A good tea is a labor of love, from the tea farmers to the tea maker, hundreds of hours of were spent in careful attention to the tea leaf. While each tea will have different requirements on water temperature, infusion time, and tea portions to bring out its ideal taste, here are three basic rules that will help ensure a flavorful cup each time.
A good tea is a labor of love, from the tea farmers to the tea maker, hundreds of hours of were spent in careful attention to the tea leaf. While each tea will have different requirements on water temperature, infusion time, and tea portions to bring out its ideal taste, here are three basic rules that will help ensure a flavorful cup each time.
Step One: Selecting Your Tea
Our teas are delicious and nutritious for any time of the day, however, they all have different flavor and health profiles based on their unique terroir. Learn more about the health and beauty benefits of single-leaf teas here, a handy tea-selector menu can be found on the right-hand side here. If you have trouble deciding which teas suit your needs, or wish simply to try a sample our favorites, our deluxe sampler box would be a good starting point to explore.
Ver té teas are easy to directly pour into your teapot, but we find it useful sometimes to use a tealeaf tray and tea scoop, traditional tools for tea brewing.
Step One: Selecting Your Tea
Our teas are delicious and nutritious for any time of the day, however, they all have different flavor and health profiles based on their unique terroir. Learn more about the health and beauty benefits of single-leaf teas here, a handy tea-selector menu can be found on the right-hand side here. If you have trouble deciding which teas suit your needs, or wish simply to try a sample our favorites, our deluxe sampler box would be a good starting point to explore.
Ver té teas are easy to directly pour into your teapot, but we find it useful sometimes to use a tealeaf tray and tea scoop, traditional tools for tea brewing.
Step Two: Measuring Tea
Proper portioning of tea is important for a good brew as different teas require different oz or grams per water portion. Ver té has done the work so you don’t have too— tea portioning can be tricky, so we have packaged our teas into individual portions perfect for each infusion. These pouches are also perfect to take your loose tea on the go.
Step Two: Measuring Tea
Proper portioning of tea is important for a good brew as different teas require different oz or grams per water portion. Ver té has done the work so you don’t have too— tea portioning can be tricky, so we have packaged our teas into individual portions perfect for each infusion. These pouches are also perfect to take your loose tea on the go.
Step Three: Selecting Teaware
Tea is more than a beverage; it’s a medium to focus on our inner selves. Finding the right teaware for you is important and pleasurable part of the experience. Since ancient times, fine teaware are treasured and passed by generation to generation.
At Ver té our in-house line of contemporary focused teaware are not only stylish but functional, extensively tested to find the right proportion of water to tea, ensuring a perfect cup with each pour. Our handmade porcelains are fired at 1300 F to ensure it can withstand tea’s hot water temperatures. Watch our artisans spin the clay.
We also work with individual artisans to present their unique vision to lovers of design and beauty everywhere. View our unique collection here.
Step Three: Selecting Teaware
Tea is more than a beverage; it’s a medium to focus on our inner selves. Finding the right teaware for you is important and pleasurable part of the experience. Since ancient times, fine teaware are treasured and passed by generation to generation.
At Ver té our in-house line of contemporary focused teaware are not only stylish but functional, extensively tested to find the right proportion of water to tea, ensuring a perfect cup with each pour. Our handmade porcelains are fired at 1300 F to ensure it can withstand tea’s hot water temperatures. Watch our artisans spin the clay.
We also work with individual artisans to present their unique vision to lovers of design and beauty everywhere. View our unique collection here.
Step Four: Brewing Temperature
Now that you have selected your teaware, it’s time to brew the tea! Different types of teas have different optimal brewing temperature requirements. Check your tea’s brewing information for the optimal temperature. It’s important to control the brewing temperature (especially for the first three seeping) to maximize your tea’s flavor and health benefits. Too cool or too hot a temperature may not release or destroy the delicate leaves.
However, it does not need to be complicated. Follow our tips on how to control the correct brewing temperature without a temperature controlled kettle.
Step Four: Brewing Temperature
Now that you have selected your teaware, it’s time to brew the tea! Different types of teas have different optimal brewing temperature requirements. Check your tea’s brewing information for the optimal temperature. It’s important to control the brewing temperature (especially for the first three seeping) to maximize your tea’s flavor and health benefits. Too cool or too hot a temperature may not release or destroy the delicate leaves.
