Enjoy the Warmth of A Perfect Cup
A study conducted by a British university discovered that the average Briton made his or her first cup of hot tea at 7 and a half years old. How hard could it be? Take a mug add water and microwave until hot- anyone can do that. This may yield tea- but not good tea. Making a good quality cup of hot tea is a little more involved and has some more intricacies involved.
First, a mug is considerably larger than a true 6 oz serving of tea. Bear this in mind when choosing your teacup.
How To Prepare Hot Tea
It is important to use quality good tasting water. If your water has sediment or minerals in it, the taste of the tea will be impacted, and usually not for the better so choose fresh clean water; if using tap water run it cool as cool water picks up less sediment from pipes. Heat the water in a kettle or pot on the stove- this may just be my personal preference, but I feel it improves the taste. If preparing black, oolong, or herbal tea, heat the water to boiling, if using green or white tea remove the water from heat before boiling. The delicate leaves of green tea or white tea cannot stand up to the heat of boiling water.
While the water is heating add loose tea to an infuser. The amount of tea you need depends on the number of servings you are making. A good rule of thumb is: to use about one teaspoon of loose tea per serving, this may vary a bit by taste but start with this. Put the infuser in a teapot and pour the hot water over it. Then allow the tea to steep.
Steeping time will vary by taste and type of tea. Green and white tea need to be steep for only 2 to 3 minutes. Too long or water that is too hot will result in a bitter tea.
Black tea, oolong tea, and herbal tea need to be steep for 3-7 minutes. The stronger you want the tea the longer the steeping time.
Pour in teacups and relax. Savor the nuances. Enjoy the warmth.
