Tea Tips

Tea Tips
The information below is only for herbal tea, brew time and temperature varies based on types of tea.

Storage
Tea should be stored at room temperature, out of heat and sunlight, less than 80F. Do not store your tea in the refrigerator or freezer. Store your tea in a glass, ceramic, or tin container that is airtight. How long your tea keep will vary depending on the type of tea. Herbal tea will keep 1-2yrs, our our teas you can find a "best by date" for maximum freshness. Some teas improve as they age, particularly pu-reh and darker oolongs.

Amount
For loose tea, suggested 1 teaspoon per 6-8oz water or one bag.  For a larger batch (i.e quart), 4-6 bags per quart jar or 4-6 teaspoons. If you prefer your infusions stronger, use 1/2-1oz net weight of herbal tea. If you are new to making herbal infusions start with 1/2oz of loose herbal tea, then increase herbal tea blend for desired strength and flavor. For Milky Mama tea, we suggest a quart a day for maximum effectiveness; minimum 1 cup per day.

Tea Accessories
There are many accessories you can use to prepare your tea, by cup or larger amounts. Please see our Leaf Tea Steeper for individual cup preparation or our Bamboo Tumbler for preparing tea on the go in a larger quantity. Additionally we also suggest using a French Press, it's great for tea or coffee!

Water
The water you use matters a great deal in flavor, ideal water choice is spring water or charcoal filtered water.  If you need to use tap water, let cold water run for a few minutes before collecting your water for tea.

Temperature
For herbal, rooibos tea and black teas, ideal temperature is 212F at sea level. For every 1000ft above sea level, decrease the temperature by 2F. 

For Green  & White Teas, the ideal temperature is 180F. 

For oolong teas, the ideal temperature is 195F. 

Time
Per cup, steep your herbal tea 5-10 minutes using hot water. Per quart, to make an infusion in a larger batch you may steep for 4hrs+ using hot water or make an cold-brew infusion with allowing it steep for 1-4 hours at room temperature. Some people allow their cold-brew infusion to steep overnight in a refrigerator.

For black tea, tea steep 3 minutes. For Green & White teas steep 2 minutes. 

Re-steeping Leaves
If you have prepared an herbal or rooibos tea steeping only 5 mins with hot water you may reuse your leaves again later in the day for another cup. You can re-steep your herbal tea leaves a few times, each time you re-steep your herbal tea increase steeping time by a minute. 

Each time you re-steep a black, green or white tea only increase steeping time by 30 seconds.

One easy way to add herbal tea to a daily routine is before going to bed, put herbal tea in a jar with raw honey or coconut sugar. Pour in water and allow to steep room temperature overnight. In the morning, strain the tea and add ice. Some find it much easier to drink herbal tea infusions when iced. You can add a bit of juice to your cold-brew herbal infusion to enhance the flavor or add fresh fruit to it.

Pregnancy & Herbal Tea
For prenatal teas, the general rule of thumb is one cup per day per trimester, or 3-5 times a week. However if you start drinking herbal tea during the last trimester it is advised to still start with one cup a day for a minimum of 7 days before increasing to two cups a day. Then again drinking for 7 days before increasing again to three cups a day in the third trimester. A gradual increase of consumption of herbal tea during pregnancy is important. If someone has a history of miscarriage or preterm labor they should consult with their health care provider before use. 

We recommend using a french press when making herbal infusions with loose tea. I keep three sizes on hand for all my needs; 3 cup, 8 cup and 12 cup. You can use a french press for more than coffee - who knew? If you are preparing by individual cup size you will want to check out our cute tea steeper.

I think you will find this video helpful on how to prepare tea with loose herbs in various ways.

If you are expecting or know someone who is, please check out this post Five Herbs for Pregnancy