Guide To Brewing Loose-Leaf Herbal Tea

When drinking herbal tea, do you use tea bags or loose leaf tea? Most people don’t realize there’s a big difference in quality between using standard herbal tea bags and brewing loose leaf tea. Tea bags consist of broken tea leaves. Much of the time, these broken tea leaves have lost most of their essential oils and aroma. In addition, tea bags can restrict the full flavor of the tea leaves preventing the full flavor and aroma from coming through.

In addition, tea bags can restrict the full flavor of the tea leaves preventing the full flavor and aroma from coming through.

Learning how to brew tea is a necessary skill if you desire to experience the full value of drinking tea. The steps to brewing herbal tea are simple and straightforward. In no time, you will be enjoying all of the qualities freshly brewed tea has to offer.

How To Brew Herbal Tea

Step #1: Purchase your tea

Purchasing your tea is the first and most important step to ensure your future tea drinking experience is pleasant. Do you like strong, black teas or grassy green teas? Do you prefer floral-scented teas or deep, earthy ones? Do you like your tea sweet or bitter? Think about these things before making your purchase.  Read the descriptions to determine if the flavor will suit you. If you’re looking for a sweet mild taste, the last thing you want to buy is a bitter tasting herbal tea. Here are some ideas for loose-leaf herbal tea:

• Teavana Peach Tranquility Loose-Leaf Herbal Tea
• Mighty Leaf Organic Spring Jasmine Tea
• Davidson’s Earl Grey Tea

Step #2: Follow the Measuring Instructions

Read the instructions carefully when measuring the correct amount of tea leaves to use.  It’s important to use the correct amount of leaves per cup of tea.  The mix is usually one teaspoon of tea leaves per cup of brewed tea. For example, if you want to make six cups of tea, you will measure six teaspoons of tea leaves per up of water.

Step #3: Use a Teapot That Has a Strainer In The Center

Once you’ve chosen your tea, it’s important to use a quality tea pot.  Remember the old saying, “You get what you pay for.”?  Buy a good quality teapot to make sure the end result is great-tasting brewed tea. Here is a list of suggested good quality teapots that include strainers:

• 700 ml Hario Chacha Kyusu Maru Tea Pot
• Simple Modern Stainless Steel Tea Infuser 304
• 1200 ml bobuCuisine Stunning Glass Teapot Globe with Cozy Warmer
• 50-oz VonShef Satin Polish Stainless Steel Tea Pot with Infuser

Step #4: Boil the Water

When boiling the water for your tea, use filtered or fresh water. Bring water to a roaring boil. Do not use hard water! There is a difference in taste when brewing tea with hard water.  Hard water can negatively affect the taste of tea and coffee.

Step #5: Steep the Herbal Tea

Follow the instructions on the tea package regarding the length of time to allow your tea to steep. The longer the tea steeps, the stronger the taste.  Adjust the steeping time to your personal taste and preference.

Step #6: Pour the Steeped Tea Into Your Favorite Cup

Retrieve your favorite tea cup from the cupboard and pour your freshly brewed cup of herbal tea. You will enjoy the tea-drinking experience better knowing that the herbal tea was made the way it was intended. Not only that, you’re drinking from your favorite tea cup :)

Step #7: Sweeten Your Tea

If you prefer your tea sweetened, now is the time to add sugar.  Use a moderate amount; It is not beneficial health-wise to consume excessive amounts of sugar.   You can always replace sugar with all natural honey.  This is a more advantageous alternative because of the health benefits of honey.

Step #8: Enjoy!

Hopefully, this guide for brewing herbal tea will help to provide you with a high-quality tea drinking experience.  Possibly one you’ve been missing all this time while drinking herbal tea made from tea bags.  Now it’s time to relax in that favorite chair or couch while you savor every sip of your newly-made herbal brewed tea!