My daughter Mina loves a hot cup of tea on a snowy day!
People often ask me how to brew a cup of loose leaf tea, so here is your step-by-step guide to brewing your herbal tea. When you steep herbal tea the right way, you get the most flavor, nutrients, and value out of the herbs you buy. Brewing the perfect cup of tea is simple, and there are many ways you can do it at home without buying any gear to infuse the herbs.
Infusing Loose Leaf Herbs for Tea...or Tisane
Before we start, I should clarify that our caffeine-free, loose-leaf herbal teas are technically tisanes or herbal infusions. According to Merriam-Webster, a tisane is: “an infusion (as of dried herbs) used as a beverage or for medicinal effects.” Tea comes from the plant Camellia sinesis and always has caffeine (even the decaf versions have trace amounts of caffeine). Oma herbal tea blends have no black, green, white, or oolong tea leaves, so they are truly herbal tisanes with no caffeine at all, but for ease of expression, we call them teas since you will infuse our herbs just as you would any other loose leaf tea.
When you are buying loose leaf teas or herbs, look for dry plants that are relatively whole and have vibrant color. The more intact the herbs are, the higher the content of volatile oils and biochemical compounds they retain, which means the health benefits and flavor you get from the herbs will be more potent.
So now that we’ve clarified what an herbal tea is, let’s brew the perfect cup!
Steps to Brew the Perfect Cup of Loose Leaf Herbal Tea
First, these are the supplies you need:
Oma Herbal Tea blend or loose leaf herbs of choice
Kettle or pot for boiling water
Any of the following: strainer, infuser, reusable tea bag, tea ball, or french press to steep the herbs
Mug of choice
Step 1 - Boil Water
Using a kettle or a pot on the stove, bring water to a full boil. If you have an electric kettle with temperature settings, program it to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The hotter the water, the better for extracting the flavors of the herbs.
Step 2 - Prep the Herbs for Steeping
While the water is boiling, measure out 1 tablespoon of herbs per 8-10 ounces of water (about one cup) for your infusion. You can use a tablespoon to measure your herbs, and crush them gently to fit into the tablespoon.
Crushing the herbs is key because it releases the volatile oils and biochemical compounds, which provide the nutrients in the tea.
You can crush the herbs with your hands, a mortar and pestle, or a grinder--whatever way will work so long as you crush them (with love).
Step 3 - Steep the Herbs (10 minutes +)
Now you will pour the boiling hot water over the herbs to steep. The two important factors in steeping are: how long you steep the tea and covering the tea while it steeps.
Steep for 10 minutes
Herbs need very hot water and a longer steep time than tea leaves to get the most flavor, phytonutrients, and polyphenols (potent free radical scavengers that destroy cell-damaging free radicals in the body). Most Oma Herbal Tea blends require 10 minutes to steep. Some herbs and blends do better with a longer steep, and you might prepare it before bed, let it steep through the night, and enjoy your herbal tea in the morning.
Cover the tea
The volatile oils released when you crush the herbs are aromatic, like essential oils, but they are not water soluble, meaning they will not be absorbed directly into the water. Essential oils are created through steam distillation, so when you steep the herbs, the oils will condense against the cover and return to the tea absorbed in the droplets--but you retain the highest amount of these by covering the tea while steeping!
Ways to Steep Herbal Loose Leaf Tea:
1) You can put your crushed herbs directly into a pot of water, cover it to steep, and pour the tea through a strainer into your mug.
2) You can put your crushed herbs in a tea infuser, pour boiling water over it into your teapot, and allow it to steep before serving.
3)You can put your crushed herbs into a reusable tea bag or a tea ball and pour boiling water directly over it into your mug. Cover the mug while the tea steeps!
4) You can brew loose leaf herbal tea in a french press as well by putting the crushed herbs in as you would coffee and pouring boiling water over the herbs to steep. Then you simply plunge the mesh filter and serve your tea.
Step 4 - Enjoy your steaming cup of tea
Once your herbal tea has steeped the proper amount of time, serve and enjoy! It’s simple as that. Then just rinse and repeat. Your body will thank you!
Photo by Barrett Baker on Unsplash
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These are just a few ways you can brew a perfect cup of loose leaf herbal tea! We hope this clarifies things for anyone who wants to make sure they get the most benefit out of their cup of herbal tea by preparing and steeping it the proper way.