How to Brew Loose Leaf Tea

Your First Cup in Five Steps

Good for any tea we sell. The exact numbers for your tea are in the charts below.

1. Heat fresh, filtered water. Bring it to a boil, then let it rest. One minute for black tea, two for oolong and white, three for green. Cleaner water gives a clearer cup.
2. Measure the leaf. One teaspoon per 8 oz cup for black and oolong, one heaping teaspoon for green, two teaspoons for white (white tea leaves are light and fluffy).
3. Give the leaves room. Use a basket infuser or a teapot. A cramped ball infuser keeps the leaves from unfurling, and you miss most of the flavor.
4. Pour and time it. Black and white 3 to 4 minutes, oolong 2 to 3, green 1 to 2. Set a timer. Start at the short end.
5. Strain, taste, adjust. Too strong next time? Cooler water or a shorter steep. Too weak? More leaf, not more time.

One rule covers most problems: for a stronger cup, add leaf. Longer steeps dull the sweetness and bring out bitterness.

Tea Temperature Chart: Water, Time and Leaf by Type

Starting points for an 8 oz (240 ml) cup. These are the same numbers printed on our product pages. For steep times by type, including chai, herbal blends and cold brew, see How Long to Steep Tea: The Chart for Every Type.

Our black tea blends, Nepali Masala Chai and Everest Earl Grey, brew like black tea. Our green blends, Makalu Mint and June Jasmine, brew like green tea.

Brewing Instructions for Each Nepali Tea Traders Tea

Each tea has its own sweet spot. Find yours below, then adjust to taste. Each name links to the tea's page.

A teaspoon of black or oolong tea is about 2 to 3 grams. Green tea is about 2.5 grams per heaping teaspoon. A kitchen scale takes the guesswork out, but it is not required.

Re-Steeping: Get Two or Three Cups from One Spoon

Whole leaf orthodox tea is built for more than one infusion. After the first cup, leave the wet leaves in the infuser and pour fresh hot water over them when you are ready. Add about 30 seconds to each new steep. The second cup is often rounder and sweeter than the first; the third is lighter and clean.

• Oolongs (Annapurna Amber, Black Yeti, Dragon Claw, Namche) are the best re-steepers we sell. Expect three good cups.
• White teas re-steep well. Use slightly hotter water on the second round.
• Black teas give a solid second cup. Add a minute to the steep.
• Green teas re-steep once. Keep the second steep short.

Chiya, Cold Brew and Gongfu

Nepali chiya (milk tea on the stove)

This is how tea is drunk in most Nepali homes. For two cups, bring 1 cup of water and your spices (crushed cardamom, a slice of ginger) to a simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of Nepali Masala Chai or a strong black tea such as Sherpa Breakfast and simmer 2 to 3 minutes more. Pour in 1 cup of milk, bring it back to a gentle simmer (never a rolling boil) for 2 to 3 minutes, sweeten, strain and serve. Full recipe: What Is Chiya? How to Make Nepali Milk Tea at Home.

Cold brew (the smoothest cup)

Cold water pulls out sweetness and almost no bitterness, which makes it the most forgiving way to brew. Use 8 to 10 grams of tea (about 3 to 4 teaspoons) per liter of cold filtered water, cover, and leave it in the fridge for 8 to 10 hours. Strain and serve over ice. Green and white teas are especially good this way. More ideas: Cold Brew Nepali Loose Leaf Tea.

Gongfu style (for tasting flights)

Use more leaf, less water and many short steeps to follow how a tea changes. Start with 5 to 6 grams in a small gaiwan or teapot (around 4 oz), water at the temperature in the chart above, and steeps of 15 to 25 seconds, adding a few seconds each round. Notice the aroma in the empty cup, the body, the sweetness, and how later steeps soften or deepen. Our oolongs and black teas reward this most.

Fix Your Cup: Change One Thing at a Time

• Bitter or harsh: water too hot or steep too long. Drop 10°F or cut 30 seconds. Green tea is the usual victim.
• Thin or watery: not enough leaf. Add half a teaspoon. Do not add time.
• Flat, no aroma: stale water (reboiled many times) or a crowded infuser. Use fresh water and give the leaves room.
• Cloudy black tea when it cools: normal with strong whole leaf tea. It still tastes right. A splash of hot water clears it.
• Tastes different from last time: leaf size, elevation and season all shift the ideal brew a little. A spring tea and an autumn tea from the same garden will not brew the same. Every bag we sell carries a lot number and a best by date, so if a new bag tastes different from the last one, give it one or two brews of small adjustments before changing your routine.

Keeping Your Tea Fresh

Tea has four enemies: light, heat, moisture and strong smells. Keep it in a sealed, opaque container in a cupboard, away from the stove and the spice rack, and never in the fridge. Squeeze the air out of the bag before you reseal it. Black and oolong teas keep well for a year or more. Green and white teas are at their best within six months of opening.