The Kettle & Leaf brewing guide

Good tea does not need special equipment or a ceremony. It needs four things done reasonably well: the right amount of leaf, water at the right temperature, the right amount of time, and a clean cup. Get those right and a simple tea tastes like a great one. Get them wrong and even an expensive tea tastes flat, bitter or like nothing at all.

This guide walks through each step, then shows how to apply it to our four teas. Bookmark it, or take the one-page chart with you (it is linked at the end).

The four variables that matter

Every cup of tea is a short conversation between hot water and dried leaf. You control four things in that conversation.

• Leaf: how much tea you use. More leaf means a stronger cup, not a longer wait.
• Water: how hot it is, and how good it tastes before the tea ever touches it.
• Time: how long the leaf stays in the water.
• Vessel: what you brew in, and how much room the leaves have to open.

Change one at a time. If a cup is wrong, adjust a single variable and try again. That is how you learn what you like, and it is quicker than it sounds.

Start with good water

Tea is more than ninety-eight percent water, so the water shapes the cup more than people expect. If your tap water tastes of chlorine, your tea will too. Filtered water is a cheap and reliable upgrade. Very hard water, the kind that leaves white scale in a kettle, tends to dull delicate teas and make a cloudy film on the surface.

Use fresh water every time. Water that has been boiled several times loses dissolved oxygen, which makes the tea taste flat. Fill the kettle with only what you need, bring it to the temperature you want, and pour.

Water temperature, tea by tea

Temperature is the variable most people get wrong, and it is the one that makes the biggest difference. Hotter water extracts more from the leaf, including the bitter compounds. Delicate teas need cooler water; robust teas can take it boiling.

No thermometer? Bring the kettle to a boil and let it rest. After about one minute the water is close to 90°C. After about three minutes it is close to 80°C. A variable-temperature kettle is lovely but not necessary.

How much leaf to use

A teaspoon is a rough measure, because different teas take up different amounts of space. A tightly rolled leaf like Assam packs densely, while a fluffy first flush Darjeeling takes up much more room. As a starting point, use about two grams of tea for every 200 ml of water. A small kitchen scale makes this precise, but a heaped teaspoon works well for most of our teas.

If your tea tastes weak, add more leaf next time rather than leaving it in longer. Steeping longer extracts bitterness and tannins before it extracts more flavour. More leaf gives you a stronger cup that is still balanced.

Timing

Set a timer. It sounds fussy, but we have all wandered off and come back to a cup the colour of strong coffee. Start with the times in the chart above, then adjust by thirty seconds either way once you know your taste.

When the time is up, remove the leaves. Either lift out the infuser, or pour the tea through a strainer into your cup or a second pot. Tea left sitting on the leaves keeps brewing and keeps getting bitter, even if the water has gone cool.

Black tea: Darjeeling and Assam

Black teas are fully oxidised, which gives them their dark colour and rich flavour. They are also the most forgiving group, but the two in our range behave very differently.

Darjeeling First Flush is picked in early spring and only lightly oxidised, so it behaves more like a green tea than a black one. Use water just off the boil, around 90°C, and keep the steep short. It is best without milk, so the muscatel and floral notes can come through. If it tastes sharp or astringent, the water was too hot or the steep too long.

Assam Breakfast is the opposite. It is bold, malty and built to stand up to milk and sugar. Use water at a full boil and steep for four minutes. If you are using tea bags, squeeze the bag gently against the side of the cup before removing it. If you take milk, add it after brewing so you can judge the strength first.

Green tea: Nilgiri Green

Green tea is the one most often ruined by boiling water. Scalding water cooks the leaf and releases bitterness, leaving a harsh, grassy cup that puts people off green tea for life. Our Nilgiri Green is gentle, but it still wants water around 80°C and a short steep of two minutes.

Good green tea can be steeped again. The second infusion is often the best: sweeter and rounder. Use the same temperature and add about thirty seconds. A third steep is usually still pleasant.

In summer, try it cold-brewed. Put a heaped tablespoon of leaf in a litre of cold filtered water, leave it in the fridge overnight, strain in the morning. It is sweet, clean and has almost no bitterness.

Chai: Masala Chai Blend

Chai is not steeped, it is simmered. The spices need heat and time to give up their flavour, and the strong Assam base needs milk to soften it. Here is the method we use at home.

1. Bring 100 ml of water to a boil in a small pot.
2. Add two teaspoons of Masala Chai Blend and simmer for two minutes.
3. Add 100 ml of milk and bring it back up to a gentle boil. Watch the pot, because milk rises quickly.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer for two more minutes, until the colour is a deep caramel.
5. Strain into a cup and sweeten to taste. Jaggery or brown sugar suits it best.

