A guide to brewing the perfect cup of tea
by Lorelei Cohen
That first delicious relaxing sip of tea can be one of the greatest simple pleasures in life. You can feel the stress melt from your body as the warm amber liquid flows into your body. The perfect cup of tea can indeed be one of life's most enjoyable experiences. Creating that perfect cup of tea does sometime take a little trial, and error, that is unless you follow a simple little guide to brewing the perfect cup of tea.
Although each person has their own image of the ideal cup of tea, there are a few guidelines that can be followed to insure that you successfully brew your tea, as tea should be truly brewed.
1. The number one rule for a good cup of tea is to insure that you are using a good quality tea. Irregardless of whether you prefer Black Tea, Oolong Tea, or Green Tea it is very important to select a high quality grade of tea. Quality does make a difference when you are seeking the perfect cup of tea! Select a loose leaf tea rather than a bagged brand. A bagged tea will generally not have the strength of character that a loose leaf tea will bring to your beverage. Depending on whether you prefer a strong cup of tea or a weaker one, you will require one to teaspoons of loose leaf tea per each cup of water, or if using a bagged variety than you will generally require one to three teabags per teapot of water.
2. Always use fresh water that has not previously been boiled. For the best tasting tea use filtered water. Your tap water may contain fluoride, chlorine or other residual chemicals or metals which will affect the taste of your prepared beverage. Using filtered water insures that the only flavor in your tea is your tea!
3. Unless you are using a Black or Herb tea, do not pour boiling water over your tea leaf, allow your water to cool just slightly before adding it to your teapot or teacup. When brewing Black tea or Herbal tea add the water to your pot while it is boiling or just shortly after, then allow the tea leaf to steep for anywhere from one to eight minutes, before removing the spent tea leaf. A longer soak time will cause your tea to become stronger but also more bitter, so it is recommended that if you prefer a strong tea that rather than increasing the time that you steep your tea, that you instead increase the amount of tea that you use. Your taste preferences will be the sole judge as to the amount of tea that you use and the amount of time that your tea leaf will be required to steep in order to create your perfect cup of tea.
4. For brewing Green tea, Oolong tea or White tea allow your water to cool slightly after boiling before pouring it over the tea leaf. Too hot a water will cause these more fragile teas to produce a bitter and excessively strong cup of tea. Simply allowing your water to cool one to two minutes after boiling, then adding the hot water to your teapot, will allow these antioxidant rich teas to gently release their full flavor and nutrients into your beverage.
5. Remember that when steeping your favorite tea, allow your tea leaf to float in the pot rather than being contained within a ball or bag, this will insure the utmost release of the tea's flavor. When the leaf is allowed to float freely within the teapot, it best allows for the leaf to unfurl fully, and to completely release it's flavor into the hot water around it. Tea balls and teabags although suitable, will restrict the tea leaf's expansion, and thereby provide slightly less flavor than loose tea leaf.
6. A tea press is the ultimate teapot. It allows loose tea leaf to fully release it's flavor while keeping the leaf confined from the tea liquid itself. Many of these tea presses are also in glass so allow a pleasant view of your beverage as it steeps.
However it is that you prefer your tea, the perfect cup is just a few minutes away when you follow a few simple guidelines. Use good quality tea and quality water each time. Also take just that little extra care with your water temperature, and steeping times, and your tea will come out perfect every time. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the wonderful soothing experience that is a fine cup of tea.
Sources:
http://www.2basnob.com/brewing-tea.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Brewing-A-Perfect-Cup-of-B lack-Tea&id=707035