While preparing a cup of tea can be as simple as pouring warm water over tea leaves to steep, it takes a bit more focus and research to craft a truly quality cup. Every tea leaf is different, and each calls for specific steeping times and water temperatures to properly extract all the hidden flavor and aromatic nuances in the leaves. This means asking questions like, “How hot should your water be for tea?” is difficult, as it always depends on the type of tea that’s brewing. Still, even steeping tea for 30 seconds too long can result in a brew that’s too strong or bitter, so we have to know how it’s all done.
So, what do we do? Brewing tea is a delicate process, and there are hundreds of specific tea leaf strains to know about. For the most pertinent information on how to get the best cup, read the information on the box of tea you’ve bought.
Still, there is some general guidance on how to best brew each cup if you need some in a pinch. To start, you should never pour boiling water over tea, as it will burn the leaves and lead to an under-extracted and bitter cup. To help get the temperature exactly right, invest in a kettle with a thermometer or a Digital Water Thermometer for Liquid. Especially if you drink tea often, it’s a worthy investment, and to find the best temperature for your tea, it’s downright essential.
The best water temperatures for three common types of tea
To find out what water temperature is best for your tea, let’s start by talking about the most delicate tea category of all: white tea. Teas in this realm come from tea plant buds and include varieties like Silver Needle and White Peony. White tea is the most unprocessed variety of all, so it’s fragile and easy to extract its floral flavors. For this reason, the water temperature used here should be on the lower end, between 175-180 degrees Fahrenheit. And you should only steep the leaves for about one to three minutes.
Green tea, such as matcha or gunpowder, is minimally processed and also has fragile leaves. These teas fall in a similar vein as white and will do best when brewed with water between 175-180 degrees Fahrenheit. Steep the leaves in this water for one to three minutes, and be left with a lovely herbaceous cup without any bitter notes.
Black tea is bolder than white and green because it’s been fully oxidized and can withstand higher temperatures. Think of teas like Earl Grey, chai, and English breakfast. These teas are best when steeped in water just below the boiling point, somewhere between 200-212 Fahrenheit. Steep the leaves in this water for about three to five minutes for a bold, well-rounded brew.
Final tips to remember
When boiling water for tea, always use freshly-drawn water, and never what’s been sitting in the kettle. Fresh water has oxygen inside that helps add flavor to tea, while pre-boiled water will just taste flat. After the water boils, always wait a few minutes for it to cool down before adding it to tea. Just keep an eye on the water’s temperature and pour when ready. (And we always recommend brewing with loose-leaf tea instead of tea bags.)
White, green, and black tea are just three of the five main types of tea. If you have a strain to brew not mentioned here, don’t panic. You can usually find the specifics on how to brew a perfect cup of tea on the back of each box you purchase. Instead of boiling and brewing based on intuition or general guidelines, read the information on those boxes. Professional tea tasters usually curate these times and temperatures themselves specifically for each brand and strain, so you can trust it’s good intel. Over time, you’ll commit that information to memory, and brewing a cup will be as easy as it ever was. Only this time around, it’ll taste even better.
