Storing your Tea
There are four things that can harm tea: air, light, moisture,
or excessive heat. Therefore, store your tea in an air-tight,
lightproof container away from moisture or heat.
The black
bags that your tea comes in are good storage containers.
As long as
the bag is tightly shut, with air expelled, it should be 98%
airtight. Tightly closing jars can also be good storage containers,
as long as they are stored out of the light, but your tea will
keep best in a metal tin or tea caddy. Tea can be best kept
for a longer period if stored at room temperature, in a dry
place,
closed within the packaging and away from strong smells, as
tea is extremely absorbent.
Never store tea in
the fridge or freezer. Be careful about storing you teas
with your spices. Tea is extremely absorbent
and will
absorb the aromas of whatever is around it.
Under these conditions,
tea should last for at least a year. Tea kept well should
not spoil but may lose flavour
over
time. The type of tea does make a difference - the tighter
the roll
of the leaf, for example in a green gunpowder tea, the
longer the shelf life. Generally, flavoured teas, like
Earl Grey
or jasmine tea, have the shortest shelf life, followed
by green
tea, oolong, then black teas.
Preparing Tea
Kingfisher Tea will include preparation instructions on each
bag, but below are general guidelines to follow in preparing
the perfect cup of tea.
There are seven factors
that affect the quality of brewed tea:
- Quality of the tea
- Quality of the water
- Correct amount of tea
- Steeping temperature
- Length of steeping
- Allowing the tea leaf space
to expand fully
- Removing the leaf from the
tea
Start with good,
fresh water. Water quality and taste vary greatly between
locales. If your water tastes really
good out of the tap chances
are it will make good
tea. If there is any noticeable unpleasant taste in the tap water,
e.g. metallic, chlorine, earthiness etc. that taste will come through
in the tea.
Filtering
fresh tap water can make poor water taste very good and costs
very little. There is no need to use spring water and never use distilled water.
In
fact, the fresher
the water, the more oxygen still in the water and the better
your
teas flavour. Always start with fresh water out of the tap, not water that
has
been previously
boiled or has been sitting around. Use a small amount of heated
water to warm the pot or mug before beginning to make your tea.
Measure the correct
amount of tea into the pot. A good standard guideline is
1 rounded teaspoon per 8 oz. cup. This refers
to a measuring
teaspoon. This
is just a general guideline. A very fine particle tea is denser
and thus more tea
fits on a spoon, so you would probably only use a scant or level
teaspoon per cup. With a very large leafed bulky tea you would only
get a little
bit of
leaf on the teaspoon, so you would probably use two heaping teaspoons
per cup. The
approximate weight of these two would then be the same. If you
brew your tea for the proper length of time, but it is too strong for
your tastes,
reduce
the amount of tea used, rather than reducing the length of brewing
time.
This allows
the complexity of flavour to develop without becoming too strong.
Different teas require
different steeping temperatures. Using the wrong steeping
temperature is probably the most common error
people
make
when preparing
tea. You can buy a thermometer to gauge temperature or you can
look for visual clues.
Black tea generally
should be made with water at a full, rolling boil, 100 degrees.
Black teas steep 3-5 minutes.
Darjeeling is
the exception;
they
should be steeped
2-3 minutes.
Oolong tea should
be made with water a little bit below boiling, between 90-98
degrees. The water should be steaming rapidly and
there should
many bubbles
rising in the kettle, but not really breaking the surface. Semi-oxidised
teas vary dramatically
and you need to experiment or follow the suggested steeping instructions
on the bag. Many oolongs are perfect at 3-4 minutes, though some
need 6-8 minutes.
Green teas should
be made with slightly cooler water, between 80-90 degrees.
The steam should be wafting or gently swirling
out of
the kettle. Green
teas should typically be steeped for much less time, 1-3 minutes.
White teas should
be made with even cooler water, anywhere from 75-80 degrees,
when you see the very first hint
of steam. Whites
teas typically
should
be steeped around 2 minutes, although some can be steeped much
longer with good
results.
Many can also be steeped more than once for varied flavours.
Herbal, fruit and rooibos tisanes should typically be made with
boiling water. Herbals, fruits and rooibos typically should be
steeped a
minimum of 4-6
minutes, some for up to 10 minutes.
All teas require
room for the leaf to expand greatly in size as it steeps.
Whatever preparation method you use make sure there
is enough
room for
the leaf to expand
up to 3-5 times in size. Brewing the leaves loose in the pot
and
then straining works well. As do the tea infusers. If using tea
balls or
other closed
systems, make sure they are no more than half full, to leave
room for optimal leaf
expansion.
Finally you need
to separate the leaves from the liquid when the tea has steeped
the proper length of time. Most teas will
turn
bitter if
steeped
too long.
Using a tea infuser makes this step easy. Simply straining the
brewed tea away from
the leaves works well also.
Additions to your Tea
Milk added to tea binds the tannins to the milk proteins,
resulting in a less astringent flavour. Milk is not appropriate
for the delicate flavours of Oolong,
Green or White teas. It is also not generally recommended for
Darjeeling.
Lemon juice, often added to Early Gray
and fruit tisanes, will noticeably lighten the colour of your
cup of tea.
This is due to the reddish pigments of the tea,
which are weak acids. When another acidic component is added,
pigments are neutralized and hue intensity is reduced.
Making great tea is very easy, but it does
require a little bit of attention to detail. |
