My Quick Tea Tips

White Tea:
Use unglazed teapot. Water temperatur for steeping: low.
Dose generously: Big leaf teas take up more volume.
Steeping time: short, like one to two minutes.

Oolong Tea (half fermented tea):
Use only a Yxing ceramic pot (brownish color, no glazing).
Steeping time and water temperature: Same as black tea (ca. three minutes, or longer). Dose generously, if it is a big leaf tea.

If you have hard water, run the tap for a while, like for five minutes, or more, befor e using it.

For boiling/cooking the water:
Use only electric water cooker, for example the TEFAL VITESSES model, and adjust needed water temperature with with switch.

Rule of thumb: If you have hard water, you are allways on the sure side, with robust teas. Because often, delicate teas won't be able to unfold their fragances and flavors.

Very nice, especially for tea-beginners, is the Japanese Bancha tea, which has practically no teine / coffeeine, and therefore won't get a bitter taste, if steeped a little longer. This tea has a nice sweet and very pleasing flavor, and you can't do much wrong with.

Also, a nice experience, are so called smoked teas, such as the famous Lapsang Suchong tea. It is nice to drink in the evenings, or on cold, windy or rainy days, and puts you in a nice relaxed mood, and will give a lot of comfort.

It is good to steep/brew tea in a separate pot, then pure it through a filter/sieve, into your final tea pot for serving. Your final tea pot, should be already warm/hot: do this by filling it with boiling hot water, just before you refill it with the tea.

Glazed tea pots should only be used for black teas (fermented teas), fruit teas, and maybe herb teas. Non fermented, or half fermented teas need a unglazed ceramic or clay pot for steeping and serving, because they pull oxygen through the walls of the pot, during the steeping process.

Happy tea tasting!

(Picture: Tea at the Ritz)