People who are new to specialty tea often worry that they might ruin their loose leaf teas by brewing them wrong. It’s a valid concern, because tea can taste and feel dramatically different depending on how it is brewed. If you’re a new tea drinker, you should keep in mind the three brewing parameters and be aware of how they will affect your tea: leaf/water ratio, temperature, and time.

Leaf/water ratio

The amount of tea leaves you use per unit of water will affect how strong the tea tastes. These ratios are subjective — there isn’t necessarily a correct or incorrect ratio for each type of tea; it’s up to you how strong you want your tea to be.

It’s usually a good idea to start with the ratio suggested on your tea’s packaging. If you’re not satisfied with the strength of the first brew, you can add some extra leaves the next time you make the tea.

Iced teas often benefit from a lower leaf/water ratio (more leaf per water; stronger brew) because the ice will weaken the taste. 

Temperature

Water temperature is still somewhat subjective, but there is usually a small range of temperature that is optimal for each tea. The ideal temperature varies from tea to tea, but in general, it’s important to know that black teas require a much higher temperature than green teas. The temperatures for oolong teas and white teas fall in between.

Temperature is important because if the water is too hot, it might extract unpleasant aspects of the leaf, highlight any defects, and flatten any nuance of taste. But if the water is not hot enough, you won’t get the full flavor out of the tea. 

To achieve a precise temperature, an electric kettle with temperature settings is ideal. You can also heat water in a regular pot and use a kitchen thermometer to determine when to turn off the heat. 

Time

As soon as you pour hot water over the tea leaves, start a timer for the ideal brewing time. Like temperature, the ideal brewing time also varies from tea to tea. It can be as quick as 10 seconds for some teas, up to 5 minutes for others. Herbal infusions — non-caffeinated brews made from plants other than Camellia sinensis — can even sometimes require a 10-minute steep or longer. 

If you steep white, green, wulong or black tea too long, it will become bitter and astringent.  

How to determine the best parameters for your tea

It’s usually best to start with the brewing instructions on the tea package and if needed, adjust slightly from there for personal taste.

But sometimes the package doesn’t have instructions, or the instructions might even be incorrect (if the package for your green tea instructs you to boil the water, that’s not a good sign!). If you need further guidance, you can search online for recommendations based on the specific type of tea you want to brew, or check out the guide developed by our friends at Steeped.