How to brew black tea

To date, there are many traditional drinks that are consumed daily. One of those is black tea in all its diversity. It would seem that the brewing process should not cause certain difficulties. However, the procedure includes a number of nuances, such as water temperature, the material of the kettle for brewing, the duration of infusion, the dosage of leaves. In order to fully comply with the technology, it is important to follow the step-by-step instructions that we will talk about today.

Stage number 1. Boiling water

This step is considered to be the most important step, the final result depends on it. To get a delicious tea, you need to heat the water properly.

1. Prepare a kettle for boiling, fill it with filtered water. The softer the liquid, the tastier the tea brew will turn out.Water should not contain impurities and chlorine, you can clean it in any convenient way.
2. Fill the kettle, retreating from the beginning of the neck by 1-2 cm. Such a move will help control the boiling process, since the free space between the surface of the water and the lid of the kettle will create a certain resonator.
3. According to all the rules, water should be boiled over an open fire or use a gas stove and a kettle fitted under it. However, not everyone can afford it, so let's do a modern electric device.
4. The optimum water temperature is considered to be in the range of 85-95 degrees. This means that the kettle needs to be turned off for 3-5 seconds before the moment it clicks off. You can not boil water several times, water is poured into the teapot, heated once.

Stage number 2. Preparation of a teapot

1. A prerequisite for brewing black tea is the preparation of the kettle, namely its heating. If you ignore this rule, when you pour boiling water, its temperature will drop by 20-30%. As a result, it does not turn out to achieve the perfect result, tea will turn out to be tasteless.
2. You can warm the teapot in several ways, each chooses the option "by itself". The first method is to pour boiling water into the pan, then put the kettle in it. The duration of exposure is 3 minutes, during this time the glass warms up.
3. The second method is the easiest and most popular. Boil water to the maximum mark, pour it into the teapot, leave for 5-10 minutes. Then drain the liquid, immediately proceed to the next stage.
4. Another method is more problematic. It is necessary to warm the dishes for brewing in the oven. For this, the teapot is put on a baking sheet and sent to the device warmed to 50 degrees. Every 2 minutes the temperature increases by 10 degrees. Heating occurs within 10 minutes.

Stage number 3. Compliance with the dosage of tea

1. The amount of dry tea sent for brewing depends on many factors. Traditionally, people sleep one teaspoon per serving (mug), but that's not all.
2. If you did not filter the water before boiling, as a result of which the liquid remained rigid (with impurities, metals, chlorine, etc.), you need to take tea leaves 1.5 teaspoons more than usual.
3. If we are talking about a black drink in the leaves, the tea, chopped into small pieces, is brewed many times faster than the large one. Therefore, it is allowed to send a little less than a teaspoon per serving to the teapot. With regards to leaf tea, the proportions vary in the range of 1-1.5 tsp per person.
4. Not many people know, but after smoking or eating, a person’s taste is dulled. If you plan to drink tea during this period, you need to take 30% more tea leaves. However, many nutritionists do not advise drinking tea immediately after a meal, you need to wait 1.5-2 hours.
5. To fill the teapot in the kettle, prepare a teaspoon. Scald with boiling water beforehand and dry with a towel. Measure out the required number of leaves, taking into account all the nuances and personal preferences.
6. When you pour out the tea, shake the teapot to evenly distribute the particles. Such a move will allow you to reveal all taste qualities, each particle will receive its own portion of boiling water and warm up evenly.

Stage number 4. Brewing black tea

1. The British are considered true professionals, if we talk about the technology of brewing black tea.After you add the raw material to the heated kettle, pour boiling water over it at 30%. Wait 3 minutes, then fill the teapot for another 60-65%.
2. When all the boiling water is added to the bowl, wait 7–12 minutes. The smaller the leaves, the longer it will take to infuse. Large specimens reveal the taste and aroma in literally 5 minutes.
3. If you do not have time to divide the brewing process into 2 stages, do otherwise. Pour into the kettle raw materials, pour boiling water to the brim. Cover and wrap with a towel. Wait 7-10 minutes, proceed to tasting.
4. In the process of pouring water, make a circular motion kettle. So you lift the tea leaves for even warming up. In high-quality raw materials, a yellowish foam is formed on the surface of the water. If the tea is low grade, you will notice floating sticks.
5. Many people brew black tea 3-5 times in order to save, but such actions are extremely erroneous. It is not allowed to scald the raw material with boiling water more than 2 times, and the interval between brewing should not exceed a quarter of an hour. Otherwise the drink will be different, not bearing the benefit.
6. When you make a delicious brew of black tea, store it in a porcelain, glass or earthenware dish. The listed materials will help to keep taste and aroma. Be sure to tighten the teapot with a lid.

The role of water in brewing black tea

1. The main rule - to prepare a tasty drink using fresh filtered liquid. Water should not smell of mustiness or hydrogen sulfide, contain particles of rust, scale, bleach.
2. To get a tasty drink, take care of the presence of soft water in advance. Otherwise, salts of magnesium and calcium, as well as sulfate compounds will destroy the useful qualities of the drink. Tea will turn out muddy, sour.
3. If you have hard running water in the region, take care of its softening in advance. To do this, type in the jug 1-2 l., Leave for a day for settling. You can also freeze the liquid, then let it thaw at room temperature.
4. To get a tasty drink, you can increase the proportion of tea leaves by 1 teaspoon. At the same time it is desirable to use raw materials of small cutting. It is worth resorting to such methods if you cannot soften the water.

Brewing black tea requires attention to detail and respect for the nuances. Soften the water beforehand by settling or filtering it. Preheat the liquid to 95 degrees, then scald the kettle with boiling water. Pour the required amount of tea leaves, pour, stir. Let it sit for 7–10 minutes, start drinking. Remember that large leaf brewed faster, it also requires less.

Video: how to brew black tea