How to Steep the Best Tea

Brewing the perfect cup is based on your individual preferences so part of the fun in trying new teas is discovering your personal taste. Our brewing suggestions are based on standardized methods for steeping with four components to making great tea in consideration. However, if you find that your tea tastes bitter or requires milk, sugar, or lemon to counteract the bitterness, we recommend adjusting with shorter steeping times, lower water temperature or less amount of tea leaves until you reach the optimum taste you desire.

Water, Tea, Temperature and Time

Is water quality important?

YES! We recommend using cold, clear, pure water in your kettle. Try using fresh spring water or filter your tap water. Avoid using water straight from the tap! Hard water or strong tasting water will taint your tea, cloud the cup and obliterate even the most delicious tea.

What is a serving of tea?

One heaping teaspoon will make a 6-8 ounce cup of tea. We recommend two heaping tablespoons for a pot of tea. Please note that for "fluffy" teas such as Chamomile & Lavender... Zzzzz or teas with large bits of fruit you may want to use a large tablespoon per serving and for more compressed teas such as Irish Breakfast, a regular size teaspoon per serving will do.

If you want to be sure you are getting the right amount per serving, we offer a Perfect Cup of Tea spoon to take the guess work out of it. A heaping spoonful of tea with our special spoon will make a great cup of tea or use about 6 spoonfuls for a large pot of tea (30-35oz.) Again, there is no exact formula so feel free to experiment and discover what you love.

What do I put the loose tea in to steep?

We recommend our Glass Teapot with Infuser or our Gravity Pot if you are in the mood for 2-3 cups of tea. For a single cup, or if you are on the go, try our Paper Tea Sacs. They are perfect for a 6-8 oz cup on the run and they are also large enough to hold loose leaf tea for a 30-35oz. pot of tea.

Hot or Cold?

The rule of thumb is 1oz of loose tea will make approximately one gallon of iced tea. Use the steeping instructing below and consider using a bit more for "fluffy" tea or teas with large fruit bits or flower buds. All of our teas can be served hot or cold depending on your preferred taste.

Can I use the same leaves more than once?

YES! Loose tea is the most economical "luxury beverage" available thanks to quality leaves that produce multiple infusions! Depending on the tea, such as an Oolong or Pu-erh from True Leaf Tea, you can infuse one cup of leaves up to 8 consecutive times for a different flavor profile each time.

What is the optimum temperature and time that tea should be steeped?

This is where so many go wrong and end up with bitter tea so here is our recommendation for the smoothest, most delicious tea.

White Tea:

Heat water until just before boiling (180-190 degrees) and steep tea for 1-2 minutes

Green Tea

Heat water until just before boiling (180-190 degrees) and steep tea for 1-3 minutes

Oolong Tea:

Heat water until just boiling (200-212 degrees) and steep tea for 3-5 minutes

Black Tea:

Heat water to a rolling boil (212 degrees) and steep tea for 3-5 minutes

Pu-erh Tea:

Heat water to a rolling boil (212 degrees) and steep tea for 4-5 minutes

Tisanes and Herbal Tea:

Heat water to a rolling boil (212 degrees) and steep tea for 5-8 minutes