A savory mug of tea can dispel the cold of winter, provide you with a daytime energy boost, or offer tranquility in the evening.
To brew tea, you steep it in hot water. Steeping extracts the flavor and health-promoting compounds from the solids used to make tea.
This article explains the best ways to steep tea so you can enjoy a perfect cup every time.
True or herbal tea
Not all tea is the same, and steeping techniques vary depending on the brewing type.
True teas come from the Camellia sinensis plant, including black, green, oolong, and white tea. Their flavors, colors, and antioxidant contents differ depending on how the leaves are oxidized before they’re dried.
True teas are dried as loose leaves or in tea bags.
Herbal teas, also called tisanes, are not true teas. Instead, they’re infusions or decoctions made from the roots, leaves, stems, or flowers of herbs and plants, such as hibiscus, peppermint, rooibos, chamomile, turmeric, or ginger.
Often you use dried ingredients, but you can also make herbal teas from fresh ingredients.
The basic steeping technique is the same for both types, but the amounts needed to brew a cup vary between dried and fresh ingredients. The steeping time and water temperature needed to extract the best flavors can also differ.
Summary: True teas come from the Camellia sinensis plant, while herbal teas come from various parts of other plants. How to best steep each type differs.
Start with fresh ingredients
If you’re making an herbal tea from fresh ingredients, such as herbs, ginger, or turmeric root, it’s best to use them shortly after they’re cut or purchased.
Dried tea leaves have a long shelf life when kept dry in an airtight container and out of direct light. However, extended storage times may negatively affect the quality, flavor, and aroma.
True teas contain polyphenol antioxidant compounds called catechins, theaflavins, and thearubigins. They’re responsible for many of tea’s health benefits but degrade over time.
Researchers who monitored the antioxidants in green tea stored at 68°F (20°C) found that catechin levels were reduced by 32% after 6 months.
The quality of your water also affects the flavor of your tea. Tap water high in minerals or treated with chlorine will impart an off-flavor, so ideally, you should use fresh, cold, and filtered water when brewing.
Summary: The tastiest and healthiest cup of tea starts with quality ingredients and fresh, cold, and filtered water. Dried tea has a long shelf life, but over time, it loses some of its flavor, aroma, and health-promoting antioxidants.
Time and temperature
To steep tea, pour hot water over your ingredients and let them rest for a few minutes. It isn’t an exact science; you should experiment to find what tastes right. That said, here are some general guidelines.
A hotter temperature or longer steeping time isn’t necessarily better. For example, in studies, green tea brewed this way scored lower on color, flavor, aroma, and overall acceptability.
On the other hand, if the steep time is too short, you won’t extract enough flavors and antioxidants.
Researchers analyzed the total amount of polyphenol antioxidants extracted over time from black tea and found it took 6–8 minutes to extract the maximum amount.
It’s also worth remembering that caffeine content increases with a longer steep time. True teas have varying amounts of caffeine. A 6-ounce (178-ml) cup of black tea contains 35 mg of caffeine, while the same serving of green tea has 21 mg.
Steeping tea for an extra minute increases the caffeine content by up to 29%, and boiling-temperature water increases it by up to 66%.
Suggested read: 10 evidence-based health benefits of black tea
Hot steeping
Steeping your tea with hot water is the quickest way to brew a delicious cup. Here are some guidelines for the best steep time and temperature for various popular teas:
- White tea: 4–5 minutes at 175°F (79°C)
- Green tea: 3–4 minutes at 175°F (79°C)
- Oolong tea: 3–5 minutes at 195°F (91°C)
- Black tea: 3–4 minutes at 195°F (91°C)
- Dried herbal tea (e.g., dried chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, lemon balm): Up to 15 minutes or according to the manufacturer’s instructions at 212°F (100°C)
- Fresh herbal tea (e.g., fresh herbs, ginger, turmeric): 5–15 minutes for tender herbs, 15–30 minutes for chopped or grated roots at 212°F (100°C)
Green tea is generally the most delicate, while black and herbal teas are more forgiving when it comes to temperature and steeping time.
Cold steeping
Cold steeping might be the way to go if you plan to drink your tea iced. Steeping tea in the cold to room-temperature water results in a less bitter and more aromatic tea with a higher antioxidant content.
However, the lower the steeping temperature, the longer the brewing takes — in most cases, as long as 12 hours.
One study found that steeping at 40°F (4°C) for 12 hours extracts and retains more polyphenols than steeping for 3–4 minutes in hot water.
The study also found that steeping for 3–5 minutes at 175°F (80°C) followed by adding ice led to similar taste and antioxidant contents as the 12-hour cold steeping method, making this a quick alternative.
Summary: Steeping extracts antioxidants, caffeine, flavors, and aromas from tea. With hot water, it takes up to 5 minutes to brew a good cup, whereas cold steeping takes up to 12 hours and produces a smoother-tasting tea that’s higher in antioxidants.
Tools, techniques, and tips
While there are special tools to help you steep tea, you can also keep it simple and still steep like an expert.
At a minimum, you need a teacup, tea bag, and kettle. Place the tea bag in your teacup. Fill the kettle with fresh, cold, and filtered water and bring it to a boil or a near boil if brewing green or white tea.
Suggested read: The 6 best teas to lose weight and belly fat
Then, pour the water over your tea bag in the teacup. Covering the teacup with a saucer is optional, but doing so will help retain more aromatic compounds. Steep for about 5 minutes or to your taste.
You’ll also need a metal tea ball or infuser to hold the leaves for loose-leaf tea. Measure out 1 teaspoon of dried tea leaves or 1 tablespoon of fresh ingredients per 6–8-ounce (177–237-ml) cup.
Place the leaves in the tea ball or infuser and submerge them in a cup of hot water for the proper amount of time.
Using loose leaves requires a few more tools for steeping, but in return, you have a larger selection of varieties than bagged tea, allowing for more flavor combinations and health benefits.
Moreover, loose leaves can be re-infused, making this option more budget-friendly in the long run. Researchers found that while bagged tea was best for a single brew, most loose-leave versions still showed antioxidant activity after the sixth brew.
For cold-brewed tea, it’s a good idea to simultaneously make multiple servings in a large mason jar because of the long steep time. Fill a jar with fresh, cold water and add 1 tea bag or 1 teaspoon of dried tea in an infuser for every 6 ounces (177 ml).
Summary: A tea bag, cup, and hot water kettle can produce a perfectly steeped cup of tea. Brewing loose-leaf tea requires a few more tools, but in return, it offers variety and oftentimes the ability to re-infuse the leaves.
Summary
Steeping tea in hot or cold water allows the unique flavors, aromas, and health-promoting compounds to be extracted from dried leaves or other dried or fresh ingredients.
While there are recommendations for ideal steeping times and temperatures for different types of tea, experimenting with your own steeping methods allows you to discover what tastes best for you.
If you enjoy tea and want to expand your palate, loose-leaf teas can add interesting flavors and health benefits while being more budget- and environmentally friendly.
