How to Make Loose Leaf Tea: A Guide

Making loose leaf tea is an easy way to enjoy your favourite tea flavours and explore the thousands of opportunities out there for different types and tastes. With the right tools and knowledge, making loose leaf tea can be an exciting and varied adventure. Here’s the AVANTCHA step-by-step guide to doing it stylishly.

1. Choose your tea: Start by selecting the loose leaf tea that you’d like to brew. If you’re new to loose leaf tea, take a look at our bestsellers for guidance. There are countless varieties available, such as black tea, green tea, oolong tea, herbal tea, and more. Each type may require slightly different brewing parameters, so refer to the specific instructions for your chosen tea.

2. Measure the tea: Use a glass teapot (we have lots of different sizes) so that you can see the tea infusing as an extra bonus for the senses. Our general guideline is on each tea packet, however, you can adjust the amount according to your taste preferences. You can use scales, our perfect stainless steel teaspoon, or eyeball the right amount if you’re confident.

3. Heat the water: Boil fresh, filtered water in a kettle. The ideal temperature varies depending on the type of tea you’re using:

• Black tea: Boiling water (100°C/212°F)
• Green tea: Around 75-85°C (167-185°F) (though lower for Japanese green teas)
• Oolong tea: Around 85-95°C (185-203°F)
• White tea: Around 75-85°C (167-185°F)
• Herbal tea: Boiling water (100°C/212°F)

You can cool the water by adding the relative amount of cold water to the bottom of the teapot before topping up with boiling water.

4. Steep the tea: Carefully pour the hot water over the tea leaves, ensuring that the leaves are fully submerged in the water. Steeping time varies based on the type of tea and desired strength:

Black tea: 3-5 minutes

Green tea: 2-3 minutes

Oolong tea: 3-5 minutes

White tea: 2-3 minutes

Herbal tea: 5 minutes

Our 4 in 1 sand tea timer is ideal for this, with different glass pillars for each tea type.

5. Fully decant the tea: Pour every last drop from the teapot into your cup/s or decanter so that the tea is no longer infusing. Overbrewing tea can result in some intense flavours, so it’s always best to separate the leaf from the water (unless you like the stronger taste, of course!).

6. Enjoy! Our teas are of the highest quality and many of them can be infused a second time. When you’re done, your old tea leaves can be composted, adding their nutrients back to the soil.

Don’t forget to read our Loose Tea vs. Teabag article elsewhere on the journal to hear our take on this long debated topic.