While it’s important to discover certain aspects of tea on your own, we have provided some tips that can help you on your journey to define the ideal cup.
Premium single estate teas are a little pricy but worth every cent. Less expensive varieties mix crops from different locations to cut costs, a practice that yields an end product of lesser quality. When buying tea, the axiom “You get what you pay for” rings true.
Bag teas are typically more convenient when you’re on the go, but the tea within bags called “fannings,” is usually poor in quality. When properly steeped, loose tea brews for a better taste and retains the health benefits bagged teas lose.
Note: there are two types of bagged tea. The preferred type, pouches, contains loose tea and is parallel in quality.
As the main component in tea making, water quality is of the utmost importance. Some tea drinkers steep with bottled water, however the use of water filters has made such lengths unnecessary. Just remember that good water steeps good tea. Make sure to use the best-quality water available.
A majority of tea’s caffeine is released within the first 20-30 seconds of steeping. To eliminate roughly 80 percent of caffeine, simply steep for 30-60 seconds, pour out the contents, and resteep to the variety’s specifications.
The tea leaves used to brew your first pot can be used for the second. Just steep a few minutes longer than usual to get similar results. Not only does this prevent rapid depletion of your tea supply, but reveals unique subtleties in flavor and aroma.
Across the world, people drink tea with different additives. Drinking plain is also very common, but adding a small amount of milk, sugar, honey or lemon can add a surprising twist to your infusion.
The most important tea tip is to brew what you think tastes good. We’ve given you some ideas on how to reveal tea’s intended flavors, but different people have different tastes. As long as you’re happy with the end result, that’s all that really matters.
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