How to Make the Perfect Cup of Tea

Perhaps you may be confused by the title of this blog. Aren't you just supposed to boil the water and shove the tea bag in it and wait until I remember I left a hot cup of tea on the counter? Yes and no.

Here's what you'll need:

• loose leaf tea
• 475ml/16 fl. oz. of water (filtered preferably)
• a kettle or saucepan
• 1 tablespoon measuring spoon
• a steeper of some sort: disposable tea bag, in-cup strainer, steeper device, mesh ball, etc.
• a 475ml/16 fl. oz. mug
• fixings: honey, sugar, sweetener, milk, etc.
• optional: thermometer

There is a science to making the perfect cup of tea and it all depends on what kind of tea you have, the temperature of the water, and then how long you let it steep for. Please note that boiling your water may cause the tea to burn or become astringent (bitter) in its taste.

Now that you know what tea you are using, heat up your water to the appropriate temperature. You can use a kettle that has pre-set temperature settings, or use a thermometer while heating up your water on a stove top.

If you don't have either, you can let your water boil and then let it sit for about 1-3 minutes to get it at 95°C / 200°F, 7-8 minutes to get it at 85°C / 185°F, and 10 minutes to get it at 75°C / 165°F before steeping your tea.

1. Heat up your water to the corresponding temperature for the tea you are using.
2. Measure out 1 tbsp of tea and place it into your tea making device of choice.
3. Once the water is ready, pour the hot water into your mug over the tea leaves. If you do not have a tea strainer device, you can simply pour the loose tea directly into the hot water and let it steep that way.
4. Once you've waited the appropriate amount of time for your tea to steep, remove the tea leaves by either removing your strainer device, or use a mesh strainer to scoop out the floating tea leaves.
5. You may now add in whatever you like to finish up your tea: honey, sugar, a squeeze of lemon, a splash of milk, etc.
6. Sip and enjoy!

Did You Know?

You can let your herbal tea steep for as long as you'd like. Herbal and fruit teas never get bitter, and in fact, the longer you let them steep, the more medicinal benefits you can extract from the herbs used. The only exception would probably be peppermint tea as it only needs about 1-2 minutes of steeping to get its strong flavor, otherwise it may be a bit too powerful.