How to make Stronger tea . . .

  • Posted by admin
  • May 14, 2008

If your answer is, “Let it steep longer,” this post is for you.

Preparing tea in some cultures is an art form. But preparing bitter tea is an exercise in time. There is only one thing that a longer steep time adds to a cup of tea: bitterness. You should not ever, for any reason, oversteep your tea. It will not make the tea stronger, but could make it bitter (depending on the tea type). Herbal teas, which don’t actually contain any ‘tea’ (or camellia sinensis plant), typically won’t become bitter with a longer steep. However regular teas including oolong, green, white, black, etc will become bitter if you steep them for too long.

To make a stronger cup of tea, add more tea leaves and steep for the same amount of time. And if you’re planning on making iced tea, double the amount of tea you would use in a hot cup of tea (FYI - most tea-making instructions are designed for hot cups of tea). Some people simply prefer a stronger cup of tea, which is fine, but do it with more tea, not more steep.

And if your tea is bitter, try making it again but steeping it for less time (it’s probably not the tea . . .)

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May 14th, 2008
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Why is my tea Bitter? How to keep tea from tasting bitter | Heaven of Tea
Posted on:
May 28, 2008 at 8:40 am

[...] it will become a stronger brew (like coffee). However, tea is different. For a stronger cup of tea, use more tea and brew it for the same amount of time. If you are unsure about how long to brew a cup of tea, [...]

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
felicia campbell
Posted on:
June 16, 2008 at 11:05 am

About 20 years ago, I trekked in Pakistan and fell in love with the strong black tea that the porters boiled rather than steeped. I can’t achieve it. Can you help?

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
admin
Posted on:
June 16, 2008 at 1:55 pm

The tea you had was Pakistani Chai. It’s made with Masala spices, which can be found at specialty grocers (an Indian grocer, for example). To make it, be sure to use a strong black tea like our Assam Gold Rain tea.
 
Here’s more information: Wikipedia Chai and Recipezaar Sacred Pakistani Chai.
 
Teavana offers an “Americanized” version called Masala Chai black tea. Hope this helps!

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Marilyn Boucher
Posted on:
August 6, 2008 at 5:28 am

This is great if you use a tea pot
its also important to warm up the
pot first Pour some of your hot
water in swish it around in the
tea pot and pour it out. add new
hot water then add your tea.
This also cuts the time you steep it.
The tea does taste different.
Thank you for your idea on the bitter
tea.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Jessica
Posted on:
October 4, 2008 at 1:30 pm

Hi. I agree with this, however it puzzles me how then blooming teas don’t turn bitter. I have not tried them yet, but what I have read leads me to believe that to achieve the full effect of a blooming tea, you would leave it in the water….Why wouldn’t they over steep and create a bitter tea?

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
vray
Posted on:
December 30, 2008 at 10:04 pm

Is there any caffene in the Herbal teas ?

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
admin
Posted on:
December 31, 2008 at 8:23 am

vray -
Most herbal teas do not contain any caffeine. However, there are a few that do, most notably Mate herbal teas (they have the same amount of caffeine as coffee). So pay attention to the specific tea you are drinking, but the vast majority of herbal teas are caffeine-free.