Why loose leaf is worth a few extra minutes
Loose leaf tea asks slightly more of you than a tea bag, and rewards you for it. Whole leaves have not been cut down to fit a bag, so they unfurl slowly as they brew, releasing a fuller and more layered flavour than the fine fannings found in many bags. The brewing itself is not difficult. There are really only four variables: how much leaf you use, how hot the water is, how long you steep and what you brew it in. Get those roughly right and the rest takes care of itself.
How much loose leaf tea per cup?
The classic measure is one teaspoon of leaf per cup, plus one for the pot. In metric terms, that is about 2 to 3 grams of tea per 250 millilitres of water. Larger, airier leaves such as whole leaf black tea need a heaped spoon, while dense broken grades need a level one. When brewing a full pot, count the cups it holds and measure accordingly. If the brew comes out weak, add more leaf rather than steeping much longer, because over steeping draws out bitterness before it draws out much else.
Water temperature and steep times
Different teas want different treatment, and temperature matters more than most people expect. Boiling water can scorch delicate green leaves and pull out harshness, while water that is too cool leaves black tea flat. As a starting point:
- Black tea: one teaspoon per cup, boiling water, steep 3 to 5 minutes.
- Green tea: one teaspoon per cup, water around 80 degrees, steep 2 to 3 minutes.
- Herbal tea: one to two teaspoons per cup, boiling water, steep 5 to 7 minutes.
No thermometer? Let boiled water sit for a few minutes with the lid off and it will fall to roughly the right range for green tea. Our Ceylon Breakfast Tea, a full bodied black tea low grown in the Ruhuna region of southern Sri Lanka, takes boiling water and a good five minutes to open up, while our Ceylon Green Tea, a pale, crisp cup with a slightly sweet, nutty character, prefers the gentler treatment.
Brewing without an infuser
No infuser, no problem. The old fashioned method still works: put the leaf straight in the pot, pour the water and pour the tea off the leaves when the time is up. A pot with a built in strainer does the job neatly, and our ceramic tea pots with stainless steel strainers are made for exactly this. For a single mug you can improvise with a small sieve held over the cup, or even a coffee filter in a pinch. The leaves will keep brewing if you leave them sitting in the water, so decant the whole pot once it is ready rather than nursing it.
Re-steeping your leaves
Good whole leaf tea is rarely finished after one brew. Drain the leaves well after pouring and steep them again, adding a minute or so to the second brew. Black teas usually give two solid infusions, while green teas can stretch to three, each a little softer than the last. It costs nothing, and many drinkers quietly prefer the second cup.
Storing loose leaf tea
Tea's enemies are air, light, moisture and strong neighbouring smells. Keep your leaf in an airtight tin away from the stove and sunlight, and it will stay fresh for months. Our tea storage tins are made for the job, whether you keep loose leaf or pyramid tea pouches in them. Skip the fridge, where condensation and food odours work against you, and buy amounts you will get through in a reasonable time rather than stockpiling.
That is the whole craft: measure generously, watch the temperature, time the steep and keep the leaf fresh. After a week of brewing this way you will stop thinking about it entirely, which is exactly when tea gets good.