Ultimate tea guide on how to brew perfect loose leaf tea

Tea and tea drinking is a big part of savoring moments and living a natural lifestyle. After reading this post, you know how to steep loose leaf tea in a cup, a teapot, or kettle to create those intentional chill moments.

You learn as well the basic rules for steeping iced tea and cold brewed tea. If you have ever wondered how to make loose leaf tea without a strainer or infuser, don’t worry. I’ll help you find creative solutions for that option, too!

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General rules to know and follow when steeping loose leaf tea

To enjoy a perfect cup of tea, many things could go wrong and end up with a bitter cup. To avoid the bitterness in tea, and to steep tea like a pro, here are a few key things to remember:

• Know the different tea types to steep them correctly (more below!)
• Use fresh water and high-quality tea leaves for best results
• Respect the general rule of water temperature
• Steep the tea for the optimal recommended time for each tea type
• Water ratio: about 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea per 250ml (1 cup)
• You can reuse the same tea leaves! Reuse black tea 1 to 2 times, and greens and yellow tea even 3 to 4 times!

| RELATED: Tea, tisane, herbal ea decoction: What’s the difference?

How long to steep tea and what is the right temperature?

Different tea types need different water temperatures. Green, white, and yellow teas are more fragile and are so much happier in lower temperatures around 85°C (185°F). Black teas, pu’erh and herbal teas can handle almost boiling water. 

| PRO TIP: Use an electric kettle with temperature control, or a kitchen thermometer to measure the temperature, which is quite handy too! 

Choose the water temperature and steeping time depending on your tea type. If you prefer strong tea, you can adjust the steeping time a bit. Just notice that if you steep too long or with too hot water, your tea will get bitter notes.

| RELATED: Why does my tea taste bitter? | How to avoid tea bitterness

• White tea 85°C (185°F) 1-3 min
• Green tea 85°C (185°F) 2-3 min
• Oolong tea 85°C (185°F) 2-3 min
• Black tea 95°C (203°F) 3-5 min
• Pu’erh tea 95°C (203°F) 2-5 min
• Rooibos tea 95°C (203°C) 5-8 min
• Herbal tea 95°C (203°C) 5-8 min

How to make loose leaf tea – quick general guide

1. Measure 1 teaspoon per 250 ml (1 cup) hot water
2. Pour hot water into the teapot over the tea leaves, cover with a lid, and let it steep the optimal time for your tea type (check the infographic above)
3. Pour the steeped tea through a tea strainer into a tea cup.
4. Enjoy your tea plain or with honey, sugar or lemon!

How to steep loose leaf tea in a tea cup

You might want to steep only one cup of loose leaf tea if you are making just tea for yourself, like I do in the mornings, while others are still sleeping. I sneak in the kitchen to steep a cup of fragrant green tea. It is a good option to make tea directly in a cup, when tea drinkers have different preferences, or choosing one tea for all is too hard (been there!) or if you want to grab a tea to go, choose a reusable cup instead of a single-use cup. I use a Keepcup when I am on the go.

Using a tea ball infuser

A tea ball infuser is a perfect reusable tea bag option to make steeping tea easy. If you are a casual tea drinker, this is a good option for you. If you are a heavy user, I suggest choosing a tea infuser instead of the ball-shaped one, for they tend to detach and break when overused.

Using a spoon infuser

A spoon infuser is quite similar to a tea ball infuser. It is quite small as the tea ball, so it is best for only one cup. Tea spoon strainers are quite sturdy and they are good to buy second hand as well. I have found several cute looking tea spoon infusers from the thrift shops that have served me well over the years!

• Measure one spoonful of tea into the spoon infuser, close it and place into the tea cup. 
• Pour some hot water over the spoon, cover the cup with a saucer and let it steep. 
• Take off the spoon infuser and discard the tea leaves. 
• Time to sip some tea!

Using a tea infuser/tea filter

Tea leaves need space to open fully when in contact with hot water, so a tea infuser is the best option for the best flavors. Infusers work best with tall tea cups, but if you have a low one like I totally love to drink my tea from, you can just leave it standing in the cup, instead of hanging on the edges. Some infusers come with a lid, which is quite handy to keep the heat and as a drip tray.

• Measure one teaspoon of tea leaves and insert the infuser in the teacup.
• Pour hot water through the infuser, cover with a saucer or the lid of the infuser and let it steep.
• Lift the infuser on a saucer or its lid, reuse the leaves or discard.
• Enjoy your tea time.

