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Steeping Times for Different Teas

20151210-teavanapeachmomotaro3Photo from my review of Teavana’s Peach Momotaro.

The majority of tea companies are very good about including steeping instructions for the teas that they sell. A full set of instructions should include, at minimum, the temperature of water to use and the time that the tea should be steeped for.

If I come across a tea that doesn’t include instructions (or I have trouble finding the instructions), I fall back onto the following water temperatures and length of time:

  • White – 76-85°C (170-185°F), steep for 2-5 min
  • Green – 60-85°C (140-185°F), steep for 30 seconds-2 min
  • Oolong – 85-90°C (185-195°F), steep for 2-3 min
  • Black – 93-100°C (200-212°F), steep for 3-5 min
  • Herbal/Fruit Tisanes – 93-100°C (200-212°F), steep for 3-5 min

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You may notice that these times or temperatures may vary a bit from what various tea companies recommend for their own tea. As a general rule of thumb, I find all steeping instructions to be more guidelines rather than hard or fast rules. For instance, if I get a very bitter cup of green tea after following the steeping instructions to the letter, I will do a second cup (with new leaves) at a lower temperature of water at a lower steeping time. You can always play around with water temperature and steeping time until you get a cup that you enjoy because there’s no sense in having a cup of tea that isn’t any good.

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DavidsTea’s Tea For One

Tea For One (White) by DavidsTea
Glass and Porcelain
$25.00 each

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First Impressions

I got my Tea For One as part of an online promotion that DavidsTea was having (spend $75 or more and receive a free Tea For One), so I received this in the mail. The packaging is quite sturdy – it comes in a nice cube box that has some details about the product on either side in English and French. The DavidsTea website claims that the cup is ceramic in the title of the product, but in the description it is porcelain, while the packaging states that it is porcelain – ceramic and porcelain are not the same thing! Both are made of clay and fired in a kiln, but porcelain is more refined clay. The majority of the descriptions state porcelain, so I’m going to assume it is actually made of porcelain. The infuser is stainless steel.

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The tea pot holds 600ml (20oz) and the cup holds 200ml (6.7oz), which is a fairly decent amount. I find that the tea pot doesn’t sit well in the cup because it can rock. But the material feels sturdy, I’m sure it’d break if dropped, but it has nice smooth edges on all the parts that you can touch.

Preparation

Prior to using my Tea For One, I hand washed it in warm soapy water. The bottom of the tea cup states that it is microwave and dishwasher safe. There are no markings on the glass tea pot or stainless steel infuser. Because of the delicate nature of the product, I would opt to hand wash it always anyways.

First Use

I used my Tea For One when I was steeping some oolong (review coming soon!). There was exactly one little piece of tea leaf that escaped the stainless steel infuser on all five of the steepings that I did, I feel that the infuser did a really good job overall. The stainless steel infuser itself does not have a little tab to remove it with, but I find that the edges extend just enough that I can remove it and it did not burn my fingers.

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The tea pot itself does get hot (it is not double-walled), but the handle remains cool to the touch. The stem of the tea pot lid remains cool, there’s a small hole for venting in the lid as well. The lid of the tea pot does sit nicely in the tea pot with and without the infuser in place.

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Overall Impression

I love the DavidsTea’s Tea For One. I think that it’s very cute and functions well. While I wish that the tea pot and tea cup fit better together when stacked, I don’t think it matters to me that much that I would rate the product lower. I like the fact that the infuser does have holes on the bottom, and it did a fantastic job of keeping tea leaves out of my cup of tea. I think that DavidsTea could do a better job in the description of the product (ceramic, porcelain), but the fact that the product comes in sturdy packaging and functions as promised does help a lot. I think it is good value for $25.00 and it makes for a more enjoyable tea experience and for better solo tea parties.

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DavidsTea’s Honey Black

Honey Black by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Straight
$14.50 for 50g

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First Impressions

First off, this was DavidsTea’s December Tea of the Month. Since I’ve started on my tea adventure (addiction? obsession? hobby?) they had not had a straight tea be their tea of the month, so I was quite excited. I find that straight teas resteep much better than flavoured teas, and the overall quality is generally higher. This may also be reflected by the higher price tag. If you’re interested in trying Honey Black, DavidsTea recently announced via Facebook that they were discontinuing this tea due to issues with the supply.

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Honey Black is described as being “from a small garden on the east coast of Taiwan” and that the leaves are hand-plucked. The tea leaves are definitely lovely, there’s so much detail to be seen in the twisted tea leaves. The smell of the dry tea is a very mild sweet aroma that mingles with the natural tea fragrance itself. The ingredient listed is simply “Black tea from the east coast of Taiwan”.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping in 96°C (204°F) water for 4-7 minutes. I steeped mine for about 4 minutes.

First Taste

The tea itself smells great once steeped. There’s an aroma that is a bit malty, like an Assam tea, with very slight smell of sweetness. The tea is a lovely golden brown colour that is quite welcoming. It does taste a bit malty but not as strong as Assam teas generally are, but it’s also a bit bitter and astringent. True to its name, there is a bit of honey taste to it, but it’s not overwhelming or overly sweet. The sweetness is just enough that I don’t think additional sweetener is necessary. The astringency and bitterness isn’t completely unpleasant, but I do think it would be if I had steeped for the full 7 minutes. I would definitely recommend steeping for a lower amount of time.

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A Second Cup?

Because Honey Black is a straight tea, I really wanted to see how it would do with being resteeped. It does well for the second resteep. I steeped it for about 4 minutes and had less of the bitterness that the first cup had, but the bitterness and astringency was still there.

My Overall Impression

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I thought that DavidsTea’s Honey Black was just okay. While the tea itself is nice and enjoyable (especially if steeped for less than 4 minutes at the recommended water temperature), I think that it’s expensive for what it is – which is a solid black tea. Honey Black makes for a good cup of tea, but there are better options out there for black teas that aren’t as expensive. If you are interested in trying it before it leaves DavidsTea forever, I’d recommend heading to a store to get a small sample bag (I’ve gotten 10g bags before in store!) before committing to a larger purchase, if you have a local store nearby.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.