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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Seven Tips for a Better Cup of Tea

Your cup of tea will taste even greater if you will follow this seven tips in preparing one.

A cup of tea is always a welcome addition to your breakfast table each morning. Your cup of tea will taste even better if only you know some ways to maintain and even maximize its flavor. Below are seven helpful tips to have a more flavorful cup of tea.

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1. Usually, a cup of tea is made up of 99% water. So to make a nicer brew, be sure to use pure water. Don’t make it a habit to fill a kettle with water direct from a tap. Unfiltered water contains some chemicals like calcium carbonate that may affect its flavor. The best way to have your tea taste better is to filter first the water before boiling it.

2. Always have fresh water in your kettle. A cup of tea will taste better if more oxygen is dissolved in water. You can attain this by not re-boiling any leftover water in your kettle, since boiling water too much will result to poorly oxygenated water.

3. Use fresh tea leaves. Keep them at room temperature in a sealed container to maintain its crispiness and freshness. Avoid putting them in a refrigerator or freezer to keep moist and the fridge odor since it will have an effect on the leaves taste.

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4. When brewing black tea, it is best that the boiled water’s temperature be near 100° C (212° F) before pouring it on the leaves. The brew’s desired final flavor may not be achieved if the boiled water temperature is way below boiling point. For green or white teas it is essential use water that is approximately 80° C/176° F.

5. Loose leaf tea produces a better cup of brew tea than teabags. Yes teabags are more convenient to use but since the leaves are confined on a small package it restrict the leaves movement.Thus, the tea leaves flavor are not yield to the max. Likewise if the tea leaves are loose, their aroma is dispersed more effectively. Therefore it is advisable to brew tea in a teapot rather than a mug since the leaves have more space to spread thus it will taste much better.

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6.Would you be believe that your cup of tea will taste even better if only you can wait. Yes allow the brew for the suggested length of time. It is a common knowledge that the longer the tea leaf is, the longer it takes to brew. Teabgas have lesser brewing time usually 30-45 seconds. But don’t try to squeeze the teabags just to lessen its brewing time, be patient and wait for the proper time and your tea will have its full flavor.

7. Normally milk is poured into the cup before the tea . This custom started when the early Europeans learn to use tea and at that time they are porcelain teacups. These fragile cups can‘t endure the high temperature of tea. But today, more stronger cups and mugs are in use that could withstand the heat so, there is now a debate on what should be put first, the milk or the tea. The final decision is yours.

21 comments:

  1. These are good to know things and i'd love to share these to my mum who really loves teas! :)

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  2. Actually I don't like the taste of real tea which is the leaves poured with water. I would much prefer milk tea but I have not tried mixing original tea leaves with made milk.

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  3. I put tea first then milk. Here in the Philippines, tea is served with sugar which I personally do not like. Thanks for that info about making black tea. I will keep that in mind.

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  4. my husband is a coffee addict while I love drinking teas. I have so many teas here at home with so many flavours I've got and collected from the countries I've been to. great tips dear! Agree that loose leaf tea is more nicer and flavory for me. xx

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  5. I'll try this out when I make a healthy cup of tea.

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  6. i use water direct from a tap. It is easier and can't see the difference though from my brewed coffee

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  7. I love coffee than tea but thanks for this post. I didn't know that the quality of water will affect the taste of tea. Is this also true with coffee?

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  8. i don't really drink much coffee, but with this tips? got so much interested. .

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  9. I am not much of tea drinker . . . coffee addict instead ha!ha! but will try these tips, thanks!

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  10. Oh I am not fond of tea (well except for milk tea haha) but thanks for this tip.. I will try to practice this when a tea mood strikes :)

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  11. your post was great! i love drinking green tea and chamomile tea specially when i have dysmenorrhea, it can relieved the pain. there is more helth benefits of drinking tea.

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  12. I am not much of a tea drinker. My husband and kids love iced tea though. He would brew a pot of tea for him and the kids to share. These are very useful tips.

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  13. oh, would try to apply number 2, I did not know about it :)I love green tea, and yes, especially milk tea :)

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  14. What a coincidence as I was just trying the tea leaves sent to me by my daughter. I really love drinking tea.

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  15. Good tip,Papaleng. I drink a lot of tea so I would try to apply number 7.

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  16. Hmmmmm makes me want to drink a cup of tea! Great tips here....I'd try to follow tips one to seven to have that heavenly experience :)

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  17. The degree of the boiling water is really important to have a good cup of tea. I need to het myself love tea instead of coffee :)

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  18. I am not really a coffee drinker but I drink every once in a while or whenever I feel like it. This is very helpful to make my coffee experience even better.

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  19. Nice tips, but I'm not a big fan of tea.. Hehehe =D Maganda daw ang tea sa health, kaya minsan gusto ko na ding subukan talaga na maging habit uminom nito.. Ayaw ko lang kase minsan sa lasa nya... =( Hanggang C2 lang talaga ako.. Hehehe

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  20. i've been drinking tea for a year now after i stopped having coffee, these tips are good. i love loose tea but sometimes it takes time unlike with a tea bags, easy lang...hehehe! earl grey is my favorite...:)

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