Brewing Black Tea
Like other high-quality Chinese teas, a good loose leaf black tea requires some special brewing techniques.
While teapots or in-cup strainers can be used, the best way to fully enjoy a good tea is by brewing with a gaiwan or yixing pot. Use about one teaspoon of tea per cup of water, although you can use more or less to taste. Boiling water should always be used to brew black tea (as opposed to green tea and oolongs, which require cooler water).
Most in the West are used to letting a tea steep for 3-5 minutes before drinking. While this can be done, there is a more subtle and effective brewing method, which will allow you to enjoy multiple steepings, drawing out a range of different flavor profiles from your tea:
Scoop up about 1 tsp. of tea and add to your brewing vessel (assuming you are using a small pot or gaiwan, if your teapot is larger–over 1 cup or so–use a bit more).
Bring water to a full boil, and immediately pour in enough to fill the brewing vessel.
Pour this water off, but do not drink it. This first steeping is known as “washing”, and serves to remove an potential contaminants from the surface of the tea, as well as to bring out its aroma and flavor for future steepings
Reboil the water, and fill the brewing vessel. Wait a few seconds and then remove the strainer, or, if using a gaiwan or yixing pot, pour the contents into another pot. Serve the tea from this pot.
Repeat this process until the tea loses its flavor. Depending on its quality, black teas can be steeped up to 10 times, although most will begin to lose their flavor after 3-7 steepings.
