How to steep tea like a pro?

There are no two ways that making a perfect cup of tea in an electric hot water kettle is all in the details. Though to make a cup of tea, all you need is hot water and tea – but to brew a perfect cup of tea, you need to follow a couple of extra steps. These few extra steps can enhance the taste of your tea. Different types of tea require different steps.

Here are a few things that you should know to steep tea like a pro:

• Use fresh ingredients: If you are making herbal tea such as ginger tea or tulsi tea, use fresh ingredients for aroma and flavour. If you dried tea leaves for making tea, buy leaves that have a long shelf life. Also, properly store them in an airtight container away from direct light. When stored for too long, tea leaves lose their natural flavour.

• Water quality is important: Use filtered or bottled water each time when you brew your tea. Tap water contains minerals like calcium and magnesium which make your tea taste bitter and reduce the natural taste of tea.

• Time and temperature are important factors: To steep tea, pour hot water over the teabag. Let the tea bag steep for a few minutes. Use an electric hot water kettle to boil the water. An electric kettle stops heat from escaping, giving you perfectly boiled water.  Let the tea leaves steep in the hot water for adequate time. If the steep time is too short, tea leaves won’t release enough flavours and antioxidants.

• Know the steeping time: Different types of tea leaves have different steeping time. In general, green tea needs to be steeped for 3 to 4 minutes while white tea leaves need 4 to 5 minutes. Dried herbal tea like chamomile and hibiscus need at least 15 minutes of steeping time. Always read the manufacturer’s instruction regarding different types of tea.

• Get the tools right: Brewing a tea is simple but with the right tools, you can steep like a pro. To brew a perfect cup of tea, you need a mug, tea bag and an electric kettle. Fill the electric kettle with fresh water and bring the water to a boil. Pour the water in the mug over your teabag. If you have a saucer, cover the mug with it. You can also use a tea coaster. Doing this helps in retaining the aromatic compounds. For loose leaf tea, you can use an infuser to hold the aromatic compounds of the leaves.

If you are a tea lover,  bring home a small electric kettle. Kutchina electric kettles come with a 360 degrees cordless body — which make it easy for both right and left-handed people to use it. There is a removable and washable filter that helps you keep the kettle clean. Available in different capacities from 0.5 l to 1.8 l, you can buy one for home as well as when you are travelling.