Steep time - how much is enough?


We get asked all the time, "how long do I steep this?" It seems to be an age-old question and seems to elude many of us who are not native to tea-growing countries. Early in my better tea drinking days, I would return from Sri Lanka with wonderful tea only to find that it just did not taste the same at home - It was always too dense, too strong, over steeped!

Two leaves and a bud tea sachets, all have a recommended steep time printed on the freshness sleeve for 14 - 16 oz. (400 - 450 ml.) of water. But what if I have a smaller cup or a larger pot? And what if I like a strong cuppa'?

Basic Tea Steeping

Our basic philosophy is to keep it simple; to make tea accessible. We are definitely not of the school that says, "you must do exactly x-y-z or the tea won't be right..." There are lots of ways to make a better cup of tea. However, there are some basic things to think about:

Experiment - Start with the steeping times on our tea sachets. Then try your favorite tea with less water, more water, longer and shorter steep times. Better whole leaf teas will not turn bitter but they will "stew", becoming more tannic and thick without really gaining in nice, round flavor.

Think about leaf size; look at the actual leaf - A Ceylon (Sri Lankan) BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) is different than an Indian BOP.
Ceylon BOP's are much smaller and make a much deeper brew - you might only need a level teaspoon for a 2 cup tea pot.

Do what works for you - I sit this morning with my second cup of tea, a well under steeped two leaves and a bud Organic Darjeeling. I under steeped because I had enough caffeine in my first cup of Organic Assam tea which I steeped a long time in a lot of water. It was rich, malty, and full-bodied, just they way an Assam should be!

Special Types of Tea Steeping

There are a number of Chinese teas that have special steeping techniques:

Gong Fu style tea service is to put a lot into a tiny bit of water - 6 g of tea into less than 100 ml (3 oz) of water; steep for a very short time; dispose of the first "wash" (or steep) and serve the second through the 7th wash. You can try this with two leaves and a bud Organic White Peony tea with rose petals or with Tei Kuan Yin teas.

Two leaves and a bud Jasmine Petal tea can be washed at least 2 times. The second steep will be much more "green tea" in flavor and have a bit less of that floral jasmine scent.

Steeping Green Tea or White Tea

Another special steeping style that was suggested to me by Ed Eisler at Jing Tea in London: Steep two leaves and a bud white peony tea at a very low water temperature - 140 F (75 C) for a long, long time. This will give a nice gentle flavor with low caffeine release. Actually, this will work well with Japanese style greens too, like Tamayokucha.

Generally, green teas should take a longer steep at a lower temperature.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to ask us: info@twoleavesandabud.net

Cheers!