Loose leaf tea is the way to go. Sure, bagged tea is fine when you’re in a rush, but nothing matches the quality and ceremony of drinking from a pot of freshly brewed loose leaf.
The different ways to brew loose leaf tea are as numerous as the number of tea leaves on the planet (well, almost). A great way to do it is with a tea pot with a stainless steel strainer.
But maybe you’re wondering just how to use one. Stick around, and I’ll show you how.
How to use a teapot with a strainer
It’s actually quite easy. One of the benefits of a teapot with built in strainer is you don’t need to mess with adding your tea to one of those empty tea bags. You also don’t get loose bits of tea floating in your teacup. Good for reading fortunes, not so good for enjoying your tea.
Step 1
First, get some water boiling in a tea kettle. Some teapots with strainers are stovetop safe, in that case, you CAN use it to boil your water, but I prefer boiling the water separately. Pouring the water over the tea leaves helps you get maximum flavor out of them, in my opinion. If you do use the teapot to boil your water, make sure you remove the strainer at this point.
The Forlife Curve Pot from Amazon comes in 10 great colors to match any kitchen!
Step 2
While waiting for your water to boil, add your tea leaves to the strainer. How much depends on the size of your teapot, but generally you want about a teaspoon for every 6 ounces, of water. I always throw one extra teaspoon in there — just my personal idiosyncrasy, I guess. Feel free to adopt it.
If you’re using well water, a good filter is important. Here’s my round up of the best.
Step 3
Once the water has come to a boil, some people suggest you let it sit for a minute. I agree. Not pouring boiling water on the leaves saves from you the possibility of scorching your leaves and giving you a bitter taste.
Check out this post for the best cast iron teapot.
Step 4
Next, insert the stainless steel strainer into your tea pot and pour the water over the leaves. If you used the teapot to boil the water, set the strainer into the pot at this point.
Close the lid. This is a major step because it traps in the heat, helping the brewing process.
Step 5
Now you’ll steep the tea. With black tea, you want about a 1-2 minute steep. With green tea, a little longer, between 3 and 5 minutes. (Some people leave green tea leaves to steep until they have consumed all the tea and the pot is empty. It’s a matter of personal preference.) Herbal tea can be steeped however long you want, as it contains no tea leaves. In fact, the longer steep, the better the flavor for herbal.
This Hibiscus Ginger Tao of Tea blend from Amazon.
Herbal. Caffeine free. Delicious.
You might think about a glass teapot so you can judge the strength by looking at the color. Being able to see the gorgeous colors of your tea adds a subtle flair to the experience. There is a beautiful piece from CnGlass at Amazon that I can recommend, it has an elegant design and offers a nice pour.
Check out the clear CnGlass teapot on Amazon.
Step 6
Once your tea has steeped, pour and enjoy. Pretty straightforward right?
Another way I like to make loose leaf tea is with a french press.
Check out how.
Benefits of brewing your tea
Today I am infinitely aware of what I am putting into my body and how detrimental refined sugars are to one’s health. I have cut a lot of refined sugar out of my diet and that means no more soda.
That leaves a hole in my beverage routine. Some teas, especially herbal, have really nice, almost sweet flavors without any sugar. The subtle mellow toasted flavor of green tea is excellent… and who doesn’t love the kick that a delicious black tea gives you?
Green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea, you name it. If it is out there, I have probably tried it. Though, full disclosure, green tea is my favorite.
This organic Himalayan green tea from Amazon is about as fresh as you can get.
Getting the best tea for the money
Eventually, I began to realize that buying tea in bags was holding me back. First of all, it costs more because somebody else was doing the work to make tea more convenient. I’m sure you have heard the saying, “every time a butcher touches his knife, you pay.” or some other variation of it. Well, the same is true for any other food, spice, or this case drink.
The second way this was stunting my tea experience is variety. Buying pre-bagged tea from the store really limits your options. If you can find a good bulk loose leaf tea provider, you’re going to have a whole world of flavors and experiences to enjoy. Problem is, the best tea doesn’t come in convenient bags. A strainer teapot is an excellent route to go.
This is our favorite strainer teapot from Amazon.
Have an induction stove top?
This post shows you the best tea kettle induction stovetops.
Wrap – Up
If you love tea, then getting yourself a teapot to brew your own tea is an absolute essential to take your experience to the next level. Try getting and making your own blends. You’ll never resign yourself to drinking pre-packaged tea again.
While I hope this post was helpful, it only scratches the surface of the world of tea.
This book from Amazon will tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about tea… and more!
Alexis DeAnda is a food fanatic, library card user, and cast iron hunter, in that order. She has been cooking for anyone that will taste it ever since her mom let her make doughnuts on Saturday mornings at the age of 7.