How To Brew a Perfect Pot of Tea

Good water is crucial:

• Fill an empty kettle with fresh cold water.
• If using tap water, let the water run for 30 seconds so that it is fresh.

Warm your pot:

• While the water is heating, fill your teapot with hot tap water to preheat it.
• This prevents cracking that can occur when boiling water is placed in a room temperature pot, and it helps the brewed tea maintain the proper temperature.
• Discard the water once the pot is warm.

Measure Your Tea:

• For loose tea, place approximately one teaspoon of tea leaves per cup into the pot, or into an infuser placed in the pot. (The amount depends on the type of tea and personal preference.)
• If you don't have loose tea, use one tea bag per 1-2 cups, depending on the size of the bag and personal preference.

Boil Water:

• As soon as the water comes to a boil, remove it from the heat.
• Overheating the water reduces its oxygen content and causes the tea to taste flat.
• Immediately pour the water into the pot, cover, and let stand.
• If using green or white tea, allow the water to cool slightly before pouring onto the leaves (ideal temperature 158°-203°F).
• NOTE: At an altitude of 5000 feet, water boils at 202°F instead of 212°F, so you don't need to cool the water much.
   

Steep Your Tea:

• How long to steep depends on how strong you like your tea and the type of tea you're using.
• Do not judge by color because some teas brew light while others brew dark.
• Small leaves brew more quickly and are usually ready in two to three minutes; medium leaves in three to five minutes; large leaves in six.
• Most teas will taste bitter if you steep longer than six minutes.
• If you have used an infuser or tea bags, remove them from the pot when the tea has reached the desired strength.
• Tea bags steep more quickly because the leaves are finely cut, so don't let them steep too long. You may squeeze the bags gently before removing them from the pot to reduce drips (tea bag squeezers make this very easy).
• If you placed loose leaves directly into the pot, you may want to pour the tea into a second warmed pot through a strainer to separate the tea from the leaves. This will prevent the tea from becoming bitter. But if you plan to pour all the tea into cups soon, simply place a strainer over the cup and pour slowly from the original pot.

Keep Your Tea Hot:

• If your teapot will be sitting for a while with tea in it, use a tea cozy to keep the tea at the proper temperature.
• There are two types of cozies: an "over the top" cozy sits over the pot and must be removed to pour tea; a serving cozy wraps around the pot, leaving the handle and spout exposed for pouring. Both keep tea hot for long periods, depending on the quality of the cozy.
• It is important, however, not to use a cozy if there are still tea leaves in the pot, since the excess heat will make the tea taste bitter. Only use a cozy if you have removed the tea leaves.
   

Adding Lemon, Sugar, or Milk:

• If you add lemon and sugar to your tea, add the sugar first, since the citric acid from the lemon will prevent the sugar from dissolving.
• Milk is often used in full-bodied teas such as India and Ceylon teas.
• There is a debate over whether to add milk to the cup before or after the tea; according to the British Standards Institute, milk should be placed in the cup first.
• Don't use cream as it interferes with the taste of the tea.

Cleaning:

• To wash your teapot, simply rinse with hot water and turn upside-down to dry.
• Never put it in the dishwasher or use soap.
• To remove stains, fill with a solution of two tablespoons of baking soda and boiling water and soak overnight. Then rinse thoroughly and let dry.

How to decaffeinate Tea:

All tea contains caffeine. But you don’t have to buy decaf, or perform crazy chemistry experiments at home in order to drink decaf. Intrigued? Here’s what you do:

• Pour boiling water (less than boiling water for green/white teas) over the tea leaves or tea bag and swish it around for 20-30 seconds. This gives it a good rinse through.
• Discard the water (this contains around 80% of the caffeine)
• Pour fresh boiling water (less than boiling water for green/white teas) over the rinsed tea leaves (and brew for the recommended length of time (depending on the type of tea)

This simple process removes up to 80% of the caffeine content in the tea leaves* and does not detract much from the flavor of the tea.