Good morning, tea sippers! Today, we'll be discussing something that we have been receiving a few questions on lately. Today we will be going over why we include the steeping temperatures on each of the packages of our teas and what temperature you should be steeping your teas at. Learn more below! 

- "Why do I need to take the temperature of my steeping water?"

- "Does it really make that much of a difference?"

- "What if I like different types of tea at different times of the day?"

- "How can I take the temperature of my water for steeping?"

Let's tackle these one at a time.

Question 1: "Why do I need to take the temperature of my steeping water?"

Answer: Great question. Depending on the type of tea that you are planning to drink (i.e. green, black, tisane, herbal, white, rooibos etc) using too hot of water for steeping could harm the leaves. For example, white or green tea leaves are much more delicate than those of black teas and thus if you steep them in too hot of water, you run the risk of ending up with quite the bitter cup of tea. Similarly, if you steep in too cool of water, depending on your type of tea, you likely won't get all of the flavor out of your tea and will end up with a less pungent or dull cup. To avoid both of these, simply follow the instructions that are on our labels of each package of tea you receive. They are customized to your particular tea and include the appropriate temperature and steeping time for each tea! 

Question 2: "Does it really make that much of a difference?"

Answer: This is a tough one because it depends on how far outside of the recommended temperature you steep at. For our more delicate green teas, or white teas, it most likely will make a noticeable difference if you steep them at too high of temperatures or for too long. You will notice bitter notes and sipping may not be as delightful. As mentioned, too, if you steep them for too little time, you may notice the tea not to be as flavorful as you would hope, and again, if you steep too long, the bitter notes become more apparent. 

Question 3: "What if I like different types of tea at different times of the day?"

Answer: Easy peasy! As mentioned, we do include customized instructions for each individual tea on each bag that we ship. For whichever tea that you are steeping, just make sure that you follow the specific instructions listed on the bag. If you are wondering how to know the temperature of your water as you are heating it, I highly recommend our Electric Tea Kettle. This tea lovers necessity includes the feature of being able to set it to the specific temperature you are looking to steep your tea. 

Question 4:  "How can I take the temperature of my water for steeping?"

Like I said, I highly recommend our Electric Tea Kettle. It is incredibly efficient, allows for different temperatures, and is a very useful appliance to have in the kitchen (If I am short on time for boiling water for pasta, or something of the sort, I oftentimes get it started in my tea kettle then pour it into the pot on the stove!). If you aren't quite sure about grabbing one of these just yet (even though I know you won't regret it), perhaps think about buying a thermometer at your local grocery store to keep with your tea supplies and use specifically when making tea. Just out of curiosity, I checked my local grocery store and they offered a few different options so I don't believe you will have too much trouble finding one.