Using a teapot to steep loose leaf tea

Teapot is best when you are having tea time with your family or a friend. Every time my tea lover friend comes over, we make a hot pot of tea, sip it together, watching our children play together. Whatever size the teapot is, we’ll manage to finish it together. If you have a teapot cozy, it is a good option to keep your tea hot between the refills.

Teapot with a tea strainer

Using a tea strainer is good when you know that you are serving the whole pot of tea once it has been steeped. In this tea steeping method, the tea leaves stay in the teapot, so it is crucial to serve all tea at once, for the water that stays in contact with the tea leaves in the teapot will get bitter notes after a while. This is perfect for steeping herbal teas, which do not contain catechins, the bittering agents, and can be steeped for a long time without bitter flavors.

• Warm the teapot with hot water and then pour it out.
• Measure 1 teaspoon per 250ml (1 cup) of water into the teapot.
• Pour hot water over the tealeaves, cover with the lid and let it steep.
• Pour tea from the teapot into the tea cups through the strainer to catch any escaping tea leaves.
• Serve the hot tea and enjoy with good company.

Teapot with an infuser

Using the teapot with an infuser basket is my favourite method by far! When you want to make tea for two or more people, and you want to make enough for a refill, this is your method. The tea leaves steep in the infuser basket, but when pulled out, they stop giving the flavor and ass well turning the tea bitter so you can without worries keep on sipping the perfect flavoured tea for a while.

• Warm the teapot with hot water and then pour it out.
• Measure 1 teaspoon per 250ml (1 cup) of water into the infuser basket and place it in the teapot, so that the sides keep it steady on its place.
• Pour hot water over the tealeaves through the infuser and let it steep.
• Lift up the infuser and place it on a saucer or its lid.
• Serve the tea and enjoy with good company.

Teapot with a built-in infuser

If you don’t yet have a teapot, but you are thinking of buying one, you might consider choosing one with a built-in infuser. It is a good option to make sure that the infuser fits nicely into your teapot, and they just look so beautiful! To steep tea with the built-in infuser goes the same as with the separate infuser:

• Warm the teapot with hot water and then pour it out.
• Measure 1 teaspoon per 250ml (1 cup) of water into the infuser basket and place it in the teapot, so that the sides keep it steady on its place.
• Pour hot water over the tealeaves through the infuser and let it steep.
• Lift up the infuser and place it on a saucer or its lid.
• Serve the tea and enjoy with good company.

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How to brew loose-leaf tea with a tea kettle

Tea kettle is a versatile tool in preparing tea. You can heat your tea water in it, or you can brew your tea in it directly. If you have tried my Moroccan mint tea recipe, it is a perfect example of brewing tea using a kettle. In Moroccan mint tea, you mix mint and green tea leaves. The beautiful thing is that you can leave the fresh mint leaves brew in the kettle and use an infuser for the tea leaves to limit the brewing time to avoid the bitterness to release into the tea. 

With a strainer

• Heat the water in the kettle on the stove.
• Measure 1 teaspoon per 250ml (1 cup) of water into the kettle and let it brew on a stove that you have turned off.
• Pour tea from the kettle into the tea cups through the strainer to catch any escaping tea leaves.
• Enjoy with a good company.

How to steep loose leaf tea using a French press

You can use a French press to brew coffee, but also to steep tea. In French press instead of a strainer you can simply push the plunger down and serve the tea. Best is to use a French press to serve all tea at once or use it for herbal tea, for the tea leaves remain intact with water, continuing steeping still after serving. At a simple breakfast, I use a small French press so that I can serve a few cups for me and my husband.

What to use instead of a tea infuser or a tea strainer?

Sometimes you end up in a situation with steeping loose leaf tea without an infuser or a tea strainer, so here are a few options you can use instead:

• An actual strainer (it’s a bit big but will do the job)
• Cheesecloth
• Coffee filter
• Even a slotted spoon might work sometimes!

Why not use a tea bag?

After all this, if you are wondering why not to use a tea bag, here is the thing: Tea in the tea bag is often low quality and even smushed like a powder inside the bag. The reality is that the “tea powder” will not give the same flavors as whole leaves. 

The bag itself can also give a slight off note flavor into the tea when brewed, and it doesn’t give enough space for the tea leaves to open in the hot water to release their best flavors. 

There are some improvements done lately with tea bags like a pyramid shape tea bag that gives the tea more space, but it is up to you to choose which one you prefer the best.

What is your favourite method to make tea using tea leaves?

Are you a tea cup person or a friend of a teapot? Tag me on Instagram with @blue.tea.tile to show your tea moment or let me know in the comments, I would love to see your perfect moment with tea!

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