Brewing Guide
Each of our loose leaf teas requires some simple brewing instructions. Find all the information you'll need in this simple guide.
BLACK TEA
A great place to start; the most common and enjoyed variety of tea world wide. Black tea is stronger, bolder and richer than other tea types. It is fully oxidised, dried out and then graded before being sent out and mixed together or infusion with other ingredients for flavour.
Black tea can take the heat so use boiling water and don't over steep to avoid releasing too many tannins making the brew bitter.
100 degrees | 1 tsp | 3-5 minutes
WHITE TEA
White Tea is the most delicate variety, due to it's lack of age and processing. It is often rarer and as a result more expensive. Using a little more care can go a long way, for example warming your tea cup and using a china cup will give you the clearest flavour.
You don't want to use boiling water, so use a thermometer or take the kettle off before the boil. For larger leaf tea's use less leaves and give it the full 6 minutes.
85 degrees | 1-2 tsp | 3 minutes
GREEN TEA
Green tea is steamed and roasted but not fermented which preserves many of it's health benefits. Most of our varieties of green tea are premium grade Japanese blends and are best enjoyed pure but adding a little raw natural honey or agave is ok for those who like it sweet.
It is not oxidised like Black Tea so never use boiling water, which will scald the leaves and ruin the taste. If your tea is blended with herbal ingredients steep for a little longer.
75 degrees | 1-2 tsp | 2-3 minutes
ROOIBOS TEA
Red bush or rooibos isn't actually made from the tea plant but comes from the South African Aspalathus linearis plant. A wonderful naturally sweet alternative that is caffeine free, low in tannins and rich in body boosting anti-oxidants. Our infusions come in several tropical flavours to enjoy.
Due to the small leaf size we recommend using self-fill tea bags or a tight mesh strainer.
100 degrees | 2 tsp | 3-5 minutes
HERBAL TEA
Herbal tea is another variety that doesn't include any tea at all. An alternative to traditional tea but widely enjoyed. All ingredients are dried and ready for steeping. We suggest lots of stirring or dunking and regular tasting to find your own preferred strength of flavour.
We have an entire collection called Pure Herbal that is all single ingredient blends which you can enjoy as they are or mix together to create your own infusions.
95 degrees | 2 tsp | 4-6 minutes
OOLONG TEA
Oolong is a traditional semi-oxidised Chinese tea produced through a process including withering the plant under the sun and then it is curled and twisted.
Different to green tea, Oolong has a more well rounded, fuller taste but still remains quite light. The shape & texture of the leaves are distinctive and can benefit from a roomy infuser or straining.
90 degrees | 1-2 tsp | 4-6 minutes
FRUIT TEA
Our last tea variety with no tea in, fruit infusions or tisanes are excellent brewed both hot and cold. They require twice as many spoon fulls per cup than our other varieties but can have just as strong and delicious a flavour.
They don't require as high a temperature to infuse but do require longer to brew so you might like to top up with boiling water after you've removed the fruit.
85degrees | 2 tsp | 5-8 minutes
PU 'ERH TEA
Pu 'erh is a very specific fermented black tea grown in China and named after the town of it's origin. It is traditionally pressed in to bricks with nice patterns and then broken apart when needed.
Raw Pu 'erh tastes bitter followed by a sweet aftertaste. Good quality Pu 'erh can be steeped many times in a sitting, so though more expensive you get a lot of cups from the leaves.
We have a couple of blends that are easy to enjoy and have been lightly grown for easy steeping.
90 degrees | 1 tsp | 1-2 minutes
