Mastering the Art of Brewing Premium Teas
Preparing Herbal Tea
Infuse
Steep herbs to draw out therapeutic and medicinal compounds
Use with leaves, flowers, fruits, and highly aromatic roots
One heaping teaspoon of dried herb per cup (250ml) of water
Pour freshly boiled water over herbs and steep for 5-20 minutes
Strain tea into cup, teapot, or thermos and savour
Steep overnight for medicinal brews; refrigerate for up to 3 days
Decoct
Boil herbs to extract medicinal and therapeutic compounds
Use with stems, roots, rhizomes, barks, mushrooms, and seeds
Bring water to boil in stovetop pot
Add one heaping teaspoon of dried herb per cup (250ml) of water
Reduce heat and simmer in covered pot for 5-20 minutes
Strain tea into cup, teapot, or thermos and appreciate
Steep overnight for medicinal brews; refrigerate for up to 3 days
For teas with both infusing and decocting herbs,
simply prepare decoction, remove from heat, and add herbs for infusing
Preparing Camellia sinensis Tea
Black
Leaves are withered, rolled, fully oxidized, and dried at very high temperatures before being processed in a variety of methods
One teaspoon of black tea per cup (250ml) of water
Pour freshly boiled water over leaves and steep for 3-5 minutes
Strain tea into cup, teapot, or thermos and adore
Oolong & Pu’erh
Oolong: leaves are withered & bruised, rolled and air dried to partial-oxidation, and then pan-fried at high temperatures
Pu’erh: leaves are aged & fermented, slowly breaking down over time
One teaspoon of tea per cup (250ml) of water
Bring water to a boil and cool to 90-95° Celcius
Rinse tea: pour water over leaves and quickly discard it
Pour water over leaves and steep for 3-5 minutes
Strain tea into cup, teapot, or thermos and cherish
Green & White
Green: early spring leaves are harvested and quickly steamed, roasted, or pan-fired to prevent oxidation
White: early spring leaves are harvested and immediately withered under sunlight, then dried naturally resulting in minimal oxidation
One teaspoon of tea per cup (250ml) of water
Bring water to a boil and cool to 85-90° Celcius
Pour water over leaves and steep for 3-5 minutes
Strain tea into cup, teapot, or thermos and rejoice
