Black Tea Brew Guide
Insight to Black Tea from About The Cup
If you are looking for a flavorful and invigorating tea, black tea is a great choice. It is a healthy beverage with antioxidants and caffeine that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, which are allowed the tea leaves to oxidize fully in the process of black tea making. This oxidation process gives black tea its characteristic dark reddish color and strong flavor.
There are many different varieties of black tea, each with its own unique flavor profile generated within the tea as a result of the growing conditions, mainly the soil and climate. Some of the most popular varieties include English Breakfast tea, Ceylon black tea, Assam tea, and Darjeeling tea.
Black Tea Brewing Guide
Brewing of black tea to make a cup of tea with great taste is an art that you should be master of. The ingredients required to make a cup of tea are as follows.
- 8oz of fresh water
- A tea kettle or what you like to heat the water
- One perfect teaspoon of loose black tea or a pyramid sachet if available
- If using loose leaf tea, you will need an infuser
- A teacup or mug
Here are the steps that you need to follow for a perfect black cup of tea.
- Always use fresh water sourced from filtered or spring water
The water that you use to make the tea should follow the exact characteristics of definition to water. If the water has any kind of added taste or an odor, you will not get the exact taste of black tea.
- Boil the water to 212 degrees through a kettle or whatever you like to heat the water
Using 212 degree water to brew black tea will urge the tea leaves to excrete all the characteristics of the dried tea particles to hot water. Make sure to rinse the kettle or water heater before using it.
- Rinse the teacup or mug using few drops of boiled water
By rinsing the teacup or mug with hot water, the walls of the cup would get heated up and it will avoid sudden cooling of boiled water when pour in to the teapot and teacup.
- Add 1 perfect teaspoon of black tea from your About The Cup black tea variety or the black pyramid sachet to the teacup or mug.
Size of particle size is the first factor that decides how strong or astringent your teacup is. Nearly 1 teaspoon contains 5g of tea. If you are looking for a stronger cup of tea, using a heaping perfect teaspoon will help.
- Pour 212 degree water directly on the tea in the infuser, if the infuser has a lid, put the lid on and steep the tea for 3- 5 minutes.
Brewing time of a black tea is the second factor that decides the strength and astringency of your tea cup. Brewing more means the black tea particles have more time to excrete what it possess. Therefore, the tea becomes stronger and astringent. If the tea is steeped for little time, the tea brew becomes lighter. If you added more or less black tea to the infuser accidently, then you may change steeping time and make yourself correct in this step.
- Pour the black tea brew to the teacup and add milk or sugar as you prefer.
If you prefer a lighter black tea, then it can be consumed without any sugar or milk added, which is a healthy way of having a black tea. However, if you prefer to add some milk or sugar, make the black tea cup strong to feel the beautiful characteristics of black tea.
- Sit back, relax and enjoy your black tea sip by sip.
Drinking a cup of black tea made on your own is a beautiful art. You may master it by doing experiments with different black tea types in different volumes and different steeping times. Just be adventurous and find out the best fit for you to enjoy a perfect cup of black tea!