Steeping & Evaluation Method
How to steep and taste teas for comparison or purchase – general beginner guidelines:
The term cupping is used to describe the tasting of different teas to determine quality, taste and color. Cupping similar teas against each other will enable you to determine quality vs. price when making a purchase for your shop. Always cup teas against similar types; this helps put the teas in perspective and can help with your evaluation.Professional tasters use similar methods in cupping teas. Consistency is the most important part of cupping. If you begin to develop a certain way of cupping teas, it is important to maintain your method for all teas.
Water: Your cup of tea is 98%+ water. The taste of the water will affect the flavor of any tea. Use fresh, filtered water when preparing your tea for tasting. Your filter system should help remove only contaminants, even fresh, clean water contains minerals. Fill a kettle with water and bring to a boil.
- Tea: Tea is measured per cup by weight not volume. One teaspoon of a Fancy Oolong is considerably less tea than one teaspoon of a China BOP. To prepare your tea for cupping, pour two grams (approximately the same weight as a U.S. dime) into a six to eight ounce cup and pour the fresh, boiling water directly onto the leaves.
- Time: The steeping process which releases the flavor from the tea leaves has a certain time limit. After the suggested minutes of steeping, the acids in the leaf begin to steep into the cup creating a bitter taste. At the end of the prescribed time, pour off the tea from the leaves to halt the steeping. Tip: if you are steeping a tea that needs boiling water (2120) and you notice that the tea is floating then the likely cause is that the water was not hot enough and did not reach a full boil.
- Temperature: The nuances of temperature for various teas can be a little intimidating and difficult to optimize for the new comer (e.g. there are guidelines on the temperatures just for different estate Japan Senchas). One method is to start off with some general guidelines (see below) and then customize to the specifics of what is recommended for the particular tea and for your taste.
- Steeping: The term used to describe the act of extracting the liquor from the tea leaf using heated (usually) water. Nearly all teas are really only able to be steeped once. Decanting (removing the leaf from the tea liquor) and reserving the spent leaf for another steeping is only typically done with quality Oolongs (this style of steeping is called Gongfu or Kung Fu).
- Time and temperature general guidelines*:
- Developing Your Palate: One of the great things about tea is its ability to be something different to every one who tries it. These suggestions for cupping teas are just that, suggestions. No one way will ever be considered the only way to taste teas. Experiment and try teas with different amounts and different steeping times. You never know if you’re going to like it unless you try it.
- Controlling Variables: Truly, the most important part of cupping teas is consistency. If there is one thing for sure, it is that teas will change flavor when you change the way you brew them. If you can get into a habit of tasting teas at the same time everyday, you limit the amount of factors that might interfere with your assessment of the tea.
- Try Everything: Try to cup all types of tea: that means low quality to high, exotics to common-place and everything else in between. It is through having a broad exposure that you begin to be able to refine and understand what makes a quality tea, well quality (besides a higher price which can be deceiving), and what are typical characteristics across teas (e.g. Can you identify when a tea is still fresh but “fallen off peak” no matter what type it is?).
Pu-erh Tea: 2g 212° 5-15 Min Black Tea: 2g 200° - 212° 4-5 Min Darjeelings: 2g 200° - 212° 2-4 Min Dark Oolong Tea: 2g 185° - 212° 1-2 Min for Multiple Steeping's 5-8 Min for Single Steeping Light Oolong Tea: 2g 185° - 200° 1-2 Min for Multiple Steeping's 5-8 Min for Single Steeping Green Tea: 2g 170° - 190° 1-3 Min White Tea: 2g 170° - 190° 3-6 Min Herbal Tea: 2g 212° 5-7 Min
*Steeping time, temperature and amount of tea to water can be as subjective as the appreciation of art.
Consider our information a starting point for your own conclusions and supplement with the suggestions of others