Tea Brewing Chart: Water Temperature and Steep Time by Type 🍵

Why does the same green tea taste sweet and grassy at a tea shop, then bitter and drying in your own mug? Most of the time the leaf is fine; the water was too hot, and the bag stayed in too long.

Below: a brewing chart for five tea types, with temperature, time and amount per cup, plus four fixes for bitter tea.

Before and after: one green tea, two cups

Before: water straight off the boil, bag left in while the mug cooled. In the cup: dark yellow, harsh, a drying finish.

After: the same bag, water around 175°F, out at two and a half minutes. In the cup: pale green-gold, sweet, grassy. Same leaf.

Rewind: why tea turns bitter

Tea leaves carry catechins and caffeine, the main sources of bitterness and astringency. Heat pulls them out faster; in one lab study, green tea reached peak catechins in about 10 minutes at 95°C, and needed about an hour at 60°C.

At the roastery we change one thing at a time. Do the same here.

The brewing chart

• Amount: one bag or one rounded teaspoon of loose leaf per cup, per the UK Tea & Infusions Association. The pack wins if it differs.
• Oolong: heat depends on oxidation; lighter oolongs low, darker ones high.
• White: guides disagree, so start at two minutes and taste.
• Water: fresh cold water, boiled once. Re-boiled water has less oxygen and tastes flat.

Four fixes for bitter tea

1. Cut the time. Set a timer.
2. Cool the water for green, white and light oolong. 200°F scorches green leaves, Breville notes.
3. Take the leaf out. A bag left in the mug keeps brewing.
4. Want it stronger? Add leaf, not minutes. Time adds harshness; leaf adds strength.

Two hidden tips

Hidden tip 1: trust the clock, not the color. Color develops faster than flavor, Twinings points out.

A dark cup at one minute only looks finished.

Hidden tip 2: herbal tea needs a real boil. Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment advises a rolling boil and at least five minutes for herbal and fruit teas, because dried plants can carry germs. Dispenser water, at about 80–85°C, isn't hot enough.

Cheat sheet: tea brewing

Before: boiling water and a forgotten bag. After: the right heat and a timer; same leaf, different cup.