Preparation instructions
We will show you how important it is to use the right water, what steeping times are recommended, and how you can use different ingredients to add the finishing touch to your tea experience.
Learn from the expert!
Jörg Sakulowski, head tea taster at TEEKANNE, says: “The true joy of drinking tea can only be unlocked by the correct preparation.” If you follow his six golden rules, you, too, will discover the pure joy that tea can offer!
Preparing green tea
When making a cup of green tea, you generally need somewhat less tea than for black tea. There are three traditional methods of preparation:
We distinquish 3 kind of traditional preparations:
Variant 1
Pour boiling water over the tea. The drink has the most active substances after it has steeped for 5 minutes.
Variant 2
Boil the water, let it cool to roughly 60°C. Then pour it over the tea and let steep for 3 minutes.
Variant 3
Boil the water, pour some over the tea and then immediately pour the water back out. Pour fresh boiled water over the tea and let steep for 2–3 minutes.
Another storage tip
Tea is a very sensitive natural product. It must be protected against heat, and stored in a dry place. When you take the tea out of its package, be sure to keep it in a tightly closed tin or opaque glass container to preserve its fine aroma. Black tea should be kept separately from flavoured teas, herbal teas, fruit teas and spices. This prevents the flavour of the sensitive black tea from being altered.
Storage of black tea
Black tea should be stored seperately from flavoured tea, herbal tea or fruit infusions as well as from spices.
Drinking customs around the world
When in Rome, do as the Romans do ...
Tea is an important part of society. In many regions of the world, it is not just a drink, but represents a philosophy that is anchored firmly in the respective culture. Over time, specific sets of rules have been established detailing how the natural product is to be handled.
- America
- Germany
- England
- Japan
- Russia
- Scotland
America
There is no one way to prepare tea in America.
Tea is enjoyed in many different ways depending on the individual’s ethnic roots. But America is the original home of iced tea. Iced tea dates back to 1904, when the tea merchant Richard Blechynden poured his tea over ice cubes one hot summer day. Today, iced tea with sugar or lemon is one of the most popular beverages in America.
Germany
Nearly as much tea is consumed in East Friesland as in England. The East Frisians were the first people in Germany to drink tea.
Strong tea with a shot of rum soon became a popular drink. And today, the passion for tea remains unbroken in East Friesland even after more than 300 years. A genuine East Frisian allows himself his three “koppkes” as many as five times a day – drinking less than three cups of tea is un-East Frisian.
The tea that is considered a basic dietary staple in East Friesland is primarily a blend of Assam teas from north eastern India. First, a big piece of rock sugar, called “kluntje”, is put in the cup. Next, the tea is poured in, and a little “rohm" (unwhipped cream) is added. Stirring is frowned upon. Thus, the East Frisian tea drinker first enjoys the tea with the “wulkje" (cream cloud), then the bitter taste of the tea, and finally the sweetened tea at the bottom of the cup.
England
For the English, tea and tea drinking are more than just a tradition or a warming beverage. Tea is a way of life. The average Brit drinks six cups of tea per day.
The first cup is often taken before breakfast, the early morning tea. Next comes the breakfast tea, and then the traditional five o’clock tea at teatime. The tea is brewed strongly and served with fresh milk according to the MIF (milk in first) principle. Afternoon tea gained favour with the upper classes in the 20th century and became a ritual involving elegant clothing, precious tea service and select biscuits and cakes.
Japan
The Japanese tea ceremony has its roots in Zen Buddhism and is an exactly defined ritual from beginning to end.
This elegant art of drinking tea employs specially developed implements and a green powdered tea called matcha, which is beaten into a thick broth in the cup. Every action and movement in the tea ceremony is proscribed exactly.
Russia
The Russian tea tradition centres on the samovar, a large container of copper, bronze or porcelain.
A small pot (“tscheinik") with extremely strong tea sits on top of the container. In the samovar, the tea water is kept at the boiling point by glowing coals placed in a chimney-like pipe inside the container.
Today, samovars are also heated electrically. Hot water is poured from the container into the cup using a small spigot. The tea extract is mixed with the hot water at a ratio of 1/3 to 2/3.
In Russia, tea is frequently drunk without milk, and usually from glasses. The Asian-Muslim ethnic groups also frequently drink their tea with milk.
Another popular way to drink tea is to hold a piece of brown sugar or a spoon full of fruity marmalade in the mouth and to sip the bitter and strong tea.
Almost all of the tea that is consumed in Central Asia (southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) is green tea.
Scotland
When the Scots enjoy a cup of tea ...
... they put a dash of whisky (or sometimes more) in the cup, sprinkle some sugar over it, pour in strong, hot tea and finish it off with cream.
