Section

Tea & Infusions

Green, black, oolong, herbal and how to brew them.

9 drinks
4min Tea & Infusions · Picker Why does hard water make tea taste dull? A water-hardness check and blend calculator Hard water can make tea taste dull, chalky and astringent, and it leaves a film on the surface. Soft to moderately soft water lets the… 4 min 3min Tea & Infusions · Picker What is tea oxidation? Why green, white, oolong and black come from one plant, with a slider Green, white, oolong and black tea all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. What separates them is how far the leaf is allowed to… 3 min 4min Tea & Infusions · Picker How long should you steep tea? A temperature and time window for green, white, oolong, black and herbal Bitter tea is usually a hot water or long steep problem, and thin tea is the reverse. Each type has a window: green and white like water… 4 min 5min Tea & Infusions · Picker Why does iced tea go cloudy? A planner for flash-chilled, cold brew and slow-cooled tea Iced tea goes cloudy because compounds that stay dissolved in hot tea, such as polyphenols and caffeine with minerals like calcium, clump… 5 min 4min Tea & Infusions · Picker Gongfu or western tea? How the leaf-to-water ratio sets the steep, with a planner Tea does not have one right way. A mug uses little leaf and a long steep. Gongfu brewing uses many times more leaf in a small vessel and… 4 min 5min Tea & Infusions · Picker Why matcha turns bitter: the water temperature, the ratio and a bowl builder Matcha tastes bitter for two reasons that have nothing to do with the powder: water that is too hot and too little water for the amount of… 5 min 3 picks 5min Tea & Infusions · Picker Milk first or milk last in tea? What the 75°C line really means Milk first or milk last in tea? The argument rests on one number: milk proteins change shape above about 75°C. This piece explains where… 5 min 4min Tea & Infusions · Picker How to cold brew tea: the ratio, the hours and why it tastes sweeter Cold-brewed tea tastes sweeter because cold water leaves much of the bitter EGCG and caffeine in the leaf while the savoury, sweet amino… 4 min 5min Tea & Infusions · Picker Why green tea turns bitter, and the water temperature that fixes it Green tea turns bitter mostly because the water is too hot. Catechins and caffeine, the bitter and puckering parts of the leaf, dissolve… 5 min 3 picks