For such a basic beverage, the methods for brewing tea can be remarkably complex and intimidating for the uninitiated. If your brew isn’t tasting as good as you expect it to, you may be making one or two simple and easily remedied mistakes. This article will run down the most common mistakes that people make when brewing tea, and hopefully help you brew the perfect cup! Using Water That Is Too Hot
Americans are generally used to drinking bagged black tea which is steeped in boiling water. However, many teas are too delicate to be brewed at such high temperatures, and often require water that is well below the boiling point. This is most common with Green Tea, although many Wulongs and even some black teas require a specific, lower temperature range to deliver the perfect flavor.
The most common sign that the water you are using is too hot is that your tea will come out bitter or astringent. If this happens even with a short brew time, you should experiment with lower water temperatures when brewing.
Check out our article on water temperature to see what temperature is right for your tea.
Using Too Much/Too Little Tea
The fact that loose tea is not specifically portioned out can be intimidating to some. Furthermore, loose teas vary in their surface area and weight per volume, adding further complexity to this issue.
Generally speaking, however, one should use about one spoonful (with a teaspoon) of tea for an 8 oz cup. This doesn’t scale linearly, so, for example, you may only require three spoonfuls for a four cup teapot. Again, it would be helpful to experiment with different amounts of tea so you can figure out what suits your taste.
Using the Wrong Hardware
There is a literal bevy of loose tea brewing hardware on the market, and it can be confusing to figure out which products are right for you.
There are a few simple rules which should be followed when selecting tea brewing devices. The first is that loose tea requires space to bloom and have water move over it when being brewed. Many products–especially tea balls and some of the smaller filters–are too restrictive and can result in a weak brew. The second is that you should be able to quickly and easily remove the tea from the water so that it will not over brew.
I have had good experiences with stainless steel and ceramic mug inserts when brewing individual cups of tea. I also like tea pots which have a filter installed at the point where the spout is attached to the pot. These allow the tea free reign while being steeped, and allow the tea to be poured off when it is done brewing. If you want to serve over a long period of time from a tea pot find one which has a large, removable filter.
You can check out our product reviews for tea brewing accessories which we have vetted and approved.
Steeping for Too Long
This is one of the most common mistakes that people make when brewing tea. While many tea bags are packaged with instructions to brew for up to five minutes, this amount of time can make more delicate teas brew up bitter.
When brewing with loose leaf tea, make your first steeping last only a few seconds, and do not drink it. This “washing” steeping will open up the tea, making subsequent brews quicker.
There are no hard and fast rules for brewing time. We would recommend experimentation: note the flavor differences when brewing for, say, 15 seconds, 30 seconds and a minute. However, if you are steeping multiple times, later steepings should be longer than the first few.
