There are four simple things that can vary when you steep your tea: the amount of tea, the amount of water, the temperature of the water, and the length of time you let the tea steep. No two brews will be exactly alike. Each one reflects a little bit of craft. And it is one of the joys of tea that something so simple can be so unique, every time.
At Amsterdam Teas, we offer guidance on all of the four things for every individual tea – you can find it with the information for each tea here on our webshop, and also on every bag. We come to this guidance in collaboration with our producers, and after trying each tea multiple times -- but we still recommend that you play around to find how you like each tea best!
For the guidance that we give, we use grams and milliliters, because those are our most precise measurements. Here are some tips to use our measurements with teaspoons and cups.
Three grams of tea is about 1-2 teaspoons. For a tea with a bigger leaf, like for instance our Yunnan Black, it is more like 2 teaspoons, because the tea leaves take up more space relative to their weight. For smaller leaves, like with our Japanese teas, 3 grams is more like 1 teaspoon.
For the water quantity, 200 ml is about a standard pour for a typical mug or teacup, filling the average teacup a bit more than the mug. And over here, we have some simple tips for getting the water temperature just right.
In the end, our main recommendation for steeping is to go with what you like best. And our second recommendation is to experiment a little. Try each tea your way! The personal touch can be the most rewarding. And if you’d like to share your recommendations, we would love to hear them!