Have 5 minutes? All you need is 5 minutes to perfectly brew any type of tea.
One-cup brewing is the craft of making one perfect cup of tea at a time. It’s the best method for getting exceptional flavor out of loose leaf teas. With only a handful of tools, you can consistently brew tea exactly the way you like it.
Step 1: Use awesome water
For the best flavor, use bottled spring water, filtered water, or even tap water, if it tastes great. Avoid water that has been distilled or purified by reverse osmosis, which will make tea taste bitter, and be aware of strongly perfumed dish detergent leaving its scent behind on mugs.
Step 2: Use a one-cup infuser
Brewing one cup at a time allows for the greatest control and consistency of flavor. Our one-cup infuser can be placed inside your mug of choice and is roomy enough to let tea leaves expand fully for maximum flavor. Once the infusion is complete, simply lift up the durable, fine-mesh infuser to filter out even the tiniest tea particles.
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One-cup Infuser
Step 3: Measure tea by weight
Different teas have different volumes, so the best way to brew consistently is to weigh the tea. For a standard 10-ounce mug, measure 3.5 grams of tea into the infuser. If you want to brew a bigger batch, you can place the infuser inside a larger vessel, but make sure to adjust the amounts of water and tea accordingly.
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Precision ScaleStep 4: Control water temperature
Every tea has an ideal infusion temperature. Black teas and tisanes should be brewed with boiling water, but oolong, green, and delicate teas need cooler water, otherwise they’ll taste bitter. For perfectly precise tea, invest in a temperature control kettle and follow this guide for general brewing temperatures.
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Step 5: Time the infusion
Once the water has been poured over the tea, cover the mug, and set a timer for 5 minutes. A shorter infusion will result in milder tea and a longer infusion leads to stronger tea. Use a timer so that your tea will always taste the way you like it.
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Precision Timer
Step 6: Remove, Enjoy, Repeat
After the timer goes off, remove the infuser and rest it on the lid. Enjoy your tea, then infuse the leaves again. Top quality teas can be infused more than once—some can even be infused up to four times!
The tools pictured here are available separately on our Tools Page.
Advanced Moves: Cocktails
Our tea pairs wonderfully with spirits. Here are two methods you can use to bring tea and alcohol together.
Tea-infused Spirits
In a clean jar, combine 3.5 grams of tea leaves and 4 ounces of spirits. Cover and let infuse for 2 hours, inverting the jar every 30 minutes or so. Strain, then serve as you wish.
Tea Concentrate
Brew double-concentrated tea using 7 grams of tea leaves for every 10 ounces of water. Chill until cold, then mix with your favorite spirit.
Advanced Moves: Chilled Tea
For delicious chilled tea, it’s best to brew as usual with hot water, then chill. Try a chilled tea latte or an uncommon Arnold Palmer. We don't recommend cold brewing because heat is required to extract the best flavor from our tea blends.
How to Chill
1. Brew tea
2. Pop it in the fridge
3. Let cool 1–2 hours
4. Enjoy
Check out our Glass Chilled Tea Brewer in action
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Happy brewing!
