The Perfect Cup of Tea

You know the drill…

We’ve all done it… you’re not feeling well so you decide that a good cup of tea with honey will make you feel better. You’ve read about how the perfect cup of green tea will help ease a sore throat. Why not give it a try? So, you heat some water on the stove, grab a tea bag that has been sitting in a box in the cabinet for who knows how long, and you stick the tea bag in the cup with a big spoonful of honey. You let it sit for awhile and take a sip. It’s terrible! The tea is so bitter it is almost undrinkable. How do people drink this stuff??? Well, the truth is, most people think that is how tea is supposed to taste. Why? Because they have never learned better.

How I learned…

I got my job working for Teavana by accident. It had been 5 years since I first started drinking their teas and I walked into a store with my Mom to get a cup while we walked around the mall. The GM was behind the counter using a Perfect Tea Maker to make a cup of tea and I super excitedly walked my mom through the use of the tea maker (she walked out of the store with one that day). The manager looks at me and says, “Hey, you need a job?”. Actually, no I didn’t. I was a full time school teacher, it was the middle of March and I was BUSY… so I look at her and said, “Sure, why not?”. And that was that.

I went in for my first day of training totally confident! I knew how to brew a cup of tea, this job was going to be a piece of cake! Before we started, my manager asks if I wanted to make a cup of tea to sip on while we chatted. OF COURSE! So I grabbed a tea maker and my Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls Green Tea and started making myself a cup of tea while she sat back and giggled to herself the entire time. All three employees sat and stared at me while I took my first sip, it was DISGUSTING! But I’d had the same tea there a couple days ago?! Where did I go wrong?! Well, the answer was pretty simple, I had burned my tea creating an undrinkable first cup of tea for me and a nice bit of entertainment for the women I was working with. That was 10 years ago, I have learned a lot since then.

How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea

Let’s start simple. Tea leaves are incredibly sensitive. If steeped too long, at too high a temperature, it will burn causing that bitter flavor. It is important to have some kind of thermometer or water heater with a temperature gauge. I love my Cuisinart PerfectTemp Kettle. It was discountinued for awhile but I was so excited to find them in stock on Amazon in November!! You can also find electric tea kettles in different price ranges.

Lets look at the recommended temperatures and steep times in this chart:

Temperature

You can see that each type of tea has a specific water temperature and tea time.

Example: Green Teas require a temperature of NO MORE than 175ºF, some will even say 170ºF. Traditional green teas steep for 45seconds-1 minute.
On the other hand, Black Teas require a temperature of 195ºF and can steep up to 3 minutes.
The three teas at the bottom-Maté, Rooibos, and Herbal, do not contain real tea leaves (a conversation for another post) and can steep at boiling for 5 minutes or longer.

Now, a good tea company will provide you with the steeping instructions that are appropriate for their tea. It is then up to you to follow them.

Tea/Water Ratio

There is another very important piece of information on this chart. In the middle it says “tsp/8oz”. One of the most common questions I get asked when someone is new to loose leaf tea is- “How do I know how much to put in?” Great question!! The general rule of thumb is for hot tea: use 1 teaspoon of tea for every 8 ounces of water, and for iced tea use 2 teaspoons of tea for every 8 ounces of water to make it more concentrated so it isn’t watered down when put over ice. Pretty simple. Again, if a company recommends something different, they should let you know on the packaging.

That’s It!

Now you are ready to make yourself the perfect cup of tea! The art of tea can be much more complex than this. But if you are just starting out in the world of tea, or you just want a nice cup every once in awhile, this is great starters guide. Please feel free to comment here or contact me if you have any questions.

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