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.
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.
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.
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.
