Brewing Hawaiian Islands Tea

Making tea seems pretty simple. Heat water. Pour over teabag. Right?

Did you know you can make your tea taste better, or worse, by changing the temperature of the water? It’s true. Black tea, green tea and herbal tea taste best at different water temperatures. Here’s a helpful little guide…

Black Tea

Black tea tastes best if you pour the water just before it hits the boiling point. Water boils at 212* F. Black tea tastes best when steeped in water that’s 206 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Just before the boil, but not a full boil.

Why? Continuous boiling robs the water of oxygen and makes the tea taste flat. We generally recommend steeping our tropical black teas for 2 to 5 minutes, the amount of time depends on your preference.

Green Tea:

Brewing green tea is a more delicate process. Green teas are much less processed than black teas and more sensitive to temperature and steep time. Green teas must be steeped at a low temperature, 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Why? To prevent bitterness. Green tea steeped in boiling water can have a bit of a bitter taste. at 180*, the water just begins to move and shiver. It’s the point just before bubbles break the surface. That’s the temperature we recommend for our tropical green tea. Steep time is also shorter, 1-3 minutes, depending on your preference. Green teas can be re-infused with water and steeped again several times.

Rooibos Tea:

The Rooibos Herb that we use in our 100{0478d959296cdd91339b66fe1c5f0cba1518de3089bd5e11cd5bb385d43b0c75} caffeine free Coconut Macadamia Herbal Tea is not particularly sensitive to temperature or steep time.

Why? Unlike black teas, Rooibos contains very little tannin. For our Coconut Macadamia Rooibos, we recommend near boiling hot water and a steep time from 5 to 15 minutes. Experiment, though, because different steep times do change the flavor. Try 5 minutes and 15 minutes and you’ll discover whether your own preference is strong or lightly steeped.

One Last Tip… Do You Preheat Your Cup?

Such a simple little tip, but most of us don’t even think of it. While you’re waiting for the water to heat, fill your cup (or teapot) with really hot tap water to preheat it. Cupboards are generally a few degrees cooler than the rest of the room because there’s less air circulation. So, when you preheat your cup or teapot, it will do a better job of maintaining that perfect steep temperature.

Enjoy!