Loose Leaf Tea, Explained Without the Snobbery

1 heaping teaspoon of leaves per cup, water off the boil rather than at a rolling boil for anything green or white, and a timer. Black teas want 3 to 5 minutes, greens 2 to 3, herbals 5 or more. Then take the leaves out. Leaving them in is what turns a good cup into a murky mess.

Usually, and here is why. A lot of bags hold the broken dust left over once the good leaf has been sorted out, and a flat bag gives the leaf no room to open up. Loose leaf gives you whole leaf and space to expand, and that is where the flavor is. A good sachet splits the difference, which is what I reach for when I am in a hurry.

Black, green, white and oolong all have caffeine in them, because they all come from the same plant. Anything truly Caffeine-Free is an herbal infusion: rooibos, chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, ginger, fruit blends. And decaffeinated is not the same thing as Caffeine-Free. It still carries a trace.

6 months to a year for most blends if you keep it airtight, dark, dry and away from the stove. Tea does not spoil, it fades. If it smells like nothing when you open the tin, it is going to taste like nothing in the cup.

Figure 2 to 3 cups per guest across the afternoon, and always put out at least 1 Caffeine-Free option. For a table of 8, 1 or 2 ounces of a blend is plenty. Brew by the pot instead of by the cup, or you will spend your own party standing at the kettle.