I start with boiling water because I don’t have a fancy kettle.
Tea bags? Leave in for a while, sometimes indefinitely, sometimes til the string annoys me.
Black unflavored?With a little half and half. Sometimes brown sugar, tannin content depending.
Black flavored (like Earl grey)? Plain.
Green? A little honey.
Most others? Plain
Loose? Timing depends on tea type, and can change based on specific tea and quality.
Usually:
Black/flavored green/lower quality teas? 3 minutes first brew, 5 till indefinite minutes second brew.
Green? 1 minute first brew, 2 minutes second brew, 5 minutes third brew.
Oolong/puer? 5 second rinse, toss the rinse, 20 second first brew. Or, without rinse, 30 second first brew. 1 minute second brew, 2 minute third brew, etc.
A lot of loose leaf depends on tea to water ratio too, these work for me. Quality and size of leaf effects how quickly the flavor can get into the water. Sometimes I’ll just stand over the brewing tea and sniff the whole time to determine best brew time. I might be a little crazy about it though.
Depends on tea…
I start with boiling water because I don’t have a fancy kettle.
Tea bags? Leave in for a while, sometimes indefinitely, sometimes til the string annoys me. Black unflavored?With a little half and half. Sometimes brown sugar, tannin content depending. Black flavored (like Earl grey)? Plain. Green? A little honey. Most others? Plain
Loose? Timing depends on tea type, and can change based on specific tea and quality. Usually: Black/flavored green/lower quality teas? 3 minutes first brew, 5 till indefinite minutes second brew. Green? 1 minute first brew, 2 minutes second brew, 5 minutes third brew. Oolong/puer? 5 second rinse, toss the rinse, 20 second first brew. Or, without rinse, 30 second first brew. 1 minute second brew, 2 minute third brew, etc.
A lot of loose leaf depends on tea to water ratio too, these work for me. Quality and size of leaf effects how quickly the flavor can get into the water. Sometimes I’ll just stand over the brewing tea and sniff the whole time to determine best brew time. I might be a little crazy about it though.