How Long Should You Steep Your Tea?
The Common but Unhelpful 3 – 5 Minute Range
How long you steep your tea matters if you want that perfect cup of tea every time. But every grocery store tea gives a broad range for your steeping time, something like 3 – 5 minutes, so how are you supposed to know when to pull your tea leaves?
Maybe you tried your tea at 3 minutes, and it tasted watery. Maybe you tried it at 5 minutes, and it left that astringent bitterness in your mouth. And after so many experiments, you’re probably out of tea and resigning yourself to never attaining quite the perfect cup.
But you don’t have to settle for mediocre tea!
We Have Specific Steeping Times for Every Tea
Did you know that at The St. James Tearoom, we have taken the time to curate individual steeping times for every single one of our teas? Since 1999, we have been brewing our teas to perfection for our Dine In Afternoon Tea Service, but our secrets have always been in the open, right on every single bag of tea we sell.
That means you, yes YOU, can steep our teas to perfection at home too!
Some of our steeping times are as specific as 3 ¼ minutes. Do mere seconds really make a difference when it comes to steeping tea? The answer is YES! The way we determine a steeping time is when the perfect balance of body and flavor is brought out of a tea, so we test every tea at different times, tasting for the body it should have based on the kind of tea it is and seeing what flavors are brought out. Only then is the time recorded and passed along to you.
Why Steeping Times Can Vary Widely
Some teas have a short steeping time of only 2 minutes, like our Caramel Delights scented black tea. A few seconds steeped too long, and this tea loses its delicious caramel flavor altogether. Some teas are more forgiving than others, meaning they can go longer past the steeping time listed and still hold most of their flavor. Our Lemon Soufflé herbal tea for instance is very forgiving on the steeping time and will taste good long after its 2 ¼ steeping time.
Then there are teas like Margaret’s Hope Darjeeling with a steeping time of 6 ¾ minutes, far longer than anything you would find on a grocery store tea box. Surprisingly, this tea starts bitter and smooths out in the steeping process, so you do not want to pull the tea leaves out too soon or you won’t get to experience the high quality of a well-steeped Darjeeling.
Every tea is unique, but you don’t have to stay frustrated and confused by a broad 3 – 5 minutes steeping time from a grocery store tea. Get that perfect cup of tea every time by using our steeping times as your guide, because how long you steep tea really does matter!
