While many people opt for a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning to help them wake up, much of the world likes to drink tea. After water, tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world. In order to enjoy a cup, here are five tips for brewing tea properly.

Don’t Use Tea Bags

Although they may be more convenient than using loose tea, tea bags don’t provide the same quality as tea leaves. Most tea bags only contain tea leaf fragments, such as fannings and dust, instead of whole tea leaves. When tea is brewed, the leaves need space to expand in order to extract all their flavour, but in a tea bag, the space is confined and any leaves in it cannot expand. The result is a cup of tea that isn’t as good as tea made with the whole leaves.

Buy Good Tea Leaves

If you live in a city that has several tea and coffee shops, you may be able to find a variety of loose teas for sale. However, if you have trouble finding a good tea shop, buying tea online is a good alternative. There are several websites that offer tins of loose tea leaves, including smaller sample sizes that will allow you to try some of the 3,000 tea varieties that are known to exist.

Get the Right Equipment

To brew a proper cup of tea, you need to have the right equipment to do so. While many people prefer to use an old-fashioned teapot that whistles when the water starts to boil, you can buy an electric tea kettle that has different temperature settings for different types of tea. This helps ensure you get the best possible cup of tea, because the temperature of the water is one of the most important aspects of brewing tea.

Right Temperature and Time

Knowing the right temperature and the steeping time for different teas will help you brew the best tasting tea. Here are the temperatures and steeping times for six categories of team.

• White Tea – Brew at 69° to 70° and steep for about one to two minutes.
• Yellow Tea – Brew at 70° to 75° and steep for one to two minutes.
• Green Tea – Brew at 75° to 80° and steep for one to two minutes.
• Oolong Tea – Brew at 80° to 85° and steep for two to three minutes.
• Black Tea – Brew at 99° and steep for two to three minutes.
• Herbal Tea – Brew at 99° and steep for three to six minutes.

Brew Good Iced Tea

If you prefer iced tea, then you need to double the amount of tea you would normally use to keep the ice from diluting the flavour. Cold brew the tea to get a smoother, stronger glass of tea. Use about two tablespoons of leaves per quart of water or one tea bag per four cups of water and steep it in the refrigerator for eight to 12 hours.