I know this seems silly, but I swear I used to make better tea at home. It's been awhile since I make tea, but my last couple of attempts have produced very weak tea. I love to drink tea at restaurants. Why can't I produce the same results at home?
Any tips? Boil the water longer? Leave the tea bags in longer? Should I throw out old tea bags?
ETA - Just to clarify, I did not mean to say I was reusing old tea bags. I meant that I have tea bags that were purchased some time ago and wondered if they were still good or if I should buy new ones. Also, I was talking about making iced tea, but I did not realize that made a difference.
Thank you so much!!! I can see I was making several mistakes. Heating water in the microwave (not sure it was ever boiling, so it might not have been hot enough), putting the bags in too soon (I thought it would make the tea stronger), not keeping a lid on it so the steam escaped.
I usually make about 2 quarts at a time and was putting 4 family-sized tea bags in the water. It still wasn't very strong. I usually do sweeten the tea before cooling it, because I found that the sugar (or whatever) dissolves better in hot water. Sometimes I put ice in my glass and have some right away. Otherwise I put it in the fridge and have some later. The cooling process never seemed to be an issue, so I had a feeling it had more to do with the tea bags or the time they were in the water.
I am really looking forward to trying some ideas tonight!
I think the best tea comes from loose tea, and a french press. You could also try 2 bags. I just think bags can never compare to loose.
If you've got the time, you should try a sun-steep. I swear, sun-steeped iced tea is the BEST. Also don't know if it would be an ideal time of year for you to do that where you are, but you should DEFINITELY try it this summer! :)
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I despise K-cup teas. They're nasty. I much prefer brewing my own tea. When I don't have loose leaf for my French press, I'll go with a tea bag or, as Bug mentioned, use two for a really strong tea.
Be sure to use ACTUAL boiled water. Do NOT use microwaved water. It won't taste the same ie. it will taste like panther pee.
If you use tea bags then you want to pour the water into the mug/teapot while the bag is in the mug to help agitate the leaves inside. After steeping you have to remove the bags and don't squeeze them... you don't want the dregs, only the liquid.
Don't let the tea leaves/bag get stale after opening. Seal up the bags in an airtight container after you open any tea.
DO NOT sweeten the tea until AFTER you steep the tea.
J.:
I don't boil my tea. I use the Lipton Cold Brew tea bags. I make a gallon pitcher and used 5 bags...yep...I like it strong. I also keep the bags in the pitcher the whole time.
Each time you make tea, use ONLY fresh tea bags! :)
Since you mentioned throwing out tea bags.....
Do NOT re-use tea bags to make tea. You can use them on your eyes if you have puffy eyes...
if you have a garden - you can throw the tea into the dirt - it will help things grow. Believe it or not - if you grind it up with charcoal - your plants will grow better!!!
When I had more wood furniture (this was a while ago), I would place a couple of old tea bags in a quart of boiled water, and let it cool. Then dip a rag or cloth into the tea water to remove dirt or ugly polish and varnish from wood furniture and floors.
Never add the bags to boiling water!
Add boilED water over the bag, then sweeten!
Signed,
Daily hot tea drinker/Earl Grey Purist
Reusing tea bags is going to make much weaker tea. Boiling the water longer isn't going to do much. It might raise the temperature slightly, but once it is boiling, it is hot enough.
You didn't say how long you are steeping the tea, or whether you are drinking hot tea or making iced tea. That makes a difference, too. For hot tea, steep for approximately 5 minutes, with a saucer resting on top of the cup. For iced tea, steep for 5 minutes, but dilute it less than what you are doing.
1) Yes. Toss the old tea. Stored improperly the volatile oils evaporate & break down, and light degrades the organic chemical structure. When you crack open the airtight tin, there is a burst of scent. That's those volatile oils. Kept in boxes & paper sleeves, those oils are half gone in a few weeks, and distant memories in a few months. Kept in clear plastic bags the oils remain, but chemical structure alters. Buying individual teas is FINE, as long as you use up the box inside of a month at most (a week is better). OTW, spend $10 to get an airtight & light tight metal or ceramic canister. ONLY put new tea in it, and empty before adding more.
2) Water. It needs to be crisp & cold (unblocked) to start. It needs to come to a roiling boil (not just simmer) and Reeeally needs to be boiled using fire or elements (not friction/radiation like a microwav).
3) There are a few other key points
- scald the pot (or cup if brewing individually)
- pot to kettle (keep boiling)
- pour water over tea, not adding tea to water
- color perfect
- not reusing tea bags
3.5)
- if making "sweet tea" the pinch of baking soda is crucial & cannot be skipped
Can you provide some exactly measurements you currently use?
I drink tea every day. I boil water to full boil, either in kettle on stove or tea kettle. Rinse and pre-heat your teapot with the boiling water.
Place minimum 2 dark tea bags into a pot. I place 2 English Breakfast, or Irish Breakfast, or Earl Grey, or Cardamon with 1 Green Tea. Steep for 3-5 minutes.
If making just one cup, then 1 tea bag per cup. Again, water must be boiling before you pour.
Add honey and milk, or lemon or whatever you like!
Enjoy!
i like strong tea too. but just leaving it in longer will result in undrinkably bitter tea in some instances. some tea can sit and steep, other kinds can only go for a minute or two.
OT, but i was in the famous betty's tea room in london a couple of years ago. i was shocked when i ordered a pot of expensive white jasmine tea, and the silly server just put the tea leaves in the pot and brought it to me with a strainer! by the second cup it was horrible. you'd think a TEA HOUSE would know steep times for different tea types.
i have tea bags that have some age on 'em and are still good. if you're making a big container of iced tea, i'd just use more tea bags. don't boil the bags in the water, boil the water, pour it over the bags, and let it steep quietly. are you making black tea? you can leave that in there longer too, but i wouldn't go over 10 minutes.
if you're using green or white tea, reduce the steep time to 1-3 minutes. if it's too weak, up amount of tea.
good luck!
