Tea Brewing Tips

Brewing the perfect cup of tea can have a few variables, depending on individual tastes and preferences, but there are some universal controls that can make your cup the best that it can be:

1. Use Fresh Water

• Water systems across the country differ in chlorine, fluoride, and mineral content, so filling your kettle with filtered water is the optimal choice.
• At a minimum, make sure to use fresh, cold tap water for each brew session.

2. Preheat Your Teapot (If Making a Pot)

• If you plan to brew up a pot, bring the water to near boiling, pour a little into the teapot, swirl it around a bit, and then empty the teapot.
• This will warm up your teapot and help retain some heat.

3. Measure Your Tea

• Measure your choice of tea directly into your teapot.
• Conventional wisdom suggests one rounded teaspoon of loose tea or one teabag per 8 ounces of water.
• You might prefer a tea ball or filter, as these are a bit easier to clean up than having the leaves loose in the pot.
• If using loose tea without a filter, you will need to pour carefully or strain the tea as you fill your cup.

4. Heat Water to the Right Temperature

• Bring the water to a rolling boil, but do not allow it to continue to boil for too long.
• If you are preparing green or white tea, let the boiled water cool for a minute or two before pouring over the tea to avoid shocking or “burning” the more delicate leaves.

5. Steep the Tea Correctly

• Pour the water over the tea (don’t add tea to the water!) and cover your tea as it steeps.
• Strictly speaking, different types of tea and herbal tisanes require different steeping times and water temperatures to properly infuse, but a perfectly adequate cup can be made by letting the kettle boil and then resting for 50 seconds before pouring.
• For inquiring minds, Mark T. Wendell Tea Company has provided the following informative guide:

6. Adjust to Personal Taste

• Personal preference also plays a role in enjoying your cup of tea.
• Whether you prefer your tea stronger or weaker, keep brewing time constant and increase or decrease the amount of tea you use.
• Beware that allowing tea to sit in the pot too long can cause bitterness (this is not true of our Samovar!).

7. Re-Steep If Possible

• Some teas can be infused more than once; simply add new hot water to the pot and increase steep time.
• Definitely true of the Samovar!

. Store Your Tea Properly

• To maintain freshness, store loose-leaf tea in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, away from other strong aromatics.
• Your teas should stay fresh for up to two years.
• Samovar Tea may start to lose some potency after 6 months due to its oil content, but keep steeping until you feel it’s time to reorder. Samovar is best kept in a glass or ceramic jar.