Brewing Scented Tea may seem complicated at first glance. Usually when you brew an Herbal Tisane full of fruits, flowers, herbs or spices, you brew just off the boil to extract all the delicious flavors and health benefits from your tisane. But what do you do when you have a Green Tea (best brewed around 175° F) that's blended with fruit like strawberries and herbs like lemongrass?
The short answer is that you are going to brew your Scented Tea like you would brew its base tea, but you might up the temperature or time a bit depending on your personal preferences. Keep reading for a more in-depth answer and best practices for brewing each type of Scented Tea!
Best Practices for Brewing Scented Tea
We recommend a ratio of 5 grams of tea to 16 ounces of water for all Scented Teas except Chai. For Chai Tea, we recommend using 8 grams of tea for 16 ounces of water.
Brewing Scented White Tea
White teas combine particularly well with scents due to their low temperature but long steep times. We recommend brewing Scented White Teas at 175° F - 185° F for 3-4 minutes.
Learn more about how to brew White Tea >>
Brewing Scented Green Tea
Green Teas are particularly popular with floral and fruit scents, though Moroccan Mint is also a perennial favorite.
Treat Scented Green Teas carefully, as Green Tea is particularly sensitive to hot water and long steep times.
We recommend brewing Scented Green Teas at 175° F - 185° F for 2 to 2.5 minutes.
Learn more about how to brew Green Tea >>
Brewing Scented Oolong
A partially oxidized tea, most Oolongs are best brewed at 195° F for 3 minutes, and Scented Oolongs are no exception to this rule!
Learn more about how to brew Oolong >>
Brewing Scented Black Tea
Fully oxidized teas, Black Teas are brewed hot at 205° F, usually for 3-4 minutes. This is ideal for blending with scents, which are also best brewed around 205° F for 3-4 minutes!
Our main exception to this will be Chai Teas, which when intended for use in lattes, should be made into a concentrate that simmers on the stove for 1.5 hours or longer.
Learn more about how to brew Black Tea >>
Brewing Scented Pu Erh
Like Black Teas, Pu Erhs are generally brewed at 205°F for 3-4 minutes on the first steep in a Western-Style pot. We recommend using these brewing guidelines for scented Pu Erhs as well!
Learn more about how to brew Pu Erh Tea >>
Brewing Scented Tea Blends
Sometimes Scented Teas will be a blend of tea types as well as fruits, florals, herbs, and spices. If this is the case (such as our blend of Green & Black Teas with Raspberry, Pomegranate, and Rosehips in Green Paddock Pom Pom, brew at the lower temperature between the two teas, or a between temperature, for 30 seconds to a minute longer than you would normally brew the shorter of the two teas. In this example, we brew Green Paddock Pom Pom at 185° F for 3 minutes.
Confused yet? That's ok! Each of our teas has brewing instructions on their website page as well as a handy chart on the back of the bag!
