Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea

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Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea
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• As those devout tea drinkers among you will know,
  there are a certain number of rules to follow
  when it comes to brewing the perfect cup of tea
  plopping a teabag into your mug, pouring boiling
  water on it and expecting a tea tasting miracle
  to occur, is naïve and not the kind of mistake a
  true tea lover would ever deign to make.

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• So where should you begin?
• Perhaps a good starting point might be to list
  the different types of teas commonly available in
  most supermarkets, and then look at the different
  brewing techniques for each one.
• Green Tea
• Black Tea

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• White Tea
• Fruit Tea
• Rooibos Tea
• Oolong Tea
• Yellow Tea

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• Black teas are fully oxidized and can therefore
  tolerate higher water temperatures and longer
  periods of brewing without being spoiled similar
  to oolong teas which are processed more and
  highly roasted.
• Green, white and yellow teas experience minimal
  oxidation - or sometimes none at all meaning
  that they respond far better to lower water
  temperatures and a shorter brewing period.

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• These basic points will ensure that your teas
  will always taste just as they should.
• What about the boiling of the water for the
  perfect cup of tea?
• Fresh water, either straight from the tap or
  water purifier/filter, is recommended as it
  contains more oxygen and will give your brew a
  much cleaner and pure flavor.

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• Water that has just reached boiling point can
  be used for black and oolong teas, but green,
  white and yellow teas should be brewed with water
  that has recently been boiled but cooled
  slightly.
• If you want to be precise, 80 degrees is
  thought by many to be the correct temperature of
  water for brewing the more delicate teas, such as
  green and white.

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• How long should I leave the tea to steep?
• For many discerning tea lovers, the length of
  time that a tea should steep for comes down to
  taste and personal preference. Generally
  speaking, a robust type of tea such as black or
  oolong, will reach their optimum strength at
  between 3 and 5 minutes, while the more delicate
  teas should really only be steeped for between 2
  and 3 minutes.

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• What are the rules when it comes to loose leaf
  tea?
• Some people fear the loose leafed tea and feel
  safer with a tea bag, but most of those fears are
  unfounded as measuring it is super simple. For
  one cup of tea, use approximately one teaspoon of
  leaves and increase the amount of teaspoons as
  per the number of cups of tea you desire.

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• If youre wishing to avoid using a teapot, then
  loose leafed tea might not be the best option,
  but of course if youre a true tea tippler, you
  wouldnt dream of brewing your favorite beverage
  in a cup!
• To add milk, or not to add milk, that is the
  question
• To put it simply, black teas can stand up to -
  and possibly even benefit from, depending on
  personal taste - the addition of milk, but the
  more delicate teas with less oxidization, such as
  green, white, oolong, yellow and fruit and herbal
  teas, always taste better without it.

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• The Teapot Shoppe is the industry leader and
  trendsetter when it comes to teapots and tea
  ware, and our current line of products is no
  exception. You will love the childrens tea sets,
  english tea sets, ceramic teapots and cast iron
  teapot sets. Visit our website to check our full
  range of tea sets.