Inside Bay Area – Oakland, CA, USA
By Chris Welsch
FIRST, ditch the tea bags. Tea in bags tends to be the lowest grade of leaf, and the bags impede steeping. Buy loose-leaf tea and brew it in a pot or cup that allows for free circulation. That means no tea-ballers, either.
In China and Japan, tea drinkers use the smallest possible pot for the number of people to be served and keep a thermos of hot water handy for re-steeps. That’s so they don’t have to leave water standing on leaves. That can create bitterness.
For brewing greens and oolongs, I follow the example of my Japanese and Chinese tea mentors: Fill a thermos with just-boiled water. Get the teapot and cup ready. Pour some water from the thermos into the cup to warm it. Let it rest for a few seconds, then pour it over the leaves and steep according to the variety of tea and your taste preference.
