How to brew a great cup of tea
Peggy Stephens, owner of Premium Steap (111 S 18th St.), believes that drinking tea is an affordable luxury. But you won't catch her brewing a cup with a tea bag.
How to brew a great cup of tea
Jessica Lopez
Peggy Stephens, owner of Premium Steap (111 S 18th St.), believes that drinking tea is an affordable luxury. But you won’t catch her brewing a cup with a tea bag.
“Tea bags are made up of tea ‘dust,’ which is what’s left after the broken grades have been sifted out,” she explained.
For an enhanced tea experience, Stephens suggests brewing with loose tea because “leaf teas simply taste better. You should drink what tastes good to you.”
Stephens says loose tea is less expensive than tea bags.
“Some of our more expensive teas are actually cheaper than pre-packaged teas,” Stephens said. “There are a couple extra steps but in the end it’s worth it.”
Before brewing, Stephens suggests using good quality, fresh tea and buying an infuser with a large basket so tea can float in the water to release optimal flavor.
(Pictured: Everyday Glass Mug, $24)
So how exactly do you brew loose tea? Stephens breaks down the steps to brewing a cup of her best selling black blended tea, Mt. Everest.
Scoop two teaspoons of tea into your infuser.
Pour water brought just to a boil (don't over boil the water, you can scorch the leaves) into the infuser.
Let the tea leaves steep for four minutes.
Remove infuser and discard tea leaves.
Enjoy!
(Photo credit: Colin Kerrigan/Philly.com)
$24 for a glass mug? I brew my own tea leaves every day, but that's kind of ridiculous. It is true, however, that leaves are cheaper than teabags. I get multiple brews out of each batch. Some of my best teas give me a minimum of 3 good-tasting (not weak) brews, and I often get 5 brews out of my stronger black teas. I just increase the brewing time by 1 minute after the first brew or two.— Jen D- I have gotten several good teas from Premium Steap. It's a nice shop with knowledgeable staff. The article is right, no one should be using tea bags, you are doing yourself a disservice if you do.
— TimO - Never tried loose tea. Had no idea it was less expensive than tea bags. Tea dust? No thank you! I'll have to stop by the Premium Steap.— llama_llama
- For the more traditional approach would suggest the following steps... Once water has boiled (much more efficient and quicker to use an electric kettle btw) - poor a cup of boiling water into the tea pot - assuming using clay not metal to warm pot. Rinse out and then put appropriate amount of tea in pot - I run at one small spoon per large mug - and then poor appropriate amount of hot water. Stir the water tea - and place under tea cozy to keep the heat. I stew for about 4 minutes - then stir again before pouring. My personal favorite is Taylor's Yorkshire gold loose tea available at Wegmans... enjoy— FirskyLamb
