How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea (2024)

FAQs

What is the proper way to brew tea? ›

Bring one quart of cold water to a roiling boil. Remove from heat and add 8-10 teabags per quart of brewed tea as desired. Steep 3-5 minutes and pour over remaining cold water or ice cubes. To serve, pour into tall glasses filled with ice, garnish or sweeten as desired.

Or, as the scientists at the University of Northumbria put it in their formula: TB + (H2O at 100 degrees centigrade) 2mins BT + C (10ml) 6mins BT = PC (at OT 60 degrees centigrade). If you're wondering, TB means tea bag, BT is brewing time, C is milk, PC means perfect cuppa, and OT stands for optimum temperature.

Tea loves oxygen as it helps the flavour develop. If you boil the kettle with fresh water, you'll have a delicious cup of oxygenated tea that tastes divine. If you keep re-boiling the water in the kettle, it loses all of its oxygen and you'll be left with a really flat cup of tea. Also, only boil the water you need.

Pour the water over the tea and steep for 3 to 7 minutes

For every other tea (black, green, oolong, dark), you can probably get away with 3 minutes. Taste the tea at this point—if you want it stronger, keep steeping! But don't just let the tea hang out in the mug/pot forever, otherwise it will get tannic and bitter.

Keep the Heat In While Steeping

Pour the water over the leaves into your teacup, mug, or teapot and keep the leaves in the water. Cover your teacup, mug, or teapot while steeping to keep the heat in. You can do this with a cozy, a lid, or a tea towel. This will keep your flavor consistent when brewing tea.

In the first brew, the tea leaves are still waking up. Enzymes are starting to shake and the leaves are receiving their first touch of moisture. This first brew is considers a “rinse” - it primes the leaves to produce flavorful and consistent brews. We ditch it because it doesn't hold much flavor and is mostly aroma.

Number one. Use loose leaf tea. When you add hot water to loose tea leaves, convection currents swirl them around, allowing the fragrant flavours to diffuse. But, if those leaves are tightly packed into a teabag well they can't move freely.

Pour some of the boiled water into the cup. Add milk to the cup. Add sugar to the cup. Stir the tea.

Bring water to a boil*, and pour over the tea as soon as it reaches boiling. Over-boiling will cause oxygen to be reduced, making the tea taste 'flat'. Use 1 tea bag per cup, or 1 teaspoon of loose tea per cup (6 oz.). Steep the tea for the required time as indicated on the chart to the right.

What is the secret to making good tea? ›

Good clean water

makes the best tea. Too many minerals and metals and your tea will taste bad (think sulfur) and too few will make it flat. Do not use distilled water because it is devoid of minerals. Chlorine which is used to make drinking water safe can also ruin a cup of tea with its harsh chemical smell.

A key aspect of tea time is knowing the correct way to stir your tea. Instead of stirring in circles, gently move your teaspoon back and forth from the 6 o'clock to the 12 o'clock position a few times.

Porcelain and Bone China

Bone china and porcelain cups (which are also sometimes clubbed under ceramic) have been used for ages as teaware, and are the material of choice when it comes to drinking tea. When made the right way, porcelain is amazingly non-porous, and the vitrified glaze makes it non-reactive as well.

Tea Bags. Bring water to a boil*, and pour over the tea as soon as it reaches boiling. Over-boiling will cause oxygen to be reduced, making the tea taste 'flat'. Use 1 tea bag per cup, or 1 teaspoon of loose tea per cup (6 oz.).

Regardless of its origins, almost all guides and sources now agree that tea should be poured into a cup first and milk (if desired) second.