How to Get Great Tasting Tea Every Time

I used to be very frustrated at what seemed to me to be a lack of clear, concise instructions for the newcomer to tea to make excellent tea every single time.

The list of temperatures to brew tea at and the various times and measurements of loose leaf tea seemed very arbitrary and hard to implement. I knew green tea should be steeped at 175 degrees, but I had no idea how I was supposed to make sure the water reached that temperature in order to brew the tea correctly without buying a tea kettle that cost at least $100.00 at the lower end of the price spectrum.

I also knew that the measurement in a measuring Teaspoon for most black teas was different than it was for most white teas, but I couldn't figure out what that difference was. I didn't know the correct steeping times for the different types of tea, I just knew if you over-steeped it by even a little bit that it would come out bitter.

I had no interest in drinking bitter tea, but I felt like preparing tea was so complicated to do correctly that I was completely intimidated. I then bought a book called The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook, by Mary Lou and Robert Heiss. I will urge every person just starting out on the journey of having a tea hobby to buy this paperback at the first opportunity.

It has untold amounts of essential, correct information for the tea novice that demystifies the whole process of buying, storing, and brewing the best teas in the world. It is an inexpensive, concise book that is a very handy reference to have on hand. If you never buy any other book on tea, you should buy this one.

I also really like the chart on the back of some of the Teavana tea tins. I have taken that chart, with some of my own modifications, and the chart in The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook having to do with easily reaching the correct water temperature to brew different types of tea using an inexpensive electric or stovetop tea kettle available in a PDF document.

I call it simply Tea Information and it should give very clear, concise information for everyone who feels intimidated by brewing tea correctly for fear of making a mistake. Go ahead and save it to your computer if you want so that you can refer back to it as often as you like.

I would start with the brewing times listed in the chart and then modify them to your own taste. The brewing times listed are my preference, because I dislike bitter tea. You may have different flavor preferences. Happy brewing, everyone!

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