3 Secrets to Better Tasting Tea
Posted by LISA SITWELL
The lovely thing about tea is that there’s never a bad time to drink it. Morning, afternoon, evening, even in the middle of the night—as long as it's tasty, there’s no reason to not indulge. But what if it doesn’t taste as great as its aroma? You should consider these three things to have the best tea experience, no matter the time of day.
Steep Time
When you steep your tea doesn’t matter, but how long you do greatly affects the taste of it. This, unfortunately, is the hardest part of attaining the perfect cup. If you leave the bag in too long it will come out bitter, and if you take it out too soon, you’ll be left with fragrant-smelling water. The exact time, however, depends on the type of tea. Make sure you research how to steep tea for black, green, red, white and so on—believe it or not, one minute can make all the difference.
Type of Water
The water you use for your tea and how long you boil it are things that actually do change its flavor. The long debate of bottled water vs. tap water has found that bottled water (often deionized) has more health benefits and a stronger flavor. If you have lots of strong-tasting minerals in your tap water, then it’s possible that the tea doesn't cover the flavor of water and needs to be filtered. If you find you like deionized water better, consider getting a filter—for instance, reverse osmosis removes contaminants, which improves the taste of your water and will then help all the good things in your tea steep correctly.
Leaf Quality
Sometimes the problem isn’t you, it’s them. If, despite all your efforts, your tea simply isn’t tasting as well as they make it at the local café, there’s a good chance the quality of the leaf is to blame. Some brands are able to disguise in teabags their low-quality leaf, even if they profess otherwise. Generally, one way to ensure high quality tea is by switching to loose leaf, if you haven’t already, or at the least looking at what’s inside your bag. Is it whole leaf pieces, or tiny broken ones? Look into the different grades of tea and consider upgrading!
Tea can be complicated, but the results are worth all the pain. Do a little experimentation and see what improves the flavor for you. One thing all tea lovers can agree on—everyone likes their cup a little different!
Looking for a new flavor of tea? Check out our samplers!
