Re-Steeping Tea Leaves
Re-Steeping Tea Leaves
One of the beautiful things about tea, is it's the gift that keeps on giving. A single tablespoon of loose tea can infuse multiple cups. There are a few guidelines we like to follow at Grow Tea Company when infusing our teas.
Be Safe.
When dealing with wet tea leaves you must always remember to re-steep the leaves within a short time frame. We do not suggest leaving wet leaves for more than 4 hours. When tea leaves are wet it can introduce bacteria over time.
Longer Infusion Time With Each Steep.
The strongest infusion of tea will always be the first cup, so with each extra steep wait a minute or two longer than the one before. For example, with our Japanese Sencha Green Tea we wait 3 minutes for the first cup, and up to 6 minutes for the third cup.
Steep as many times as you like.
There are guidelines we have for the variety of tea and resteeping methods below, however we believe this varies to each individual taste. Explore how many times the leaf can be infused. Of course each cup will become less tea and more hot water, so just discard the leaf when the taste is to flat for you.
Guideline for Each Tea Variety
White Tea: This is a delicate leaf, with subtle flavours. This tea category will most likely give you close to 3 steepings.
Green Tea: This tea category varies so much in flavour whether it is a steamed or pan-fired green leaf. Typically 3-4 infusions is a good amount for green tea.
Oolong Tea: Remember Oolong is a partially oxidized tea, meaning some are closer to a green tea, and some are closer to the black tea spectrum. In this case, we highly recommend experimenting with the oolong you have in your tea cupboard. Generally we find after the 4th steep oolongs tend to loose their flavour.
Black Tea: This category of tea is known for its bold flavours. The leaf is packed full of flavour and creates a wonderful full-bodied first infusion. When introducing multiple steeps we recommend doubling the time for each infusion. Most black tea is only good for about 3 steeps.
Pu’erh/Dark Tea: The fermented dark teas are great for resteeping, the longer its been aged, the more infusions you can get. We have found pu’erh tea can change slightly with each steeping, sometimes it becomes more sweet, or more earthy.
Tea is about finding the flavours and practices that works for you. There are no rules that are set in stone, these are simple guidelines we have found over our own tea journey.