No. II · Brewing
How long should you brew loose-leaf tea?
Three to five minutes for most black tea, less for almost everything else. Five dials and how to use them.
Photo: AlphaLemur, CC BY 4.0, cropped
Types, brewing, storing, and the British at the teapot
A well-kept shelf of plain answers about tea
Loose-leaf tea has a habit of acquiring mystique, and very little of it helps you make a better pot. Tawny Leaf is a small independent publication that answers the questions people actually ask, with the sources shown.
How long should it brew? Why does it taste different at your mother's house? Does green tea really have less caffeine? Take a tin down and read the label.
Start with the brewing timesOn the shelf
No. I · Types
Black, green, oolong, white: what makes them different?
One plant, and a good deal of kitchen work. Oxidation decides most of what ends up in your cup.
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, cropped
No. III · Storing
How should you store loose-leaf tea, and how long does it keep?
An opaque, airtight tin in a cool cupboard, well away from the spice rack. The fridge is not your friend.
Photo: Daderot, Public domain
No. IV · Water
Why does tea taste different in hard water?
If your cup grows a skin and tastes flat, blame the tap before you blame the tea.
Photo: Lee Haywood, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.jpg){kind=link}
No. VI · Types
How much caffeine is in a cup of tea?
The NHS uses about 75mg as its working figure. Real cups vary widely, and the colour of the leaf is a poor guide.
Photo: David J. Fred, CC BY-SA 2.5, cropped
No. V · Culture
Afternoon tea and high tea: what is the difference?
One was a dainty stopgap for the rich. The other was the main meal of a working day.
Photo: Andy Li, CC0
The steeping board
Starting points for one rounded teaspoon of leaf in a cup, from Whittard's published table. The UK Tea and Infusions Association suggests three to four minutes for black tea. Read how to adjust them.
- White75 to 85°C
2 to 3 min - Green65 to 80°C
2 to 3 min - Oolong85 to 95°C
2 to 3 min - Black95 to 98°C
3 to 5 min - Herbal100°C
3 to 5 min
Each face runs to six minutes. The filled wedge marks the suggested steep.