Brewed tea, alongside Arabica espresso, is the most popular drink to be used as a base for drinks across the globe (think milk tea, lemon tea, and lychee tea). This is why you can often find coffee shops, restaurants, and cafes offering a wide array of tea options.
But what if you wanna brew tea at home? Of course you can! The process of brewing tea is as simple as steeping the leaves in hot water. However, there are other things you need to keep in mind when brewing tea:
Best Types Of Tea To Brew
There are so many types of tea leaves out there that you can brew. Here are the top 3 most popular and best tea leaves for brewing:
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea leaves are large in size and partially fermented. They have a very soft taste and are often given aromatic touches using jade, gardenia, and rose petals. One of the most famous types of oolong tea is Formosa Oolong which is native to Taiwan.
Black Tea
Black tea leaves are by far the most well known and used tea leaves in the world. Processing black tea leaves involve fully fermenting them before leaving them to dry. They have a very rich flavour with little to no bitterness, which is why people love them so much. Some of the most popular black tea variants include Earl Grey, Assam, and Darjeeling tea.
Fun fact: they are called black tea in the west due to the dark colour of the tea leaves, while the Chinese call them red tea due to the reddish colour of the liquid.
Green Tea
Last but not least we have green tea, which is made from the same plant as black tea. Instead of being fermented like black tea leaves, they are instead steamed and dried immediately after cultivation. Green tea leaves give the most ‘authentic’ flavour that resembles the gentle and light bitterness of raw tea leaves.
Guide To Brewing Tea Perfectly
Perfectly brewing tea is an art that you will need to master to create a refreshing cup. Here are some things you need to keep in mind:
Choosing Your Tea
The type of tea you choose to brew is just as important as the way you do it. Each tea has a different purpose. For example, black tea is the best if you are looking for an energy boost, while chamomile tea is perfect to help you relax and doze off.
Make Sure To Start With Clean, Filtered Cold Water
Always use clean and filtered cold water when boiling. This is because oxygen – rich water helps enrich the flavour and texture of your tea.
Carefully Ensure Water Temperature Is Correct
Don’t ever pour boiling hot water onto tea leaves! This will cause the tea to be burnt and scalded, which results in a tea that lacks flavour. Always make sure to leave your boiling water sitting for a while to let it cool before pouring.
Brew Your Tea For As Long As You Prefer
How strong or how weak your tea ends up is determined by the brewing time. The longer you brew your tea, the stronger your tea will be. This is because the extra brewing time will extract more chemical compounds from the leaves. On the flip side, brewing quickly will result in a softer – tasting tea as fewer chemical compounds will be extracted.
