The Perfect Cup of Tea

Tea is perfect for all occasions; in the morning, before going to bed, while at work, after a meal, to cure a bad mood, to enjoy with friends… Tea is the solution to everything. Truly. If we could all drink tea constantly, we’d be golden.

However, while tea comes across as something terribly simple to make, there is actually a little science behind it. So many people just throw a tea bag in warm water and call it a day (I know because I was one of them!). There’s a fine line between a perfect cup of tea and a mug of grassy water. While there are no specific rules to making tea, there are some guidelines to help us achieve the perfect cup of tea.

Chose your tea
First, it is important to choose the right tea. And it is ESSENTIAL to know what kind of tea is being made. Gotta know what’s happening, ya know? Doing it blindly (“I’ll just grab this one right here, whatever it is…”) would be relying on sheer luck to make a good cup of tea, which could work, but... It might not be the best thing to do. Besides, we may not all like every type of tea there is. Without going into too much detail (that’ll be for some other time), here’s an idea of what each tea tastes like.

Black tea
Like its name would suggest, black tea is pretty strong. The taste is usually quite sweet. Since it is so strong, you can easily add other ingredients (like milk, honey, or lemon) without losing the main flavor.

Green tea
Aaaah, the popular green tea. Everyone seems to like it. However, it can be surprisingly bitter. It has an earthy taste that is delicious, but that can also easily spoil the deal. Brew it for too long and you’ll find yourself drinking grass soup. Green tea is very fragile, so be extra careful when adding sweeteners to it.

White tea
White tea has a very fresh and airy taste, while maintaining all of its sweetness. It is extremely delicate, just like green tea. Careful now.

Herbal tea
Also called tisane, herbal tea can be made with just about any herb, plant, or spice. For example, camomile tea is one extremely popular tisane. But there are so many more! There must be one type of herbal tea for every ache there is! The taste of herbal tea is light and straightforward, since it is made in such a simple way.

Fruit infusion
This is the runner-up in the popularity contest. They are used profusely by tea companies like DavidsTea and Teavana to make teas that taste like cake (don’t get me wrong; I love those!). Fruit infusions are sweet and super flavorful. And the best part is, they sometimes turn your tea bright red or pink!

Rooibos tea
For some reason, rooibos tea is my favorite. The taste is fresh, but there’s something nutty about it too… You can make lattes, iced tea or even cappuccinos with it.

Oolong tea
Oolong tea is super complex. It has a wide range of flavors, depending on how it has initially been made: it can be sweet, nutty, roasted, fresh, fruity… There’s not one word to describe oolong tea, proof that it is super fancy. I don’t recommend adding anything to it; that would be like spreading ketchup on osso buco.

Pu’erh tea
That is a very fancy tea, with very changing flavors. The taste depends on how long the tea has been oxidized for, if it is raw or ripe, etc. It’s kind of like wine. The longer it’s fermenting, the more complex and delicious it gets. (I say that, but I hate wine. But I do love pu’erh tea!)

Mate tea
Mate – or maté – tea is a very strong tea. To me, this tea is almost masculine. It is very strong, and can taste quite woodsy (you know, like a cologne has wood notes… Manly tea, I’m telling you). Apparently it can take a little time to get accustomed to the particular taste of this tea. You can add honey or sugar if you don’t want it “naked”.

Chaï tea
Chaï tea tastes like Christmas. It is sweet, warm and spicy (you can definitely taste de cinnamon). It is Christmas in a cup!

Get the water just right
Contrary to popular belief, tea isn’t always made with boiling water. And yes, the water temperature does matter (something I’ve come to believe just recently). Some types of teas, like green or white tea, are much more fragile and will get damaged by boiling water. Burned tea leaves taste horrible, and will spoil your tea by giving it an extra bitter taste.

Hot water
For oolong, mate, green and white tea, use water that is simply hot. Not water straight from the tap, still use a kettle – but don’t let it come to a boil. Once you see steam, and tiny bubbles forming, the water should be just right. This will keep the delicate tea leaves from getting damaged.

Just-boiling water
Pu’erh, chaï, rooibos, herbal, black tea and fruit infusions can handle the heat a lot better. Regardless, I like to use water that has just reached a boil. I find that it takes away some of the bitterness and lets you enjoy all of the original flavors.

Brew
Not all teas should be brewed for the same amount of time. I used to just estimate it; pour the water, forget my cup on the counter, come back, give it a little stir and then remove the tea bag. But that would give me varying results, with occasional disasters. So instead of blaming the tea, I started to actually follow the directions provided with the tea, and I realized that I was brewing my tea all wrong. Lesson learned: now I always follow instructions. On the cheat sheet down below, I put general guidelines, but if your tea comes with instructions, it’s always best to follow them. Some concoctions are made with many types of tea and require special treatment.

Tea is in truth super easy to make; it’s just a matter of respecting the leaves. I created a tea cheat sheet to help prepare the perfect cup of tea. Feel free to overuse it; there’s no such thing as making too much tea.

Cheers!

-TM-