There is a time in every tea lover’s life, when no matter how much they like tea, they just feel too lazy to spend time on proper brewing and want that cup of tea right now. Sure, there are teabag options out there, thousands and thousands of them, but if you have strongly decided to use only loose leaf, that option is out of the question. So what can you do to satisfy your craving when you’re in a rush or just in a too-lazy-to-brew mood?
Here are the best options for black, green and oolong teas.
Sun Brewing
Sun brewing is perfect for black teas and hot sunny days. All you need is a glass teapot and loose tea of your choice. Darjeeling, and premium Ceylon black tea will give amazingly delicious results. Put around one big spoon* of leaves into a glass teapot or a jar, add one liter of water and let is brew in sun for 3-4 hours. Temperature above 30 degrees are not only good for tanning, but for getting just the right amount of tannins out of the leaves. You can drink it warm or add ice. *Remember, large whole leaf tea leaves take up more space than broken tea leaves. So you will need more spoonfuls of large whole leaf tea than you would broken leaf tea.
Fridge Brewing
Fridge brewing is another great way to prepare tea in summer. Fridge brewing is similar to sun brewing, but instead of placing your teapot outside, you place it in the fridge for 4-5 hours. You can leave it overnight if you wish and drink fresh cold tea for your morning workout. Best choices for fridge brewing are green teas – both unflavored and flavored, preferably the ones like Kyoto Cherry or Sencha or organic Ceylon green tea. Use fresh spring water or tap water if it’s safe and good to drink.
Cup Brewing
Cup brewing is the easiest way to brew tea with hot water for all those who like semiball-rolled style oolong teas. Place 3-4 grams of leaves into your favorite cup (200-400 ml), add hot water (around 85-95 degrees would be perfect). You don’t need to strain the leaves, they will unfurl slowly and stay in the cup. Add more hot water for a second brew. Oolong teas are an excellent choice for this type of brewing and just-want-to-relax-with-a-cup-of-hot-tea mood.
Glass Brewing
Very similar to cup brewing, except it is used for mostly green Chinese teas. Why? Because you can easily enjoy the beauty of unfurling leaves. Most well-loved choices are jasmine teas and pan-fired light green teas. Warm the glass first, add freshly boiled water and then add 1-3 grams of leaves. Be careful about the temperature, 80 degrees top. Just pour more water over the same leaves if you want another cup. This is the perfect way of brewing when you are in a too-tired-to-brew mood and want an instant energy from green tea.
Pretty Brewing
Pretty brewing is our name for brewing flowering tea. Flowering teas are meant to be brewed in a glass cup as they unfurl to form beautiful shapes made of leaves and flowers. These artisan teas were hand-crafted with special attention placed on every single leaf. Use one flower ball on 150-200 ml of water, 90 degrees Celsius and let it steep for at least 3-5 minutes. Perfect for feeling-low-and-need-beauty-in-life mood.
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Darjeeling
Oolong tea
Kyoto Cherry
Sencha
organic Ceylon green tea
Jasmine Green Tea