Brewing tea efficiently

Has he gone mad? Really why would he write about something that is intuitive and so personal to all tea drinkers? Totally bats!

Ah well, at least you opened the post!

Seriously though, there are many ways to brew tea and lots of instructions about the proper way to infuse this or that botanical or CS varietal. Some of us follow them slavishly while others (usually a second or third sibling, never the first!) will be reckless in their approach to the art of tea making. So what is this little dit all about?

It's about exploring a few variations on common themes, some much discussed, with a view to enhancing the output and your moral justification for making a hot brew.

The technical-ish bit:

Firstly let us consider the brewing process. I don't care what temperature you brew tea at but how you get that water up to that temperature (and I am assuming a hot brew method here).

The first thing to consider is that water has a Specific heat capacity which is a constant so you need the same amount of energy to increase a cup of water by 1C however you heat it! Given this and the fact that we are heating our cup to, approximately, 80 and 100 times this energy level of 1.5Joules (per cup) and the opportunity for doing better is clear.

For perspective, the same amount of energy to raise the temperature of a cup by 90C would keep a light bulb burning for almost 3 hours or your laptop working for 20 minutes (Not including internet usage).

So let's do our bit and understand the 2 do's (or To Do's) for boiling water.

1. A kettle is your most efficient method for boiling water

2. Use only what you need

   

We all know this so, let me add 3 more

3.Where possible use soft water: it boils at a lower temperature than mineral rich water among the other benefits it gives to tea (more "room" to infuse into) and other household chores.

4. Decant the water into the kettle as early as possible (Overnight for your morning cuppa) as this will increase the temperature of the water to ambient, particularly in winter, thereby saving energy. Added bonus, if your municipal source adds chlorine for any reason into your supply, this will help to alleviate that noxious odor.

5. A watched kettle never overboils! Don't rely on the automatic switch off but trigger the off switch as soon as you see/hear that boil

And if your chosen method of making tea is on the stove top in a pan, then choose an appropriate pan, the more surface area of contact for the water the better, and cover it.

OK, we have water ready to steep, now what? Here I will tackle the teabag first and then loose.

Teabags

There are three simple things to know about brewing teabags and these are

1.Put the teabag in first before the water (Restaurants please please listen)

2.When you pour the water into the cup, make sure it does not hit the bag first, otherwise you get a personal flotation device which will brew slower than the submerged article. You can lean your bag against the sidewall of the cup to enable this.

3.Whatever the shape of the teabag, make sure it is not scrunched up before you brew it. The water needs to get to every tea particle for an efficient and tasty brew (assuming you bought good tea!!) and a scrunched teabag stops that from happening.

Oh and it is ok to squeeze the bag!

Loose tea:

Here it is not so much about how to brew as to how to decant, for me and I suspect many others. The English phrase "can't be arsed" springs to mind when it comes to loose tea.

Those loose leaves have to be separated from the brew and there are a host of companies ready to sell you infuser balls etc...but they all need rinsing themselves and particles get stuck in the little holes and oh....isn't life difficult!

My answer to you is simple, we decant wine so why not tea?

I brew tea in a thermal (pyrex) glass pot which I can then pour into cups until I reach the, by now, sunken leaves. It's simple and requires no accoutrements!

Oh, I hear you rail, there are some blends that always have floaters, particularly herbals. Use a spoon I say, reversed to the spout of your pot it will adequately hold back any leaf and, a simple dip of this totally reusable item, back in the pot cleans it for the next cup.

Final asks:

My fee for such useless information is a plea that we all do a couple of things

1. Drink good tea. It really does not matter the form!

2. Pay a decent price for it. Your purchasing habits do impact those that make tea and sending a clear message to them that we support good tea will keep them and their families in healthy livelihoods for years to come.

   

   
   
   
   

Keep sipping!