A pipe and... tea?

[WaydeG]

I'm sure there are a significant number of folks who are much more educated than me who can tell me how to brew a good cup of tea. A friend gave me a few ounces of black tea and I have no clue on how much to brew, for how long and what I'm supposed to add. (Maybe other than gin or bourbon )

NOTE* I'm a third generation Texan - German Irish Catholic - and the closest I've gotten to a cup of hot tea would be a cold glass of Lipton's with sugar on a hot June, July and August day - we call it "sweet tea". Along with the lose tea was a box labeled PG tips. No clue.

I like a pipe with coffee on occasion but tea? Please enlighten me.

 

[BigCasino]

Bags or loose tea?

 

[WaydeG]

Bags or loose tea?

Loose tea.

 

[Richard Burley]

Boiling water and a tea ball. I'm making some right now. Just fill the ball half-way, because the leaves swell a great deal. Steep for four minutes only, or it gets quite tannic.

(Actually I don't use a tea ball, but the thing I use works on the same principle--I just don't know what it's called. A spring-loaded, reverse-scissors contrivance, with a wire cage on the end that opens for the tea. Works very well, and I'm told that the loose tea is better quality than what's in the bags, even when it's the same brand.)

 

[Fazby]

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFObrewing.asp

They have some terrific teas. I also recommend a Chatsford pot.

A pot of tea with a pipe is wonderful.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

For single cups of loose tea, this contraption is perfect -

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

Typically for black teas I use 1 heaping teaspoon of loose tea per 10-12oz of boiling water, steeped around 3-4 minutes. Same with green teas, however boiling water with green tea is not recommended. Water temperature for green teas is best between 140-180 degrees F dependent upon early or late harvest variety. More about all that hubbub here - http://www.thefragrantleaf.com/brewingtips.html

 

[keen smoke]

For single cups of loose tea, this contraption is perfect -

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

Typically for black teas I use 1 heaping teaspoon of loose tea per 10-12oz of boiling water, steeped around 3-4 minutes. Same with green teas, however boiling water with green tea is not recommended. Water temperature for green teas is best between 140-180 degrees F dependent upon early or late harvest variety. More about all that hubbub here - http://www.thefragrantleaf.com/brewingtips.html

All really good advice here. I have the ingenuiTEA in both sizes and it makes loose tea super easy.

For me, I use a mug that holds about 16oz, so a full smaller iTEA pot makes a full "cup" (16oz) for me. I mainly only drink black teas and blends. So for that, I use roughly 3 teaspons of loose tea and steep for 4-5 minutes with water at boiling/212.

Really though like pipe tobacco, start with recommendations like these but find your sweet spot. If you like your tea a bit stronger you'll probably want to err on the high side of 1 tsp per 8oz of water and err on the side of steeping longer, for example. But try it out with less tea/less time as well. It depends on the tea too as some tea gets bitter if steeped too long. Most teas you buy will come with recommendations for how much to use/how hot the water should be... always a good place to start of course.

Cheers, enjoy the lovely world of fine teas... especially along side your favorite pipe and tobacco.