Leveling Up with Tea

My Tea Preferences

Naturally, my personal preferences have defined the scope of my pursuit to make tea that I enjoy. I generally don't add anything like sweetener or milk. If I'm presented with an opportunity to get a chai latte or similar fancy tea, I might do that a few times a year as a treat. Most of the time I just want plain tea, hot or iced, though I'm not opposed to blends that include other flavors.

Some people may find the one tea they like best and learn how to prepare it perfectly, but I'm more inclined to enjoy some novelty and variety alongside go-to favorites. I'll try just about any type of black, green, or white tea. Most of the time I don't avoid caffeine, but I'll stick to herbal rooibos blends or peppermint if it's late in the day.

Start With Water

Good tea leaves are important, but I've learned not to underestimate the impact the quality and temperature of the water used has on the taste of brewed tea. I'm fortunate to have access to filtered water at home that does not noticeably impact the flavor. If I'm making tea while traveling I will try to use bottled or filtered water—when traveling by car I can easily bring a couple gallon jugs of water to make tea and refill my water bottle.

Most black and herbal teas require boiling water which is relatively easy to achieve since there is a visual indication when water has reached that temperature, but lower temperatures are needed for more delicate green and white teas. At first I used a quick-read food thermometer to check water temperature but that's a cumbersome process. Purchasing an electric kettle with the option to select from six pre-set water temperatures has just enough control to accommodate any tea I want to try.

I've been using a Cuisinart electric kettle that has worked flawlessly for several years, yet I'll admit that I passed my first, perfectly good kettle along to a family member just to get this new version that has an octopus on it. Sometimes indulging in something for the aesthetic is worth the tiny sparks of joy it brings, the other kettle is being put to good use, everybody wins!

Choosing Tea

I'll happily get tea from a small shop or specialty brand, but as my goal for everyday tea is keep things relatively easy and inexpensive, my go-to brand is The Republic of Tea. These signature round tins are fairly widely accessible in local stores and online, with a decent range of both loose leaf and tea bag options available. From the online shop many teas are also available in small amounts to try or gift, or in bulk to easily stock up on favorites with less packaging.

Here are some current favorites. While some of these have additional flavors beyond tea, these additions present more as a pleasant aroma than a strong flavor since the teas are not sweetened.

• Moroccan Mint
  A robust blend of loose leaf gunpowder green tea and peppermint.
• Blood Orange Cinnamon
  A black tea with notes of orange and cinnamon that has slight chai vibes.
• Brambleberry Black Tea
  A black tea with the fruity aroma of blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries.
• Tea of Inquiry
  Green Sencha leaves and toasted rice, a surprisingly pleasant combination.
• Peppermint Bark (Herbal)
  Green rooibos (caffeine-free) with cocoa and peppermint flavor—I usually avoid teas with a "dessert" theme but this one works, especially during the holiday season.
• Cucumber Mint White Tea
  A delicate white tea with notes of mint and cucumber—surprisingly I find the almost floral, minty aroma of this tea very enticing.
• Organic Assam Breakfast
  A full-leaf loose black tea from the Assam terroir in northeast India.

Loose Leaf Tea

I don't have anything against tea bags and use plenty of them, but some nicer teas are only available as loose leaf tea. At the very least, using loose leaf tea generally requires leveling up your setup to be able to strain the leaves. I've tried various forms of tea strainers with varying levels of ease and success. When time is not an issue it's hard to beat the experience of using a cast iron teapot (which often comes with a strainer basket), but the most practical tool I've found is a plastic tea infuser called Teaze.

Using the Teaze Infuser

Step 1: Start heating fresh, cold water to the suggested temperature and add the appropriate amount of loose leaf tea or tea bags to the container (the infuser holds about 2 servings, 14 oz).

Step 2: Once the water reaches the target temperature, pour hot water over the tea, close the lid, and set a timer to steep for the recommended amount of time.

Step 3: When the tea is done steeping, place the infuser over a cup or other container so the rim pushes up the plate along the bottom to dispense the tea through the port in the center.

Step 4: Dump the used tea leaves or tea bags and rinse/wash out the infuser. The mesh filter in the bottom can be removed for cleaning if needed.

Enjoy your tea! (Bonus points for using a cool mug.)

Tip: If you're in a hurry, green and white teas typically require a lower water temperature that takes less time to heat, have a shorter steep time, and will cool to a drinkable temperature quickly.

Staying Flexible

Even with good tools and practice, some days there just isn't time to brew fresh tea so there are two ways I prepare for this.

When I do have some time, perhaps on the weekend before a busy week, I will brew a large amount of tea to put into glass pitchers and store in the fridge for a few days. During the warmer months this cold tea is refreshing. If it's cold out or I really want hot tea, I may reheat it in the microwave—this might affect the flavor of some tea more than others so I pay attention to which types of tea are best to make ahead.

If I've not prepared ahead of time and need something quick, I've found a brand of instant tea powder called Waka that just needs to be mixed into hot water. I prefer the plain black and green teas, but the Chai was also not bad (it could have a little more spice).

Final Thoughts

The main challenge I've had with brewing a new type of tea is achieving satisfactory flavor without a bitter taste. Too short of a steep or not using enough tea will produce a weak flavor. Too much tea, steeping at the wrong temperature, or steeping for too long is likely to introduce a bitter flavor.

At this point I'm pretty happy with my setup of tools, but I have not kept a journal about making tea. Since there's been a lot of experimentation with different types of tea, amount of tea, water temperature, steep time, etc. I think that needs to be my next step.

Better documentation of each tea detailing what temperature and steep time I used with notes about the resulting flavor should help improve consistency. I should also note what tea bags or leaves can stand up to additional brews, are good to refrigerate and drink cold, or can be reheated without ruining the flavor. Time to go raid the stash of pocket notebooks and give one of my tea-themed pens a job!