When we need a time for deep thought, introspection, relaxation, or just a moment of quiet solitude nothing compares with a freshly brewed cup of hot tea. It is my beverage of choice. Many believe for a proper cup of tea one must use loose leaf tea, I personally do not see it as mandatory if you use a quality tea but do feel it often adds to the occasion making it more memorable.

I have discovered how you brew your tea really makes a difference as to how it will taste. I used to just throw a tea bag in a cup of water and shove it in the microwave. I usually ended up with a bitter cup of tea. I used to blame the brand or the bag. Everyone on the web seemed to be saying I had to use loose leaf to acheive the perfect cup. So I switched but got the same results. If this has been your experience, you can do better. Whether bag or loose leaf you can make a good cup of tea.

Brewing loose leaf is truly an art, but so is making a proper cup of tea from a bag. Sorry loose leaf folks but this is a true statement. The problem is most people who use bags don’t take the time to become an artist and most loose leaf artists try to apply their same technique to the bag. A poorer quality brew than is possible is the result. With a little knowledge you can greatly improve your bagged tea performance.

Following these guidelines will greatly improve any cup of tea but the fresher and better the quality of the tea to begin with the better the quality of the result. I recommend using teas in a bag of at least 2 grams. Smaller sizes will almost always disappoint with either a very weak cup or one that is bitter because you over steeped trying to compensate. Use a tea whose bags come individually foil wrapped as these stay fresh longer than paper envelopes. Shredding the leaf to make the small pieces that are in most bags causes the leaf to loose moisture and oils essential to good flavor. The foil helps keep this to a minimum.

Avoid tap water unless it has been filtered to remove the chlorine taste and other contaminants that can affect the taste. Distilled water has the opposite problem. It will taste flat as there are no minerals in it. Do not over boil, as this will take the oxygen out of the water also producing a flat tasting tea. Above all don’t put the bag in the water and then heat. Place the bag in the cup and pour the heated water over it.

Most instructions for black tea say to bring the water to a rolling boil. For green tea the water should be just below the boiling point before pouring. With white tea, the water should be even slightly cooler. I say don’t just take their word for it. Experiment with the temperatures and see what you think works best. To my tastes, I find water that is just beginning to bubble works excellent for almost all forms of the teas I drink.

Bagged tea requires less steeping time than loose leaf due to the total amount of surface area exposed to the water. All those tiny pieces add up to a lot more surface area. That means a bag will produce a stronger cup faster than loose tea. It will become bitter or astringent if you over brew, especially towards the end of the cup, so remove the bag after the proper steeping time. Experiment with steeping time to find that sweet spot for your blend. Three minutes is a good starting point. You can adjust the time up or down as necessary.

Let me offer an example from my experience (yours will be different). I didn’t think I much cared for Twinings Oolong when I first tried it. I experimented and discovered if I heat the water up to my normal temperature (just starting to bubble), then allowed it to cool for 30-45 seconds before pouring, and steeped for two minutes I got what I considered an enjoyable cup. With most Ceylon Earl Grey teas, I like it strong and use fully heated water with a 5 minute steep time. The point I am making is each blend is different and will require paying attention to subtle details. After brewing, I prefer to allow my tea to cool until it is just warm. I think the flavor and aromas are much more defined than in an extremely hot cup.

How does preparing bagged tea properly compare to loose leaf tea? When I measure serving size accurately, watch my temperature and steeping time carefully, it is very difficult and often impossible to tell any difference between loose leaf and bag tea of the same brand and blend. Twinings Earl Grey loose leaf and Twinings Earl Grey bag tea taste pretty much the same if I prepare each form according to its own particular requirements. A bag of Ahmad No.1 will taste like Ahmad No.1 loose leaf. Same brand comparisons are the only ones that are fair. All true teas comes from the same camellia sinensis plant but not all teas are grown, harvested, processed, and blended the same. There is a limit to what you can accomplish. While you can make any tea taste its very best by preparing it properly, you cannot make a poor quality tea taste like a premium grade tea.

My loose leaf technique is similar in approach to bag tea, altered only slightly to get the most out of the tea. To help you get started try using the equivalent amount of tea found in a generous size tea bag - which to my tastes is about 2 grams. You might want to measure it out on a scale until you get a feel for how much tea it takes. As with bag tea you will have to experiment with the amount of tea, the water temperature, and the steeping time to suit your tastes. Remember steeping time will most likely be a bit longer than a bag of the same blend. Again start at three minutes and adjust accordingly.

Some people prefer using a tea ball while brewing. Others use an infuser, which is a mesh open top basket that is placed into the cup or pot. Still others allow the leaves to float freely in the pot and pour the brew into the cup through a filter. The idea in each case is to allow the water to flow as freely around each leaf as possible. Some consider a tea ball to be as restrictive as a bag in this regard. You will want to measure each method against clean up and convenience when deciding which way to go here. I use a 2” mesh ball. No matter what you decide the water is to be heated before coming in contact with the leaves.

Many people preheat the cup and the teapot before brewing. I used to think this was just part of the ritual to prepare the mind to make the experience more enjoyable or special. There is a real reason why they preheat. It is to help prevent the water from cooling too quickly while steeping. I may be depriving myself but I personally have not found preheating to be necessary with the teas I use when preparing a single cup. Your mileage may vary.

The experts say not to boil the water in the microwave with or without the tea bag in it. I can attest that I rarely make a good cup of microwave tea. So how should one heat the water? The British consider an electric kettle to be as indispensable as the American percolator. In the U.S. it is easy to find a decent electric coffee pot. It is a little more difficult to find a quality electric kettle for a proper cup of tea. A stainless or ceramic stovetop kettle can commonly be found at a reasonable price. An electric version of the same can be pricey. The cheaper ones will probably be plastic. The best kettles have an adjustable thermostat. I have found none that are designed for single serving use.

The lack of a decent small kettle makes it a bit more difficult to enjoy tea at the office. I use a “Sunbeam Hot Shot” hot water dispenser. It brings the water to just beginning to boil, which works to my satisfaction with the teas I enjoy. The down side to this unit is it is plastic. The on button being plastic failed at one point and had to be put back together. I have had it for several years because I baby it, but it is plastic. The ideal for me would be finding an electric kettle with a variable thermostat that heats 16 oz of water at a time. Such a small kettle doesn’t seem to exist. The Hot Shot is an acceptable substitute.

My son uses a coffee maker. If you are sharing then a pot makes great sense. The problem for me is I am the only one drinking tea at the office. Once you make a pot of tea it gets cold before you can drink it unless you leave it turned on. If you leave it on, the water evaporates making the tea less than perfect. Even if you just heat the water and then pour it over the tea, by the time you get around to the second or third cup the water has evaporated the oxygen out of it. This is why I prefer to heat one cup at a time. It only takes a few seconds and is always fresh. In addition a coffe maker does not give you control over steeping time unless only use it to heat the water.

I hope this article has been of help in your quest for the perfect cup.