:) khairete
S.
Go to Teavana in the mall for a lifechanging tea experience. I don't do bags anymore. All looseleaf and it makes a huge difference. As does quality of tea (of course) and heat of the water and length of steep. And green tea can be used 5 times.
Make ice cubes out of extra strong tea. Add those to your already cooled tea before serving. Ice made out of water will melt, dilute and waeken your tea.
Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.
For a proper pot of tea (and this is like a discipline- this is my morning tea ritual and I follow it to the letter, British style tea)
Draw a kettle of fresh, cold water and put it on to boil.
When near the boil, grab your teapot; fill partway with hot water and swirl it around to 'scald the pot'. (This helps the extraction process by keeping the water hotter; it will cool if you pour the boiling water into a cold teapot.) I then pour this hot water from the pot into a cup to warm it.
Add one scoop of loose-leaf tea per cup into the pot. Peets makes fine teas; I haven't been to Teavana, however, we have some great fair-trade tea companies in our town, and I do frequent them.
Once water is boiling at a full, rolling boil, bring the pot to the kettle (never kettle to pot-- pot to kettle means that you keep that water boiling) and pour approx 8 oz into the kettle per cup desired.
Cover immediately, and steep for 5 minutes (for black tea; herbal, green and white have their own steeping times and the green and whites are often not 'full, rolling boil'; instead, the water is brought to a champagne boil). Then, pour into your warmed cup. If your teapot doesn't have a strainer inside, use one at the end as it's pouring out.
I will say this; restaurant tea is rarely made with boiling water; sometimes, that water may be hotter in one of those big urns reserved for making coffee. My method is for a perfect English cuppa. The strength you taste in your restaurant tea may be over-extraction ( this can also be bitter, too). Check out the brands of teas that come with your order, or ask your server if you taste a cup you particularly like. Hope the tutorial helps. Oh, and overboiling water changes the oxygen content, so don't do that either. Fresh water in a fresh kettle, poured right at the peak of boiling, each and every time.
If you like a stronger tasting tea, I would recommend you try Tazo Awake, a black tea. I like it hot, but it has an aftertaste when used as an iced tea, so I don't use it for that. (However, Starbucks makes their Tazo Awake iced tea in a way that it doesn't have an aftertaste, which I haven't been able to figure out yet. I like it when Starbucks makes it.) My husband doesn't like Tazo Awake at all. Different blends are also stronger, like Earl Grey or English Breakfast (both of which I only like hot, not cold). Taylors of Harrogate, an English company/tea, is quite strong. I also drink my hot tea unsweetened.
The best tea I've discovered for making iced tea is Lipton's. I'm not particularly excited about Lipton's (in fact, I'd like to find a more organic blend/company that tastes like Lipton's), but I like a weaker iced tea and especially one in which I don't have to add any sugar. Lipton's allows me to drink my iced tea unsweetened.
I do think that as time goes by, like everything else, tea that's been sitting will become weaker. So if you want to use up the old tea bags, you'll probably have to put up with a weaker tea. Or use more tea bags. I bet when you buy some new tea, you'll notice more of a punch when you drink it.
I've watched restaurants make both hot and cold tea; it isn't like how you and I make tea. Trying to replicate "restaurant tea" at home probably isn't going to work.
I'd suggest doing some experimenting yourself on different types of teas and how hot the water is (Tevana has specific pots/kettles that will tell you how hot the water is, if you are interested in becoming a master at making the perfect tea. I guess each tea is supposed to only steep for so long and the water is only supposed to be this temperature for this specific tea; I'm not that dedicated to follow through on those recommendations. I boil water, pour it into a cup with the tea bag, steep for the length of time it says on the box, and then drink. I've never had any issues with my tea). ;)
I use Luzianne tea and have fine results. I use more tea bags if I want stronger tea, but that's when I am tea dying fabric.....
If you want stronger tea use an extra tea bag. I start the water boiling then put the lid on it to allow the tea to steep. I add the sugar to the pitcher before adding the hot/warm liquid. This allows the tea to melt completely and makes the tea sweeter with less sugar. Then adding cool water cools it off some. I add ice at the end so it quickly cools the drink.
I do the same thing with Koolaid. I add the sugar to hot water, about 2 cups, then add the Koolaid powder and cool water. To about 3 inches from the top. I add ice to fill it the rest of the way.
How I make stronger tea is boil the water for a while to a rolling boil shut it off as I put tea bags in i'll use 2 if it's like a hot drink (Sleepy Time) for sweet tea 3 bags these are the small bags or i'll use 2 of the large bags for a huge pitcher let sit till the water is dark like 5 -8 min then remove bags stir in sugar or honey.
Luzianne iced tea bags..I put two bags in a pitcher..Fill half way with warm water, the rest with cold. Let sit out for an hour, then stick it in the fridge. I've made this iced tea for years.
For hot, use boiling water and let the tea bag sit for awhile in the cup. If you want stronger use two bags.
I pour honey into my cup, pour in about one-third or one-fourth the hot water, mix it well with the honey, pour in the rest of the water, put in tea bag (or the loose tea thing), and cover to steep. With bags, I usually just leave them in while drinking. And, if I'm gonna be totally honest, I'm usually drinking my tea from a thermal mug with a lid, so the steeping is constant, and the bag never gets in the way. There's nothing delicate about it, but it always tastes good.
Better tea
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They have iced tea bags that are A-mazing! If you don't see them on her website, just call her.
Have you tried loose tea? Pampered Chef is coming out with some great products for tea this spring. Message me with an email and you can receive the spring newsletter that comes out in early March.
