41 Frederick St, Edinburgh EH2 1EP
Open Mon-Sat 8am-7pm and Sun 10am-7pm
Open Mon-Sat 8am-7pm and Sun 10am-7pm
Brewing Tips
The first rule of eteaket is there are no rules. It’s your tea, do with it as you wish. Freestyle is the name of the game so feel free to experiment with your brewing technique.
| Tea | Amount per cup | Water temperature | Brewing time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Tea (except Darjeeling and Pu-Erh) | 1 tsp | Freshly boiled (100°C) | Around 3 mins |
| Flowering Tea | 1 blossom | Freshly boiled (100°C) | Until blossom opens fully |
| Rooibos | 1 tsp | Freshly boiled (100°C) | Around 3 mins |
| Herbal & Fruit Infusions | 1 tsp | Freshly boiled (100°C) | Around 3 mins |
| Darjeeling Tea | 1 tsp | Water that is just off the boil (90-95°C) | Around 3-4 mins |
| Pu-Erh Tea | 1 unwrapped cake | Water that is just off the boil (90-95°C) | Around 3-4 mins |
| Oolong Tea | 1 tsp | Water that is just off the boil (90-95°C) | Around 3-4 mins |
| Green Tea | 1 tsp | Water that hasn’t yet begun to bubble (80°C) | Around 3 mins |
| White Tea | 1 tsp | Water that hasn’t yet begun to bubble (80°C) | Around 3 mins |
Other simple tips to ensure maximum tea pleasure are:
- Use fresh tea. Tea is a natural product and will have a best before date; try and consume before this date.
- Store your tea in an airtight container at room temperature and out of direct sunlight.
- Brewing tea is all about giving the tea room to breathe and letting the leaves unfurl. Choose a good tea press, filter or infuser which allows this.
- Always remove or separate the leaves from the liquid once the tea has been brewed for the recommended time, otherwise the tea will stew and will taste bitter. Again, a good tea press, filter or infuser will allow you to do this.
- Use filtered water for brewing tea if you can. Regular tap water can contain chlorine, fluoride and other impurities that can distort some of the subtle flavours of a good quality tea.
- When boiling the kettle for tea, always use a fresh batch of water, whether it is tap or filtered, as repeated boiling of the same water decreases its oxygen content, which can spoil the flavour profile of tea.
- The Great Milk Debate. Most of us are used to adding a splash of milk to our regular tea bag tea, which actually masks the more astringent, bitter qualities of the tea, which is usually of lower quality. Milk can be added to loose-leaf black teas but good quality black teas truly shine without milk. Other tea types, such as, green, oolong, white, rooibos and herb/fruit infusions are designed to be drunk without milk. It you do decided to add milk though, we'll let you decide if it's milk first or milk after (our preference is after for what it's worth).