The Science of Steeping Loose-Leaf Tea
If you are already accustomed to the world of loose-leaf tea, you may be familiar with the science of gourmet, whole tea leaves. However, if you are new to the world of loose-leaf tea, you may be curious as to its benefits. For most Americans, they are used to drinking “tea dustings” or “Fannings” purchased from major grocery store chains. Considered to be a byproduct of tea production, fannings are the lowest grade of tea leaves. By contrast, loose-leaf tea is the whole tea leaf and is the highest grade of tea leaf. Maintaining all the health benefits, complex flavors and aromas associated with premium tea, whole tea leaves are preferred by tea enthusiasts.
For those just learning about the advantages of using whole tea leaves, it can be overwhelming. To put it simply, when contrasted against tea dustings which are small tea particles, or dustings, loose-leaf tea has a richer taste and can be steeped at least twice. An example is the Old Alex Blend offered by Joyce Country Cafe. Containing three different types of dark tea, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, and Pu-erh tea, it has a sweet, savory, dark and earthly flavor profile. More robust and flavorful than black tea made from fannings, it is ideal as a wake-me-up in the morning. This is because when whole tea leaves are steeped, the larger surface area from the tea leaves release more tannins and caffeine, which leads to a bolder taste and more antioxidants. It is also because of this larger surface area that one can steep a serving of tea twice without losing too much flavor. By comparison, after one steeping of fannings, one can observe a less-intense flavor. After which, by the second steeping, almost all the flavor and nutrients are gone.
However, if you want to enjoy a cup of loose herbal tea, there are a few differences in the steeping methodology. Because herbal tea is not a “true tea”, but rather a tisane, different rules apply. If you, for example, wanted to drink a cup of Colonial Winter Herbal tea, which contains cinnamon chunks, allspice and clove, you should use water heated between 195°F and 205°F. One should also steep this tea between 5-7 minutes. Why is this, you may be asking? Simply put, because herbal teas like Colonial Winter do not contain tea leaves which are softer, a hotter steeping temperature is required to extract all the flavor and health benefits. It is also necessary to steep the spices longer than you would white, green, oolong, black and Pu-erh teas. The hotter the water you use, and the longer you steep Colonial Winter, the richer the taste and healthier it is.
If you are using the pre-packaged tea bags from grocery stores, all this information may seem overwhelming. From the three grades of tea leaves, with loose-leaf tea being the highest-quality, there is a whole industry based on tea with specific target audiences in mind. For tea enthusiasts who relish the full-bodied flavor of whole tea leaves, they are already familiar with this world. However, if you accustomed to drinking tea fannings, and you want to try something new, knowing how to steep loose-leaf tea will help.
