How to make a perfect cup of black tea.
Black tea is the one of the most common types of tea that we encounter in our everyday lives. Whether it is our Lovely Lavender Earl Grey, http://theteacupany.com/black-tea/lovely-lavender-earl-grey/ , or our English Breakfast, you will notice that black tea is everywhere. In recent years there has really been an expansion of black teas that are available as it seems they make a very good base for mixing with other fruits and flavors. I love a nice cup of black tea as it just has that perfect taste that I look for first thing in the morning. I have found that there are some things you can do to ensure that you get a perfect cup of black tea each and every time you brew up black tea leaves so just keep reading and you will learn how to make the best cup of black tea.
The first thing that I have found with black tea is that the water needs to be nice and hot to really get the full flavors out of the tea leaves. It is important to understand that that there is a big difference between full flavor, and altering the flavor of the tea in a negative way. When making your cup of tea you will want the water to be around 100 degrees as this is the optimal temperature to really get those tea leaves to release all their flavors for you. If you use cooler water you will not get those black tea leaves to release their true flavors, resulting in a weaker and less satisfying cup of tea.
As mentioned above it is important to know that strong tea, and tea that has a bitter overpowering and over processed taste. When some people thing about making a strong tea they think that by steeping it for longer will make the flavors stronger and in turn make a better cup of tea. Black tea is meant to be a sharp and strong flavor profile, so it is best to be steeped between 3-4 minutes. This will allow the tea leaves enough time to relax in the hot water and release their flavors. Once you go past the 4 and a half minute mark you will continue to increase the flavor, but it is going to be more bitter and processed.
This brings up the next point of making a good cup of black tea; which is the best way to make a strong cup of tea. If you want a nice cup of tasty black tea with a very strong flavor then you will want to put more tea leaves in. Typically you will want around 1 teaspoon of tea leaves per cup, however if you want to have a stronger cup of tea then simply add more tea leaves. This is an important thing to remember because it is the quantity of tea leaves, when steeped correctly, that will really help to add some strength to the taste of your cup. Over steeping or overheating the cup of tea will not help you get a stronger taste, it will generally only leave a bitter taste which will mask the beautiful taste which is black tea.