In addition to the flavour, the health benefits, or the sense of calm that made you fall in love with drinking tea in the first place, loose-leaf teas come with another charm that may surprise you — they’re meant to be re-steeped! The aroma and the taste change with every steep, revealing a new experience in every cup. Re-steeped loose-leaf teas are a gift that keeps on giving, as you get to discover those hidden changing flavours at every steep and reap the benefits of the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients. With all that said, you may be wondering: how to re-steep loose-leaf tea properly?
Are there benefits when I re-steep loose leaf tea?
If you’ve ever felt some kind of attachment to your favourite teas when having to throw them out after the first infusion, re-steeping tea might be the solution. It’s a great way to get better value out of your expensive loose leaf teas while savouring those complex, hidden and changing flavours. Re-steeping teas is also the basic principle of Chinese Gongfu brewing and Japanese Sencha and Gyokuro tea ceremonies. However, re-steeping doesn’t just apply to eastern tea steeping techniques. On the contrary, it works for most loose leaf teas and will often surprise you with how effective it can be.
How to re-steep loose leaf tea: the do’s and don’ts
Given the potentially long-lasting and ever-changing flavour, we’ve got a few tips to help you get comfortable with brewing multiple infusions:
Do: Use a smaller steeping vessel
Increasing the ratio of tea leaves to water is one way to increase the number of infusions from any tea. When a small serving of leaves is steeped in a large mug of water, the flavour is diluted. In a smaller vessel, the same small serving of leaves will yield a greater number of infusions and full-bodied flavour with rich nuance.
Don’t: Leave wet tea leaves for more than a couple of hours
Even though it’s okay to leave the tea leaves in your pot after steeping, it’s never recommended that you leave them wet for longer than a couple of hours or even use them the next day., The combination of water and damp tea leaves can cause bacteria to grow.
Do: Steep for shorter times
To better control the flavour of the brew, a slower steep time is always a good practice. Shorter steeps will extract great flavour without the bitterness as compounds like polyphenols and methylxanthines (such as caffeine) are among the slowest to infuse into any cup. Depending on the tea, we highly recommend limiting the following infusions for 30 seconds to 3 minutes for a well-rounded flavour without the astringent taste.
Don’t: Ignore the water temperature
It’s essential to not use boiling hot water in your first brew, as this can break down the leaves and result in a bitter cup. Both green tea and white tea are best brewed at a temperature between 160℉ - 180℉, while Oolong and Pu’erh require the temperature of around 190℉ - 200℉ and black tea should be steeped at around 200℉.
Don’t have a thermometer handy? We’ve got you covered! You can tell the water temperature by watching the bubbles. Small bubbles will float to the surface of the water at 160℉ to 170℉, while strings of bubbles indicate that the kettle is at 180℉ - 190℉. After that, you'll have a full rolling boil.
Do: Taste each infusion to test the quality
As re-steeping presents a more concentrated flavour and allows you to have better control of how your tea develops, this is a great chance to do a taste test and uncover those hidden qualities!
Don’t: Forget to use a special teacup/mug
It’s a known fact that we all have a favourite cup to enjoy our favourite drink with, but it’s not recommended to enjoy tea in the same cup that you use to drink coffee, as it can affect the taste of tea. As a general rule, set aside cups that will exclusively be used for tea.
Do: Finish with a cold steep
If your leaves are still going strong after your last cup of tea for the day, transfer them to a pitcher of cold water and leave them in the fridge overnight to make a refreshing iced tea. The long, cold infusion will draw out every last bit of flavour, without extracting any bitter or astringent compounds. This is the best way to make sure you’re getting the most from every tea leaf!
What loose leaf teas are good for re-steeping?
Green Tea
The Japanese have been mastering the art of re-steeping loose leaf teas for hundreds of years, as most Japanese green teas reveal a richer and stronger flavour in their following brews compared to their first infusion. Good news for green tea aficionados — you can successfully re-steep loose leaf green teas 2 to 5 times and your tea will still retain its best characteristics!
White Tea
Though known to be one of the lightest and most delicate varieties of tea due to its minimal processing, white teas are relatively resilient to multiple infusions. It’s best to re-steep your favourite white teas 2 to 3 times using a slightly higher water temperature and 15 to 30 seconds longer to still get the elegant taste.
Black Tea
Most black teas are likely to deliver a robust and flavourful first cup. However, they hold up less well to multiple infusions. A second and third infusion still offers pleasant and distinct notes, but you will not get a full-bodied cup as the first brew. If you prefer your black teas strong, we recommend leaving the tea leaves in for up to ten minutes in your second infusion as most high-quality black teas won’t become too bitter. A splash of milk or cream will give you a rich and luxurious sip!
Oolong Tea
We highly recommend our tea lovers to always re-steep Oolong! Oolong tea leaves display their different layers of aroma and taste every time you reuse them. Another surprise? You can re-steep Oolong up to 10 times and its hidden flavour will just get better! However, the first 5 infusions often yield the best result. Chinese and Taiwanese Oolong are especially good for re-steeping.
How about herbal teas?
With herbal teas, the number of infusions you can get depends on the specific blend and what it’s composed of. The stronger the flavour, the more times you can re-steep. There are some herbal infusions that are better than others for re-steeping. Our Organic Peppermint tend to make stronger second infusions.
However, herbal infusions are consumed for their precise flavour and health benefits, so the following infusions might not deliver the intended offerings as well as the first brew. In fact, re-steeping can cause herbal components to blend improperly with hot water which might not provide an exceptional drinking experience as compared to the other types of tea mentioned above.
Master the art of re-steeping loose-leaf teas with these tips and special blends from My Cup of Tea!
Whether you're a new tea lover or a long-time tea drinker, we hope you will find the above tips helpful in discovering how to re-steep loose-leaf tea.
Are you looking to boost immunity with an herbal blend, kick start your day with a strong black tea or in need of a midday pick-me-up from a fresh green tea? Check out our online store for different loose leaf teas and blends from all over the world!
Source:
Tea Brewing Temperature Guide https://www.thespruceeats.com/tea-brewing-temperature-guide-766367