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Last Updated: Mar. 5, 2012Brewing tea is the act of steeping tea in hot water. It is one of the most important steps in making a cup of tea. The quality and character of a cup of tea is as much dependent on the method of brewing as it is on the type and quality of tea used. Different teas are typically brewed in different ways. Improper brewing can lead to unpleasant characteristics, ranging from teas being weak or thin to being too bitter, sour, or astringent, sometimes even to the point of being undrinkable. However, proper brewing of teas can bring out various pleasing aspects of the aroma and/or flavor. Brewing is largely a matter of personal taste.
The main variables in brewing tea are:
A tea ball
A thermometer is not needed in order to assess brewing temperature for your own personal brewing, but beverage thermometers can be helpful for getting precise measurements to share your experiences with others. Since brewing is a matter of personal taste, experimentation is important, and consistency is more important than exact temperature. One can bring water to a boil and then let it sit for a fixed period of time in order to let it cool. Another useful technique is to watch the size and pattern of bubbles forming in a pot; this provides a valuable clue about temperature when the water is in the range of about 180°F (82°C) to boiling.
We also have an article that goes into more depth about the best brewing temperature for different teas.
Brewing Tea
Wikipedia: Tea#PreparationLast Updated: Mar. 5, 2012Brewing tea is the act of steeping tea in hot water. It is one of the most important steps in making a cup of tea. The quality and character of a cup of tea is as much dependent on the method of brewing as it is on the type and quality of tea used. Different teas are typically brewed in different ways. Improper brewing can lead to unpleasant characteristics, ranging from teas being weak or thin to being too bitter, sour, or astringent, sometimes even to the point of being undrinkable. However, proper brewing of teas can bring out various pleasing aspects of the aroma and/or flavor. Brewing is largely a matter of personal taste.
The main variables in brewing tea are:
- Amount of Leaf Used
- Temperature of Water
- Length of Steeping Time
- Vessel Used for Brewing
- Quality of Water
A tea ball
How and where to brew your tea?
One of the best ways to brew loose tea is to place loose leaves directly in a teapot and then strain the leaves out when pouring the tea to serve. This technique works best for whole-leaf teas. Another option can be to use a tea infuser (such as a tea ball or cylinder) that sits inside a teapot or mug and contains the tea. When using an infuser, make sure to use one that gives the leaves enough room to expand so that the flavor and aroma can diffuse into the water.Use different temperatures for green, black, white, or oolong tea:
Different varieties of tea require different brewing technique for the best drinking experience. The optimal brewing temperature for tea is a question of personal taste, and the guidelines given here are only a starting point to help you discover what works best for you. Typically, black teas are brewed with boiling water, and green teas with water well below boiling, ranging from 160-180°F (72-82°C), and sometimes lower. White teas are typically brewed like green teas, using lower-temperature water. Oolong teas and more delicate black teas are usually best brewed with water slightly below boiling, 190-200°F (88-93°C). Herbal teas are very diverse and hard to generalize about, but most are brewed with boiling water.
We also have an article that goes into more depth about the best brewing temperature for different teas.
Steep whole-leaf tea longer than broken-leaf tea:Whole-leaf tea typically requires a longer steeping time because water diffuses slowly through the intact leaves. Broken-leaf tea, especially fine particles such as the fannings or dust used in most teabags, infuses very quickly. Some finely-broken leaves can rapidly acquire unpleasant bitterness or astringency if left to steep too long. In general, fannings often steep in two minutes or less, and whole-leaf tea frequently requires 3 minutes or more, although this varies greatly from tea to tea and is also a matter of taste. |  Fannings from Upton Tea |  Whole-Leaf Tea Upton Tea |
Experiment!
Brewing tea is a matter of taste. People often enjoy brewing tea at different temperatures or for different lengths of time from those recommended by the tea company, tea experts, or their friends. Experiment with brewing each tea in different ways, and figure out which way you like best. Also consider experimenting with multiple infusions, especially if you are brewing whole-leaf oolong, pu-erh, or green tea. Use this page and the recommendations of others as a suggestion, not an authoritative guideline.External guides on brewing tea:
- English Tea Store's How to Make Tea - A perspective most useful for tea in the British style.
- Life in Teacup's Guide to Brewing Tea - An interesting and somewhat unusual perspective, most useful for brewing tea in the Chinese style, especially useful for oolongs.
- Obubu Tea's Steeping Techniques - An outstanding collection of articles on different ways of brewing tea, most applicable to Japanese green teas.