What’s the best way to steep black tea? Follow these 6 steps!

Steep A Cup Of Good Black Tea

Black tea is a common tea drink, some high-grade black tea is expensive, if not steeped in the right way, will make the taste of black tea a grade lower. So how to steep black tea? following the 6 steps below, steep a cup of good black tea is no longer a difficult thing.

Contents

1.    Prep

Know your teapot. Measure the teapot’s capacity with a measuring cup to determine how much water to pour into it.
Usually, 360ml water is need by every 3-5g black tea; it can steeping about two cups of tea(in fact the water in each cup is about 150~160ml, the tea leaves absorb the other part.)
If you use the teapot only for single-person, you may use about 150ml water.

2.    Boiled Water

Use fresh water, it better that has just flowed out of the tap. Usually, soft water(means water with a low mineral content), can most bring out the aroma of tea complete.
So, if the source of water in your home, is not soft enough, you can use filtering equipment to get the best water.
Also, control the temperature of the water, which has a certain impact on the taste of tea.

3.    Put in tea leaves

Teapot for two-person needs about 3-5g tea leaves one time, and 1.5-2.5g for the single-person teapot.
Increase or decrease the amount of tea as necessary. For example, finely ground tea leaves, because of the large contact area between water and tea leaves, the dissolution rate of tea liquid is relatively fast, so the amount can be relatively reduced; The larger and complete tea leaves, because the water and tea contact area is small, the dissolution rate is relatively slow, the amount can be appropriately added.
Secondly, many elegant and fragrant style tea, such as spring picking Darjeeling, they can highlight the aroma, with using less tea.
But unless you use a unique electronic scale, it is difficult to measure well accurately; so usually by visual inspection and experience. Basically, more loose, more complete tea leaves can be put more, and finely ground tea leaves are put less.

Take Each Step Seriously

4.    Water injection

Complete-fermented black tea requires a high enough water temperature to adequately stimulate the aroma of the tea, usually at least 95℃ or above. So it is best to pour water quickly into the teapot after the water has boiled to get the right temperature.
When pouring hot water into the teapot, try not to inject it from the center. Let the water column slightly skew to one side of the spout to make the tea spin, looks beautiful, and send out a pleasant aroma.
The primary steeping time is 3 minutes, depending on the nature of the tea leaves, the fine tea leaves steep time is shorter (2~2.5 minutes), complete and large tea leaves can be slightly longer (3.5~4 minutes). You can use a timer or an hourglass to help to time.

5.    Pour out the tea

Hold the teapot in one hand and the filter in the other to strain the tea leaves. Keep the right practice on using the filter, do not place the strainer directly on the cup so that it touches the soup. Because, if it is people drinking tea together, it will make each other’s tea contaminated with each other, it’s not polite seriously.
During the pouring, the tea leaves are still steeping, so if the teapot opening is larger, the action should be slow; A teapot with a small opening can be faster.
If you need to pour more than one cup of tea, and want to ensure the same concentration of tea in each cup, you can follow the British tea etiquette, by gently shaking the pot before pouring, but the effect is not significant.
Besides, according to the Chinese tea etiquette, first pour all into the justice cup, and then pour the tea in each cup; Or take a long, thin spoon and gently stir it around before pouring, making sure the consistency of each cup is about the same.
Finally, it is very important to pour out all the tea.
The last few drops of tea, are the essence of the whole pot of black tea when thoroughly steeped, and are even said to be “Golden Drops,” do not waste it ever. When the “Golden Drop” drops into the cup, the color and luster of the whole cup of black tea will instantly look better.

Enjoy The Nice Black Tea

6.    Steeping again

If you want the second round, pour the boiling water into the teapot again according to the previous steps. However, the steeping time can be appropriately increased by 1~1.5 minutes. The flavor of the second round tea will usually be lighter; the aroma is not obvious. However, if you want to be able to continue steeping more times, you can slightly increase the amount of tea in the first round, and shorten the steeping time, leaving more flavor for the second and third round.