Our favorite tools for brewing loose-leaf Tea

Hi All,

For people new to loose-leaf tea or those well-versed in the glory but curious to learn about other methods, this field note is for you.

There are three variables in brewing tea that will effect it’s flavor.

1. Tea Quantity: More tea = stronger and bolder flavor, less tea = weaker and more subtle flavor

2. Water Quantity: More water = weaker and diluted flavor, less water = stronger and concentrated flavor

3. Water Temperature: Too hot = bitter and burnt flavor, too cold = weak and unsatisfying flavor

As a result, it’s important to play with each of these variables with the various infusers mentioned below when you brew your tea so you find the right balance for your particular tastes.

The following tools are best for brewing loose-leaf tea because they

1. Provide enough space for the tea leaves to unfurl and release the best flavor. Many tea styles have leaves that will increase in size exponentially once brewed, they need to have the appropriate space to grow and allow for water to permeate the leaves and extract the nutrients & flavors. Tea that is too compressed when brewing is unable to fully unfurl.

2. Allow for stoppage in brewing so that multiple infusions can be made. Tea should be brewed for a set period of time and then fully seperated from the water. When brewing, If you only expel half of the water in a teapot at point in time and come back to drink the other half of the water that continued to brew then you will have drastically different brews. The second batch that continued to brew will most likely be over-brewed and be bitter & burnt in flavor. On a quick side note; I often brew my third or fourth steeping for longer than the 1st or 2nd to try and suck out every last essence of flavor as it’s very hard to over-brew the tea at this point.

With that knowledge in hand, these are some of the most versatile & functional tools that we use:

• Stainless steel basket infuser:

  Turns any mug into a tea drinking vessel. Excellent choice for making tea for one. The trick to this to get an infuser with a lid and when you finish a steeping to place the lid upside down on the counter and place the infuser on the lid in order to prevent a wet countertop. Stainless steel construction means it’s hygenic, impossible to break and moderately easy. The only downsides are that very small pieces occasionally become stuck in the grooves and in time, tannins from the tea will stain the steel and you’ll need to clean it with a baking soda.

  All new tea club members receive one of these as a gift! Amazon Link

• Dual Chamber Teapot (Travel teapot):

  This is a convenient option for travel or work. These dual chamber pots allow for one chamber for brewing and one for drinking/pouring. This is very effective for making rapid batches of tea via gongfu style. The glass allows you to see the brew color and leaf unfurling to know when the tea is ready. The only downsides are that there are certain parts of the pot that are plastic which bothers some users and that they can be difficult to clean if they don’t fully break apart.

  Amazon Link - Zens Teapot & Amazon Link - Kamjove

Clay Teapot with built-in infuser:

This is my favorite way to brew tea for the following reasons: 1. there is a large amount of space for the tea leaves, 2. the built in infuser works well 3. It’s low maintenance as there is no steel mesh that gets clogged with small bits or gets stained from tannins. 4. The unglazed interior will pickup a tea seasoning over time and impart lovely subtle flavor to your tea as a result.

I particularly like Japanese Kyusu teapots for their large handle that allows for easy pouring and the large filter that allows for rapid decanting.

Amazon Link - Kyusu Teapot

Tools I don’t recommend for everyone & why:

• Gaiwan: This is a traditional Chinese teacup with a lid and saucer. They’re functional, beautiful and are part of a cherished heritage of tea drinking. So why don’t I recommend them? For novice drinkers, they can be difficult to use and the result is a literal mess as tea spills everywhere and/or there is still water at the bottom of the gaiwan that overbrews the tea and ruins the next pour. ***There are gaiwans with holes on the lid to make pouring easier for novices.

• Tea spoons/Tea balls: The lack of volume in these devices doesn’t allow to leaves fully unfurl. It’s also not possible to see leaves which minimizes my understanding of the tea.

• Large tea pots: Only applicable with large groups of people as you need to fully expel the water from the vessel after each brew. When drinking alone, you could have 3-4 cups laying around and drink them over time but they’ll get cold and why dirty so many cups? It just lacks versatility and the dual chamber pot can make brews in 20-30 seconds due to a high quantity of tea to low quantity of water ratio. These quick brews are much better to meet the needs of providing for large groups and you can control the quality of tea much better with precise brew times.

There are dozens of teapot variations and new brewing tools always coming out so keep you eyes and ears open and let us know what you find. As a final note, I do not receive any financial compensation for the products mentioned above.