TEALISH GUIDE TO THE PERFECT CUP OF LOOSE LEAF TEA

Have you noticed the instructions on our Tealish tins, boxes and bulk-tea labels before? We make the directions highly visible because we don’t want you to brew any ol’ cup of tea. We want to ensure that you end up with the BEST, most aromatic and flavourful, PERFECT cup of tea.

We suggest that, before you start brewing those beautiful tea leaves, you make sure you have the optimal ‘ingredients’. Did you know that the type of water you’re using has an impact on your lovely cup of tea? Here in Toronto, we’re fortunate to have excellent tap water...but if don’t live in the city and/or your water is hard, try using filtered or spring water instead: and taste the difference! Don’t forget either, that the temperature of your water and the exact amount of time you take to infuse your tea leaves will also make or break that great cuppa!

These instructions are for a 6-8 oz cup of Tealish tea.

Black tea

• Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf black tea.
• Steep with boiling water for 2-5 minutes

A special case...

Lapsang Souchong

• Warm up your cup with a bit of boiled water, you’ll get the full flavour of the Lapsang Souchong leaves this way
• Steep using 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea
• Brew 3 minutes, using just-boiled water, tasting the infusion until it reaches your preferred ‘smokiness’ level
• Try re-infusing your leaves once or twice to get even more flavour variety out of this tea

Oolong

• Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf oolong tea.
• Steep for 2-4 minutes in water with a temperature below boiling, 95°C.
• Oolong leaves unfurl when steeping into large whole leaves, we recommend using a large basket style infuser for Oolong infusions to optimal flavour. 
• Oolong teas are perfect for multiple infusions of the same leaves, we recommend 2-3. 

 Green Tea

• First rule of green tea - never, ever, ever, use boiling water
• Use 1 teaspoon and infuse your green tea leaves with hot water around 80°C
• Depending on your taste, brew for 1-3 minutes

The exception...

Gyokuro green tea

• Use a ratio of 2:1 (2 times dry tea leaves to a given quantity of water)
• Use a low brewing temperature, around 40°C
• Steep for 90 seconds

White tea

• Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf white tea
• Brewing white tea is a matter of personal preference, with some aficionados preferring  longer steeping times and others preferring less of a steep.
• Infuse for 2-5 minutes in water that is below boiling, around 80°C

Mate tea

Mate is not technically a tea; it doesn’t come from the camellia sinensis plant. Yerba mate is actually a species of the holly bush family and it has been cultivated and consumed for centuries in South America. We blend mate with tea, herbs, and spices for unique tealish mate-teas.

• Use 1 teaspoon of loose tea leaves
• Steep any tealish tea that contains yerba mate for 4-6 minutes, using boiling water

Rooibos Tea 

Rooibos is not a classic tea either. It’s found in the Cape regions of South Africa, where the plant is related to the legume family. It means ‘red bush’ in Afrikaans.

• Use 1 teaspoon of loose rooibos tea leaves
• Infuse the rooibos leaves for as long as you like, we suggest 4-6 minutes, with boiling water
• Due to Rooibos teas needle like leaves, we recommend a fine mesh infuser or biodegradable tea sachet for these infusions. 

Herbal tea

Herbal teas, sometimes called tisanes, are a single, or blend of, fresh or dried fruits, spices, flowers and/or other plant derivatives infused with water that results in wonderful and wildly different tasting ‘teas’.

• Use 1 teaspoon of loose herbal tea
• Herbal teas can be infused to your taste, but you should try to wait at least 4 minutes before having your first sip.
• Use boiling water for a hot cup of herbal tea
• Try infusing a pitcher of cold water with a tea sachet by leaving it in the fridge overnight. Great for the hot days of summer!