Tea Brewing Tips
Tea Cups as part of the HOUSE OF CHa decor
How Much Dry Tea Leaves to Use?
- Rule of Thumb:
3 grams (1 rounded teaspoon) dry tea leaves per 8 ounces of water & 2 teaspoons dry tea leaves per 6 ounces water for lighter teas
What about Water?
Tea is best brewed starting with fresh, cool water. Spring water is ideal. There is more oxygen in fresh water, which helps bring out the flavor of the tea when it’s brewed.
Choose water with a balanced mineral content. If you live in an area with hard water, you may want to buy some bottled spring water to brew your tea.
Choosing a Teapot
When making oolong and black teas, it’s best to brew tea in a Yixing teapot. Yixing teapots are unglazed ceramic teapots; therefore with every brew the teapot will absorb some flavor. With every cup you make, you’ll experience deeper flavors.
To make oolong tea, a teapot between 100 mL and 350 mL is ideal. It’s best to use smaller teapots for oolong tea.
What does Rinsing Tea Mean?
Sometimes certain teas, such as oolong tea will require rinsing before infusion and subsequent drinking of the tea. The rinse may be used to clear the dust and extra particles from the leaves. With oolong tea, the rinse is used to activate the leaves. The leaves are typically tightly wound so the rinse acts to open up the leaves so that the flavor can emerge during the second brew.
Serving Tea
When serving tea, it’s a good idea to place small water from a heated tea kettle into the serving cups. Keep in there for a few seconds, then pour out the water in the cups. Now, the cups are nice and warm to add the tea in.
-Information adapted from: http://www.houseofcha.com, http://www.teainfusion.com/culture/gong-fu-cha.html
