| How to Make the Perfect Cup of Tea |
| Posted by Phuong on Aug 24th, 2011 |
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Have you ever bought a really nice bag of tea and it ended up tasting horrible? You can buy the most expensive tea, but if it is brewed wrong, you're just wasting your money. The most important factors for making a great cup of tea are the volume of tea, steeping time, water temperature, and water quality.  Koni 5 Cup Teapot with Infuser and Koni Double Wall Mugs are buy 1, get one FREE this week! Volume  Click on image to visit us at Koni Tea. Each Koni tea has a specific recommendation for the amount of tea that should be used. If you use too little, you will have a weak tasting tea. If you use too much, you will get a bolder tasting tea but you run the risk of getting a bitter cup. For example, one of my guy friends wanted to "get a jolt" from his tea and quadrupled the amount of leaves when he made a cup of Koni Wake Your Assam Up. That tea is already bold to begin with. He used 4 teaspoons per cup of boiling water in his Artisan Mug and let it steep for 10 minutes. He ended up drinking tar by making two big mistakes- he used too much tea and he steeped it way too long. The recommended amount is 1 teaspoon per 8 oz cup, steeped for 2-3 minutes. It's okay to use a heaping teaspoon or even 2 tsp to get a bolder tasting tea, but he over did it. The rule of thumb is the larger the leaf, the longer you must steep it; the smaller the leaf, the more surface it exposes to the water and the quicker the goodness is drawn out. Use 1 tsp per 6-8 oz cup of black, rooibos, smaller leaf green teas, and mate teas. Use 1.5 tsp per 6-8 oz cup of oolong, larger leaf green, white, and herbal teas. Steeping Time Steeping time is very crucial when it comes to making a good cup of tea. Over-steeping tea is one of the reasons why good tea goes bad. True tea (from the plant camellia sinensis) naturally contains tannin. Tannins are great at keeping bacteria out of your mouth, but too much can make your tea bitter. The longer you let the tea steep, the more tannins are released and the more bitter your cup will become.We all enjoy tea in different ways, and for different reasons. Always follow the recommended steeping time for your first cup before adjusting the timing to your preference.  Koni Artisan Mug steeping Slim it Sencha Green Tea Temperature Water temperature is very important in making a good cup of tea, especially for premium loose leaf green and white teas. Since these teas are more delicate, boiling hot water will hurt the leaves. They undergo less processing than a loose leaf black or oolong tea so they are less resistant to heart. Using boiling water will shock them and create a bitter cup of tea. Always use steaming hot water (175 - 180 degrees F) when brewing green or white teas. When brewing black, some oolongs, herbal, rooibos, or mate teas, boiling water is not only recommended but it is a necessity. Boiling water is needed to bring out the full flavor of a black tea. What if you want to make a cup of green tea but you let the water come to a boil by accident? Let the water cool down for a few minutes (2-4 minutes) and then use it for the tea. Just don't forget it's been sitting there! Cool water does not work for brewing any kind of tea. Use the microwave or stove timer to help you remember when to check on your tea.  Quality of Water Since tea is mostly water, the better the quality of water that is used the better your tea will taste. I recommend using spring water or filtered water from the tap. Water that is high in minerals is not good for tea. Purified or distilled water doesn't taste good to drink so it definitely isn't great for tea. If you plan on using filtered water from the tap, always use the cold side. Water from the hot water side has been sitting there collecting rust and other deposits. The cold water is drawn fresh every time! |
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