Do You Know How To Brew Loose Tea?

Tea can be bought in bags or, if you are into herbal tea, you might purchase the herbs to make your own tea mixtures.Is brewing loose leaves any different than brewing bagged leaves?  Luckily, learning how to brew loose tea is not that much different than any other kind of tea.

A very important aspect when brewing tea that many people don't think about is the water.  You want to be sure to use the best water you can as even the finest tea can be ruined by water that is heavily chlorinated.  Water can also get “stale” meaning that it will absorb odors from the air around it.  Certainly you don’t want to use stale or chemical laden water for your fine brew.

Another thing to watch out for is calcium carbonate.  If you notice a white powder build up around your spout or drains then you probably have this in your water.  Don’t worry, it’s not harmful but it can make your tea darker.  Iron is another mineral you might have in your water that isn’t anything to worry about but it can affect the taste of your tea giving it somewhat of a metallic twang.

The next thing in learning how to brew loose tea is the temperature of the water. Of course you have to put the kettle on to boil and poured the water into your cup when it whistled, right? Well the truth is that boiling water can be too “aggressive” for tea. Use water that is almost boiling. If the water is too hot it can turn green tea bitter. Boilling water is okay for black tea, but for green it the water should be a bit less than boiling.  Oolong likes a lower temperature as does white. As for herbals, experiment you must so you can determine the temperature that give the best results.

Next, figure out the right amount of tea to put in the cup.  You’ll probably have to experiment with this too. Start with 1 teaspoon per cup and add or take away as needed.

It's common to steep some teas between 2 to 3 minutes.  The longer you steep it, the more caffeine, tannins and color you will get.  But some teas will become bitter if steeped too long due to the added tannins. If you like English style tea with milk, steep a little longer, but not too much longer.

One of the biggest questions about how to brew loose tea is how to avoid getting a lot of leaves and sticks in your drink!.  This has an easy answer. Buy a little strainer with holes in it, and put your loose tea inside. Next put in in the hot water in your cup, and swirl it till it looks dark enough. Then get a good book, and enjoy!