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By John Rice, General Manager. When a customer is brewing loose tea for the first time, they sometimes comment that it came out tasting bitter. Unlike most bag teas, high quality loose teas require more care in brewing, and how to do this properly will vary with the particular tea being made. This is why we have specific brewing instructions on each bag of tea.
If your tea is coming out bitter, it is usually due to any of three different reasons. 1) The water is too hot; 2) The tea has been steeped too long; or, 3) You are using too much tea. The first thing to do is make certain the proper water temperature and steeping time are followed, as indicated on the label. For example, Sencha is a particularly delicate tea and should be steeped for 1 minute (no more) in steaming (not boiling) water or it will rapidly turn bitter. The final solution is to use less tea. Customers sometimes hesitate to try this, fearing they will lose flavor, but the fact is that the astringency of tea can actually cover up the flavor when too much tea is used. Using less will sometimes increase the actual tea flavor. The most fail safe way to measure your tea is with a scale, which needs to be accurate to at least 1/10 gram. Use 2-3 grams of tea for each 6 oz of hot tea or 12 oz of iced tea, starting more toward 2 gm for unflavored or lightly flavored teas and more toward 3 gm for flavored teas with large pieces, like chunks of cinnamon or fruit rinds.
Tea will easily get stale if stored improperly, and can sometimes even spoil. For best flavor retention, tea needs to be kept in an air-tight, dark, and dry environment, ideally at a constant temperature and away from odors. Because tea leaves are dried, they are prone to absorbing moisture and aromas of nearby items. Light will also degrade the color of the leaf and over time can affect the flavor (not true for most herbal teas). Even simple exposure to air will cause tea to lose flavor and aroma over time. Temperature changes can also cause moisture to build up inside the tea container. This is often what happens when tea is kept in the freezer or refrigerator, where the door is opened frequently and/or the unit cycles through various temperatures — you may get ice inside your tea container.
I like to use ceramic canisters or metal tins with tight fitting lids for my favorite teas. Zip-lock style foil bags lined with plastic (like the ones we sell our tea in) are also good, and have the advantage that you can press out excess air before you re-seal the zip closure. If you really like to use glass jars for your tea, please keep them in a dark cupboard.
If you use tea bags, be sure not to store your chai bags along with your Darjeeling bags in the same container. You’ll end up with all chai!
If you are going to re-use a container for a new tea, be sure to clean it thoroughly and let it air out for few days with the lid off to purge the odor of the previous tea. Baking soda can help absorb these lingering scents.
Tea kept properly should last 6-12 months at least. This will vary quite a bit with the type of tea, its freshness when you bought it, how it is stored, and how often you open the container. Unopened tea that has been vacuum sealed (and better yet, nitrogen-flushed) will keep for many years. Once open, I like to use up a tea within 6 months if possible. But I frequently have customers tell me they have had some tea around for a few years, and they still think it is fine. Let your taste buds guide you.
Have a look at our Tins and Canisters category to view or purchase any of these items.
In general, freshly boiled water is appropriate for black and herbal teas, but steaming (sub-boiling) is best for green, oolong, and white teas. A lot of people use boiling water all the time and report their tea tastes fine. Ultimately, your taste preferences are all that matter, so feel free to experiment a bit with different brewing temperatures. We always put our suggested brewing instructions on our packaging for each tea, so use that as a place to start. If you ever find that green, oolong, or white teas are tasting bitter, be sure to try brewing them at a lower temperature first.
The best way to control the strength of your tea is the alter the amount of tea leaves you use rather than changing the brew time. People will often try to let their tea brew a long time to get a strong cup, only to find it tastes bitter. To get the best flavor, you should brew the tea according to the directions (or according to your own experiments). Then if you find the tea is too strong, try using a smaller amount of tea leaves; if too weak, try a larger amount of tea leaves.
This can vary significantly from tea to tea, but there are rules of thumb. In general, black tea needs to brew 3-5 minutes for best flavor. They will often get bitter if you let them brew more than 6 or 7 minutes (some much sooner). Green tea often needs only 1 minute, but 2-3 minutes is not unusual. Oolongs typically need 2-3 minutes. Herbals need 5-10 minutes, and they generally don’t get bitter, so you can let them brew as long as you like. Keep in mind that finely cut teas, whether black, green, or herbal, require shorter brewing times than large leaf teas.
A tea cup is considered to be 6 fluid ounces, like a coffee cup. So when we say to use 1 tsp. of leaves per cup, if your cup is 8 ounces, you may need to use a bit more leaves to get a full strength cup.
Often confused with an infuser, a tea strainer is used when you have placed loose tea leaves in your pot to brew. When ready to pour, you place the strainer over your cup and pour the brewed tea through it to catch any leaves. If you use a strainer, you don’t need to use an infuser; likewise, if you use an infuser, you don’t need to use a strainer. They both ultimately serve to keep tea leaves out of your cup. An infuser does it during brewing, while the strainer does it during pouring. They are often made of silver, silver-plate, porcelain, or stainless steel. Please visit our Tea Infusers and Strainers category to view or purchase tea strainers.
I like to call them tea infusers because that term describes what they do. Often confused with a strainer, a tea infuser is a ball or basket that you put your tea leaves in while they brew. The point is easy removal of the leaves once you’re done brewing your tea. You don’t want your brewed tea leaves in the water too long because they will continue to brew and may turn your tea bitter. You can use an infuser in a teapot or in a cup or mug. Simply put the leaves inside, place it in your pot or cup, pour hot water over, and let brew. When ready, lift out the infuser with the leaves and you’re left with clear tea. In general, the larger the infuser and the smaller the holes, the better your results. Tip: Make sure your infuser will fit into your pot. Measure the opening of your teapot and compare to the diameter of the infuser. Different types of infusers include tea balls, brew baskets, and paper or cotton filters. Visit our Tea Infusers and Strainers category to see photos or to buy these items.
The verbs to brew, to steep, and to infuse all refer to the process of adding hot water to tea leaves or tea bags and allowing them to sit for a few minutes – in other words, making an infusion.
The Zen master Hakuin used to tell his students about an old woman who owned a tea shop in the village. She was skilled in the tea ceremony, Hakuin said, and her understanding of Zen was superb. Many students wondered about this and went to the village themselves to check her out. Whenever the old woman saw them coming, she could tell immediately whether they had come to experience the tea, or to probe her grasp of Zen. Those wanting tea she served graciously. For the others wanting to learn about her Zen knowledge, she hid until they approached her door and then attacked them with a fire poker. Only one out of ten managed to escape her beating.
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