The Perfect Pot: Brewing and Storing Tea
Preparing tea
To savor a tea with delicate flavor, follow these steps refined through millennia of tea preparation.
- Preheat the tea pot by pouring boiling water into it. This will raise the temperature of the pot to 180°F.
- Discard the water and add to the pot 1-2 teaspoons of tea per 6 ounces of water. If the leaf is small, and 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 teaspoons if the leaf is large and open.
- Pour fresh, boiling water over the tea. This supersaturates the tea, making for perfect extraction of the flavor. Do not bring water to a rolling boil to brew green tea.
- Steep tea in the pot for a full five minutes. Good tea needs at least this much time to develop good flavor. Steep green tea for 4 minutes and oolong tea for 7 minutes.
- Serve a second pot of hot water for dilution when the tea gets too strong. These preparation techniques can be used with bagged or bulk tea.)
Storing Your Tea
Follow these tips to keep your tea tasting its best:
Like coffee, tea's exposure to air causes staleness. Under ideal conditions, teas can last up to two years in unopened tins. Many teas, however, are packed within a year or two of processing so that there isn't much flavor left once the tea hits the retailer's shelves. It is unwise to purchase more tea than you can use within six months or a year, because there is no practical way to extend its life span in storage. Once home, empty the tea into an airtight container to retard staling. Tins are superior to jars for storing tea because prolonged exposure to light has a deteriorating effect on quality.
Tea quickly picks up moisture and becomes tainted. Be sure to keep tea in a cool, dry place. Don't refrigerate it, as condensation may result from temperature changes when you take tea in and out of the refrigerator. Always keep teas tightly sealed and away from the kitchen stove and cooking odors, the spice rack, and onion bin. Teas can even pick up the scent of other teas. Lapsang Souchong will eventually lend its smoky smell to other teas if the teas are wrapped only in paper and packed together.