Tea Brewing Tips

Tea	Amount of tea per cup of water	Rinse	Temperature
Jasmine	Less than ½ T	2 - 3 sec	85-95 C 185-200 F
Iron Goddess	Less than ½ T	10 - 20 sec	90-100 C 195-210 F
Monkey Picked Oolong	½ T	10 - 20 sec	90-100 C 195-210 F
Dragon Well	½ T	2 - 3 sec	80-85 C 175-185 F
High Mountain	½ T	10 - 20 sec	85 C 185 F
White Peony	1 T	2 - 3 sec	90-95 C 195-205 F
Silver Needle	1 T	2 - 3 sec	85-95 C 185-200 F
Golden Needle	1 T	2 - 3 sec	87-96 C 190-205 F

In general, brew each tea 3-4 minutes.

All our teas are high-quality "three cup teas," meaning the tea leaves may be brewed at least three times and still retain much of their flavor.

Four steps of drinking Chinese tea:

1. Smell (wen)	The first step to enjoying a good cup of tea is the scent of the tea leaves. If the tea is high quality, the fragrance will smell “pure.” Rinsing the tea helps to release this fragrance.
2. Sip (chang)	Take in the flavor of the tea. Some may be surprised to know that bittersweet is a good flavor in a tea. Bitter is a positive quality of the tea if there is a sweetness within the bitterness. A “smoothness” to the taste is another sign of a quality tea.
3. Look (kan)	Examine your cup of tea. If the water looks fresh and clear, it is a good grade of tea. The clearer the water, the higher the quality. Clear tea is also an indication that the tea leaves are picked earlier in the harvest season.
4. Drink (yin)	Enjoy your tea!

Heat the water in a kettle on the stovetop rather than the microwave. Although either method works, it is easier keep an eye (or ear) on the stovetop kettle and remove it before the water gets too hot.
Measure the temperature of the water. If it is too hot, the tea will be bitter. If it is too cold, the tea will not have much flavor. After boiling a few pots and testing the temperatures, it’s easy to measure the proper time to take the kettle off the stovetop (hint: it’s somewhere between the tiny bubbles and a rolling boil).
Rinse your tea leaves. The proper way to rinse tea leaves is to pour the appropriate temperature of water over the tea leaves and let them steep for a number of seconds (see chart below for details), then discard the water. This allows the tea leaves to open slightly so they release more flavor.