Tea Love

For the Chinese, drinking tea is an essential element of life, often listed alongside rice and salt as a daily need. The Chinese have learned to cultivate, harvest and process a variety of teas that have their own flavor and character. Preparing a proper cup of tea is not hard to do, but there are some specifics involved if you want to do it correctly. Use good quality tea and water, pay attention to measurements and follow a simple timetable for proper Chinese tea.

Things You'll Need:
Stainless steel kettle
Glass or ceramic teapot
Loose leaf tea
Cooking thermometer

1. Choose your loose leaf tea. The standards range from strong black teas to the milder white. Long and green teas (the most popular choice among the Chinese) fall into the middle categories. There are also red, yellow and scented teas to choose from. Each tea requires a slightly different method of preparing in regards to proper water temperature and steeping time. We will talk about the four basic teas here.
   
2. Heat two cups of water in a kettle. For black teas, heat the water to a fast boil or 212 degrees F. For oolong, bring water just below the boiling temperature, usually 190 degrees. Green teas do best at a cooler temperature of160 degrees. White teas need even cooler water, right around 150 degrees F.
   
3. Measure the tea leaves and place them in the teapot. The general rule of thumb is 1 rounded teaspoon for every 8 ounces of water.


4. Pour hot water into the teapot and allow the tea to steep. Again, each type of tea requires a different steeping time. "Steeping" refers to the action of allowing the tea to expand in the water and release the flavor. Allowing a tea to steep for too long can make for a bitter drink. Steeping times for different teas are: Black for 4 to 6 minutes; oolong for 3 to 4 minutes; green for 2 to 3 minutes; and white for 2 minutes.Pay attention to how much the tea leaf has expanded. The leaves will generally grow 3 to 5 times their size during the steeping period.
   
5. Remove the tea leaves from the liquid by straining. Most teapots have strainers built into them for this purpose. While you pour the tea into teacups, the leaves will be left behind and you can enjoy a freshly brewed cup of Chinese tea.

And there you have it.

Keep Smiling.