However, it does not need to be complicated. Follow our tips on how to control the correct brewing temperature without a temperature controlled kettle.
Step Five: Seeping Times
Different types of teas have different optimal seeping times. Check your tea’s brewing information for the optimal seeping time. Average brewing time can range from near immediate (10 secs) to 1 min – Generally speaking, good quality teas require much shorter brewing times than usually stated for tea bags and other commercial teas. After the third to fourth brew, brewing time roughly doubles.
We find a tea timer useful but the time tested method of “one Mississippi (1 sec), two Mississippi (2 sec)…” also works well. After a while you will have a good sense of seeping times instinctively.
Step Five: Seeping Times
Different types of teas have different optimal seeping times. Check your tea’s brewing information for the optimal seeping time. Average brewing time can range from near immediate (10 secs) to 1 min – Generally speaking, good quality teas require much shorter brewing times than usually stated for tea bags and other commercial teas. After the third to fourth brew, brewing time roughly doubles.
We find a tea timer useful but the time tested method of “one Mississippi (1 sec), two Mississippi (2 sec)…” also works well. After a while you will have a good sense of seeping times instinctively.
Step Six: Serving Tea
Whether you are serving your guests or simply yourself, it’s important to decant the tea completely from the teapot between each seepings. Tea leaves should be drained completely after each brew – do not soak tea leaves continuously in hot water. The unique flavors and fragrance of the tea will be destroyed if good quality leaves are left to “cook” indefinitely in hot water. Ver té teaware is designed to drain completely into our cups, leaving your leaves in an ideal state for multiple infusions. For non-Ver té design teaware, we recommend the use of a tea pourer. This traditional accessory serves three functions— slight cooling of tea, draining of all tea from the teapot and ease of serving your guests.
Step Six: Serving Tea
Whether you are serving your guests or simply yourself, it’s important to decant the tea completely from the teapot between each seepings. Tea leaves should be drained completely after each brew – do not soak tea leaves continuously in hot water. The unique flavors and fragrance of the tea will be destroyed if good quality leaves are left to “cook” indefinitely in hot water. Ver té teaware is designed to drain completely into our cups, leaving your leaves in an ideal state for multiple infusions. For non-Ver té design teaware, we recommend the use of a tea pourer. This traditional accessory serves three functions— slight cooling of tea, draining of all tea from the teapot and ease of serving your guests.
Tips
Enjoy your tea!
Tea is easy to enjoy but if feel need for some guidance, we have put together a short guide on how to do so.
Use filtered or neutral water when possible – tap water is perfectly fine, but your tea will taste better if tap water has been filtered using a Brita or something similar. High mineral content or very hard water will affect tea taste.
If you don’t have a tea kettle with temperature settings, an easy way to approximate lower brewing temperature (such as for green teas) is to pour the boiled water into larger cold teapot, then use this to pour over the infusion teapot.
Be sure to hold your tea pourer from the top in a grasping motion to avoid burning your fingers. See video to see we do it. Tea pourers are not hot when held from the top along the edges but may be hot if held by the side.
Tips
Enjoy your tea!
Tea is easy to enjoy but if feel need for some guidance, we have put together a short guide on how to do so.
Use filtered or neutral water when possible – tap water is perfectly fine, but your tea will taste better if tap water has been filtered using a Brita or something similar. High mineral content or very hard water will affect tea taste.
If you don’t have a tea kettle with temperature settings, an easy way to approximate lower brewing temperature (such as for green teas) is to pour the boiled water into larger cold teapot, then use this to pour over the infusion teapot.
Be sure to hold your tea pourer from the top in a grasping motion to avoid burning your fingers. See video to see we do it. Tea pourers are not hot when held from the top along the edges but may be hot if held by the side.
Iced Teas
Traditionally tea is drunk hot but we can appreciate the allure of an ice cold tea on a hot day. While all our tea leaves can be cold brewed, we recommend following our standard hand brewing instructions (hot water) and then chilling the tea. The high quality of Ver té’s teas are best revealed through hand brewing. They are delicious cold as well as hot.
Iced Teas
Traditionally tea is drunk hot but we can appreciate the allure of an ice cold tea on a hot day. While all our tea leaves can be cold brewed, we recommend following our standard hand brewing instructions (hot water) and then chilling the tea. The high quality of Ver té’s teas are best revealed through hand brewing. They are delicious cold as well as hot.