Tea expert's tips for making the perfect cuppa

Have you ever wondered if you are making tea the right way?

We spoke to tea expert, Jessica Bonin of Lady Bonin's Tea Parlour on how to make the perfect cup of tea.

Below are Lady Bonin’s tips.

Water is key 

The best water for tea is spring water, or at the least filtered water. Tea is a chemistry and the leaf interacts with the chemistry in the water. The smoother the water, the smoother the tea.

Choose loose leaf or full leaf tea over tea bags

Conventional tea bags such as your bog standard boxed tea has broken leaves the industry refers to as fannings, they are the bottom of the barrel, swept off the floor bits of tea. They can be likened to instant coffee and full leaf to roasted beans. If a leaf is broken it doesn’t have its chemical potential to interact with the water, therefore the flavour released is often stale and requires additives and flavourings to compensate.

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The story of the Aztec Goddess Toci is an awesome one. She is the mother of gods. Creator and destroyer; with both the ability to birth the stars and smudge them out. Toci was also associated with healing. The name translates to Grandmother, which is adept given we associate Pai Mu Tan as the grandmother tea. This powerful brew is perfectly special, with cloves and oranges blended into this white tea base. The first tea in our Speciality Gift Box of Tea. . . . #toci #paimutan #genmaicha #tieguanyin  #tea #tealeaves #teacup #teapot #looseleaf #biodegradable #plasticfree #sustainable #organic #wellness #serenity #energy #health #yoga #matcha #blacktea #greentea #whitetea #oolong #rooibos #teaislove #teaisliquidwisdom #teaishappiness #sale #capetown

A post shared by Lady Bonin's Tea(@ladyboninstea) on Feb 21, 2019 at 7:30am PST

Steep time

Steeping time is there for a reason. It ensures the leaves don’t get burned and the flavour is sweet. Green teas are often steeped too long, resulting in bitter beverages. Black tea also has this potential. Green tea should take 2 minute, a black tea 3 to 4 and a rooibos 3 to 5. Take time for tea, it is an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and step outside of the chaos of the world and find the present moment by catching your breath. This was the ancient purpose of tea after all.

Water temperature

Green tea does not like boiling water. This is the main reason it is bitter. let the water cool down for at least 5 minutes or don’t let the water reach boiling.

Water to tea, never tea to water. Because the flavour is released through a rehydration, pouring water over leaves allows this to happen more organically, the other way around jumbles the message and results in a less complex and flatter flavour.