One of the most important things when it comes to making a delicious, balanced cup of tea is the steeping. If you steep the tea for too long, you will end up with an unpleasantly strong and bitter cup of tea.
If the tea is steeped for a short amount of time, you will get a weak cup of tea with no taste. Things are further complicated, because different teas require different times to steep and brew.
There are thousands of varieties of tea, but they can all more or less be placed into one of five categories: white, green, oolong, black tea or herbal.
Keeping the water temperature right is critical in making tea. Different teas require different water temperatures. Black, dark, and herbal teas are brewed in hot water. Green, white and oolong teas require water that is slightly cooler.
- For dark teas and herbal infusions, use boiling water - 95-100°C;
- For black tea, bring the water to a boil, then remove it from the heat and leave it for 30 to 60 seconds (again, the water should be around 100°C);
- For green, white and oolong teas, bring the water a boiling point, remove it from the heat and wait a minute or two - aim for a temperature of 70°C to 85°C here.
How long should tea be steeped
Herbal infusions need the most steeping (5 to 7 minutes); white teas need the least (just a minute or two). For any other tea (black, green, oolong, dark) the steeping time is about 3 minutes.
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