How To Make Proper Loose Leaf Tea
Here at Brew Tea Co we love loose leaf. It’s the best way to make tea. Why, you ask? Well, large leaves + room to brew = more flavorful tea. It’s that simple.
It’s easy to do. To start, shake off any preconceived idea you have about how complicated it is and read on. We’re going to make it easy.
First, you’ll need some awesome loose leaf tea. You can pick any blend, but a favorite here is Brew Tea Co. English Breakfast. Do note, the quality of the leaf can make or break your perfect cup. Skip buying your “loose leaf tea” in dust form, it will sit at the bottom your cup and taste bitter. No one wants that! Choose twisted, twiggy, leaf-like whole leaf tea and your awesome cup is guaranteed. Here at Brew Tea Co we’ve made it easy by only offering rolled whole leaf tea.
Second, you need a pot. Not just any teapot, stay away from pots with filter baskets. Your tea leaves need room to brew, so cramming them into a tiny basket defeats using a pot at all. Kind of like living in a mansion but only using one room. Who would do that? Choose a roomy pot, you can buy our borosilicate glass tea pot here. Awesome for tea leaf brewing and for watching those tea leaves swirl.
You’ve got the loose leaf tea and pot, so here come the last three things you need to know. 1) Portion Size 2) Temperature 3) Brewing Time
Portion Size: A perfect ratio of tea to water is 5g per 400ml. Sounds complicated and math-y, but it isn’t. We made it easy and created a scoop that portions out the perfect amount of tea.
Temperature: Empty your scoop of tea into your 400ml pot and start the kettle boiling. Black teas and fruit infusions need to brew in 212F-degree water (boiling), green teas do best in 185F-degree water. (Here is a green tea tip…fill our pot up to the base of the handle with cold water and the rest with boiling and you will be good to go.)
Brewing Time: Add the right temperature water to your pot, then find a way to pass the next few minutes. Brew time is 3–5 for black teas and 3–4 for green teas. Because fruit infusions don’t contain tea they won’t turn bitter if you brew them longer, so can leave brew for 5+ minutes.
Then, you’re done! Enjoy your awesome tea. And, clean up is a breeze, just empty, rinse and dry. See? It’s easy making a proper cup!
Amy @ Brew Tea Co
Tea HQ, Milwaukee, WI