Most green teas brewed at a lower temperature need from 1.5-3 minutes, and white tea releases its lightly fruity or floral notes when brewed from 3-5 minutes. Small leaf particles of black tea brew in 1-2 minutes whole leaf or large leaf black teas need 3-5 minutes. Temperature-controlled kettles are readily available today and make brewing at a suitable temperature much easier. Image: To make really good tea, a little more thought and skill is required, says Jane Pettigrew If you're a fan of white teas, brew the beautiful silvery-white leaves at 80˚ for a pale, delicate liquor that reminds you of the colour of a glass of chablis or sauvignon blanc. The trick is to brew long enough to get the goodness and the best flavour from the leaves, but not so long that too much of the caffeine and the antioxidants are released, making the tea taste bitter and unpleasant. This is because the caffeine and the antioxidants in the leaf have a bitter taste. Our traditional black teas are best brewed in water at 96˚-98˚C green teas, so popular now, demand much cooler temperatures, and water at 70˚ -75˚ C will draw out the sweeter notes from the tea, whereas boiling water brews a very bitter tea. Once you've filled the kettle with the filtered water, choose a temperature that suits the tea you're brewing. Unfiltered water gives the tea a cloudy appearance, causes a scummy layer to develop on the surface of the liquor, and overwhelms the tea's aroma and taste. When it's time to brew, filter your tap water in order to remove all the impurities, such as limescale, chlorine and dissolved heavy metals, that mask the true character of the tea. Allow 2.5-3g of leaf to approximately 200ml of water. If you go for loose leaf tea, the easiest way to brew is in a teapot that contains its own infuser basket that can be lifted out when the tea has brewed. Image: Brewing time affects the quality of the tea So pay a little more for biodegradable pyramid teabags (made from corn starch extract) which contain larger particles of tea and therefore deliver a more subtle, interesting, satisfying tea.īetter still, buy loose leaf teas for that wonderful old-fashioned experience of knowing where the tea comes from, of appreciating the colour and appearance of the dry leaves as you scoop them into the pot or mug, and of then drinking a really delicious cuppa. The majority of paper teabags (most of which contain polypropylene plastics) contain very cheap teas that have been blended to make a really low-priced product that delivers colour into the cup but very little true tea flavour. To make really good tea, a little more thought and skill is required.įirstly, treat yourself and buy some good tea. Most people today fill the kettle from the cold tap, set the water to boil, throw a cheap teabag into a mug, submerge it in boiling water, wait 20-30 seconds, fish out the bag, and then drown any flavour they have managed to extract from the leaves with milk and sugar. When tea companies started to pack their blends inside paper teabags in the 1930s, the allure and charm was lost from the everyday preparation of our favourite brew. Here, she tells Sky News how to make the perfect cup. She's now a leading tea expert, and travels the world teaching tea masterclasses, speaking at tea conferences, training staff in tea skills and writing on the many aspects of tea. Jane Pettigrew began her tea career owning a tearoom in the 1980s. Image: Jane Pettigrew is one of the world's leading tea experts
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