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STEEPING TEA:
TIPS FOR
STEEPING GREAT-TASTING TEA
Rule # 1:
Steep tea as simply as possible. If you can heat water,
you can prepare tea!
Rule # 2: Watch the water temperature. Never brew tea
in water that is TOO HOT.
Rule # 3:
Steep tea
according to the traditional method for each
particular tea, until you become familiar with it.
Then adjust to taste.
Rule # 4:
Use plenty
of leaf, because you want your tea to taste great and
there is no reason to save it (there will be more
fresh tea again next year). Tea is the 2nd least
expensive beverage on the planet after water, so there
is no good reason to skimp and end up with a
flavor-less cup.

STEEPING TEA:
MEASURING THE LEAF
‘Normal’
measure is always 2-3 grams leaf per 6 ounces of
water, but the volume of leaf will differ from tea to
tea. A pound is a pound, but a pound’s volume can vary
dramatically.
So,
when steeping tea, make sure that you use the correct
amount of leaf. When the leaf is large, (whole leaf,
or a budset) use more leaf; when using a small leaf or
CTC, use less. The idea is to maintain the correct
proportion of leaf to water by weight.
BLACK TEA
Use 2-3 grams of tea per 6 ounces of water
That’s a standard teaspoon
in many
cases - leafy orthodox styles require more
OOLONG TEA
Use 2-3 grams of tea per 6 ounces of water
That’s a standard teaspoon for
ball-rolled style oolongs
and a
standard
tablespoon or two for strip style large
leaf oolongs
GREEN TEA
Use 2-3 grams of tea per 6 ounces of water
That can be from a teaspoon to two tablespoons
Green tea leaf varies more than any other tea
WHITE TEA
Use 2-3 grams of tea per 6 ounces of water
That’s a heaping tablespoon
or
two, depending on whether bud or leaf style

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