If you have already read how to brew black tea then you have the fundamentals of how to make a nice cup of tea. And although the bottom paragraph goes over how to make a nice strong brewed tea I just got an email that was upset about the flavor of one of our black teas.
This email had nothing to do with the tea quality, or flavoring, or anything really related to the tea drinkers personal preferences. What it really came down to was the brewing method. The customer who bought the black tea was more upset with how bitter the tea was after they brewed a strong cup of tea.
This was the first signal that there was perhaps something off with the preparation method. As soon as you hear bitter and strong together the first question is instantly ” How do you make a strong cup of black tea?” Generally the answer is, let it steep for a reallly reallly REEAAAAAAAAAAAALY long time. Not usually with that many letters but just to let you know the typical response.
The true secret of brewing a really strong, and tasty, cup of black tea is to use more leaves and still stay within the recommended times. This will ensure that the true flavor of the tea is released into the water. More tea leaves = more flavor, more time= more bitter taste.
Once the customer agreed to try out the method of adding more leaves to the brew I instantly got a happy email from a very happy lady. She got the full flavor of the tea, without any bitter taste.
Here are some of my favorite black teas so give them a look: Our Black Teas