For a richer cup, use whole milk. For a lighter one, use half water and half milk. Oat milk works well for a dairy-free chai, though it can catch on the bottom of the pot, so stir it.

What you actually need

You can brew perfectly well with a mug and a fine strainer. If you want to build a small tea kit, this is what is worth owning, in order of importance.

• A kettle you like. Ideally one with temperature settings, but any kettle works if you let it rest to cool.
• An infuser or teapot with room. Leaves need space to unfurl. Tiny tea balls cramp them and give a weak cup. A basket infuser or a small pot is much better.
• A timer. The one on your phone is fine.
• A small scale. Optional, but it takes the guesswork out of repeating a cup you loved.
• An airtight container. For storage, covered below.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The tea tastes bitter. Usually the water is too hot or the steep too long. Drop the temperature by ten degrees, or shorten the time by thirty seconds.

The tea tastes thin or watery. Use more leaf, not more time. Check the leaf has room to open in your infuser.

The tea tastes flat or stale. The leaf may be old or badly stored, or the water may have been boiled more than once. Use fresh water and check the date on your tin.

There is a film on top. This is usually hard water reacting with the tea. A filter jug fixes it.

The tea tastes of the cupboard. Tea absorbs smells. If it sits near spices, coffee or cleaning products, it will taste like them. See storage below.

Making iced tea

Iced tea is simply tea brewed a little stronger, so it still tastes like tea once the ice melts. Use about one and a half times the usual leaf, brew it hot for the normal time, strain it, and pour it over a glass full of ice. Assam makes a deep, malty iced tea that stands up to lemon and sugar. Nilgiri Green makes a lighter, fresher one, and a few mint leaves go well with it.

If you have more patience than time, cold brewing is easier and gentler. Use one heaped tablespoon of leaf per 500 ml of cold water, leave it in the fridge for eight to twelve hours, then strain. Cold-brewed tea is naturally sweeter and less bitter, so it rarely needs sugar. It keeps in a covered jug in the fridge for about two days.

Pairing tea with food

Tea is easier to match with food than most people expect. The rule of thumb is to match weight with weight. A light, floral Darjeeling suits delicate food: sandwiches, shortbread, fruit and mild cheese. Assam is robust enough for a full breakfast, buttered toast, fruit cake and anything fried. Nilgiri Green is lovely with salads, steamed fish, rice dishes and light pastries. Masala Chai is made for snacks with a little salt and spice, such as samosas, or for sweet things like biscuits and flapjacks.

If you are not sure, brew a pot and try it with whatever you are eating. A good cup should make the food taste better, and the food should make the tea taste better in return.

Storing your tea

Tea has four enemies: air, light, moisture and strong smells. Keep it in an airtight, opaque container, in a cool cupboard away from the stove and the spice rack. Do not store it in the fridge, because moisture condenses on the leaf every time you open the container.

Green and first flush teas are the most delicate and are best finished within six months. Black teas and chai keep their character for a year or more if stored well. Tea bags are convenient but lose their aroma faster than loose leaf, so use them within a few months of opening.

Milk, sugar and everything else

There is no wrong way to drink tea. A strong Assam with milk and sugar is a perfectly good cup, and so is a plain Darjeeling taken alone. If you do add milk, add it to the cup after the tea has brewed so you control the strength. If you take sugar, try it with a small amount first. A lot of people find that a well-brewed tea needs less sweetening than they expected.

A slice of lemon suits lighter black teas and some greens, but it will overpower a delicate first flush. Honey pairs nicely with Nilgiri Green. For chai, jaggery or brown sugar adds a caramel depth that white sugar lacks.

Learning to taste

The fastest way to learn what you like is to taste two teas side by side. Brew each one the same way, use two identical cups, and sip them alternately. Notice the colour, the smell of the dry leaf and of the wet leaf, and how the tea feels in your mouth. Is it light or heavy? Does it dry your tongue? Does the flavour linger or vanish?

Do not worry about finding the right words. Comparing a few familiar things, such as flowers, fruit, toast or spice, is enough. If you would like a guided session, you can book a tasting with us.

Quick answers

Can I reuse the leaves? Yes, especially green teas and first flush Darjeeling. Add thirty seconds to each later steep.

Is it bad to leave the bag in? Not harmful, just bitter. Take it out when the time is up.

Does tea have caffeine? Yes. Black tea has less than coffee, and green tea usually has less than black. Steeping time and temperature change how much ends up in the cup.

Should I rinse the leaves first? Not for these teas. A rinse is a technique for some compressed teas and is not needed here.

Take it with you

Download the one-page chart and stick it inside your cupboard door.

Download the brewing chart (PDF)