
Step 1. Choose your favorite tea
There is no limit to the types of tea you can buy. Choose from hundreds of types of green, black, white, red or herbal tea, each with a different flavor. You can buy it in bulk or already packaged in sachets. Choose the freshest tea you can find for best flavor and health benefits.
Choose a tea with the properties you are looking for. Know that green tea is known for its long-term health benefits, black tea gives a little jolt of caffeine while herbal tea could remedy anything from lack of sleep to digestive problems
Step 2. Decide how to filter it
If the tea is prepackaged in a sachet, the way to filter it is already determined. If you have loose tea instead, you will need a way to remove it from the water after brewing.
- You can buy empty tea bags and fill them with tea for each single use.
- Tea infusers are another very popular choice. It is better to use them with black tea than other types of tea that expand more during the infusion. To make a great cup of tea, the water must be free to flow freely through the leaves.
- Mesh infusers are a good choice for any type of tea.
- You can pour the water directly over the loose tea and strain it after infusing it using a fine mesh strainer.
Step 3. Prepare the accessories
What tools do you have for tea? You can make an entire teapot of tea if you have one teapot, or one cup at a time using a teacup and colander, infuser, or bag. Use the method that best suits your needs. Tea and water are the two most important components of a good cup of tea; accessories are secondary.
- That said, having a cute tea kettle or nice cup can add a little extra to the calming effect of drinking and enjoying tea. Drinking tea has been a ritual in many cultures for thousands of years. You can keep this tradition alive by creating your own tea drinking ritual, whether it's brewing one cup at a time in your favorite cup or using a beautiful ceramic teapot with cups and saucers.
- An important thing is the material from which the accessories are made. Heavy metals are ideal for those types of tea that must be prepared at high temperatures, thanks to their ability to retain heat, while less conductive materials are recommended for those types of tea that must be prepared at lower temperatures. Use glass for white, green, and herbal tea; porcelain for white, black, oolong and pu-erh.
Step 4. Use purified water if possible
Since tap water contains fluoride and other chemicals, using it to infuse tea could have a negative effect on the flavor. While tap water is still fine when needed, if you want to get the best flavor and benefits, use spring water or another type of pure filtered water.
Part 2 of 3: Prepare the perfect Cup or Teapot
Step 1. Measure your tea
If it is in a sachet, everything is ready for use. For loose tea, on the other hand, you will need approximately one teaspoon of tea for every 150-200 ml of water served. Use a teaspoon to measure the right amount in your sachet, mesh or egg infuser; put it in the cup or teapot you are using.
- Note that 150ml of water is the average content of a teacup. If you are making enough tea for a larger cup, you may need a little more.
- If you are making stronger, denser tea, such as many types of black tea, you can use a little less than a teaspoon per serving. For lighter ones, like green or herbal teas, use a little more. After the first few cups you prepare, you can start measuring your tea to taste it.
Step 2. Heat the water until it boils
Measure the right amount, depending on how many cups you want to make and bring it to a boil. No matter what kind of tea you are making, you will first need to bring the water to a full, roaring boil. You can do this quickly using a kettle, but it works well by filling a small saucepan with water and heating it on the stove over high heat. You can also use a microwave to heat the water, using a special resistant saucer.
Step 3. Preheat the cup
Pour some boiling water into an empty cup and mix. Let the whole cup warm to the touch. Drain the water and immediately pour the correct dose of tea into the cup. Suddenly pouring tea into the cup can cause the cup to crack; preheating it prevents this from happening.
Step 4. Pour the water over the tea
If you are making black tea, pour it directly boiling over the tea to begin the brewing process. For green, white or herbal teas, take it off the heat and wait 30 seconds after it stops boiling, then pour it over the tea. This protects the more delicate leaves from overcooking, which would result in a bitter taste. If you want to do this scientifically, use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water so that you can check the flavor of the tea.
- Black tea best infuses at a temperature of 95 ° C
- Green tea infuses at best between 74 ° and 85 ° C
- White tea it should be left to infuse at a temperature of 85 ° C
- Oolong tea best infuses at a temperature of 95 ° C
- Herbal teas they should be prepared using a temperature of 95 ° C
Step 5. Leave the tea to infuse
The amount of time you will let the tea brew depends on both the type of tea you are brewing and your personal taste. Experiment to find the best brewing time for your cup of tea.
- Black tea it should be allowed to infuse for 3 to 5 minutes
- Green tea it should be left to infuse for 2 to 3 minutes
- White tea it should be left to infuse for 2 to 3 minutes
- Oolong tea it should be allowed to infuse for 2 to 3 minutes
- Herbal teas it should be left to infuse for 4 to 6 minutes.
Step 6. Remove the leaves and enjoy your tea
Once the brewing time has elapsed, remove the tea leaves. The tea should have cooled down enough. Enjoy it straight or with honey, milk or sugar.
Part 3 of 3: Variants
Step 1. Make Iced Tea
Iced tea is made by brewing highly concentrated tea and adding water or ice to it to cool it. To do this, you'll need double the amount of tea leaves per serving. Iced tea is a fantastic refreshment for hot days and can be made with any type of tea. Cold herbal or fruit teas taste particularly delicious.
Step 2. Make tea in the sun.
It's a fun way to make tea using the natural heat of the sun's rays. Prepare a container of water and tea by placing it in the bright sun for a few hours, letting it infuse slowly. When the tea is strong enough, you can take out the tea bags and let it cool.
Step 3. Make a sweet American tea (with mint, lemon and honey).
You will find this variant in every restaurant in the Southern United States. Strong black tea is prepared, then sweetened with a lot of honey and lemon and poured ice over it.
Step 4. Mix the hot tea with the whiskey
If you have a sore throat, combining the healing powers of tea with the warming effect of whiskey can help relieve inflammation. Make a cup of your favorite brew to perfection, and add a shot of whiskey. Sweeten it with honey and sip it slowly.
Advice
- For iced tea, let it steep for 2.5 minutes. Allow it to cool completely before adding ice to prevent it from going numb.
- Some tea experts suggest letting the tea infuse more than necessary to extract the flavors. Consider that this could increase the extraction of tannins, substances contained in the tea that give the infusion a bitter taste.
- Throw away the used tea leaves in the wet.
- When making the tea, make enough for 1 or 2 days. Older teas are best thrown away.
