Understanding Loose Tea Leaves: Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings
Loose Tea Leaves, they are the base for classic milk teas and fruit teas. But how can you choose between all the different kinds? And are there certain things to look out for when brewing the tea and assembling the bubble teas? Let's dive in.
Loose Tea Leaves
Loose Tea Leaves are used for the tea base of bubble tea. A tea base is used for all types of bubble tea, except for flavoured milk teas. Think of chocolate, mango or taro milk tea. These types of bubble tea use hot water as a base instead of tea. We know there are several different types of teas: earl grey, mint, jasmine, chamomile, … but which are suitable for bubble tea? There are three main categories when it comes to loose tea leaves for brewing bubble tea:
These three will be further explained below.
1. Black Tea
Let’s start with black tea. Black tea is the most traditional and popular tea used for bubble teas – or more specific – classic milk tea or brown sugar milk tea. Classic or brown sugar milk teas are made of creamer powders, sugar syrups and are topped with tapioca balls. Fruit teas are made of flavoured and sugar syrups topped with popping balls, jellies or jams. As black tea has a very strong taste and would make fruit teas taste quite bitter, it’s mainly used for milk teas. You can use it for fruit teas but it depends on your preference. The black teas we offer are
- Assam Black Tea,
- Assam Black Tea – Grade A,
- Kenyan Black Tea,
- Top Earl Grey Black Tea and
- Commercial Tea Bags.
2. Green Tea
Next up, we have green tea. The tea base for fruit teas. They are lighter and less bitter than black tea so perfect for fruit teas. Again, you can use these also for milk teas but as they have a lighter taste it could make your milk tea taste very milky or sugary. The green tea leaves we offer are:
3. Oolong Tea
Lastly, we have oolong tea. Oolong tea leaves are floral and fruity. They have a lighter taste than black tea, but a more complex profile than green tea. Oolong can be used in both classic/brown sugar milk tea or fruit teas depending on the bitterness level you enjoy. The oolong teas we offer are
- Light Oolong Tea,
- Dark Roasted Oolong Tea,
- Da Hong Pao Oolong Tea,
- Osmantus Oolong Tea and
- Peach Flavour Oolong Tea.
Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings
There are certain common mistakes and misunderstandings when it comes to brewing loose tea leaves for Bubble Tea. In this section we will talk about how long and how much you should brew of the different categories of loose tea leaves, what not to do when straining your tea leaves after brewing your tea, and whether you should use cold or hot tea for assembling bubble teas.
1. How Long And How Much Should I Brew Loose Tea Leaves?
How long should you brew your tea base before using it in your bubble tea? For black tea and oolong tea, this is 15min. For green tea, this is 7min. But, how much tea leaves should you brew per serving? For 1 regular serving, which is 200ml, we use 7g of black/oolong tea and 5g of green tea. Just multiply the amount depending on how many drinks you are making. If you are making both, we recommend starting with your black or oolong tea as they take longer to prepare.
2. Can I Put Pressure On The Tea Leaves While Straining Them?
The second common mistake we want to talk about is, can you put pressure on the leaves when straining them to get as much tea out of them as possible? The answer is no. The straining process is a really important step in the brewing process. Putting pressure on tea leaves can create more bitterness that can become an overpowering, almost metallic taste in your drink. Little pieces can fall into your bubble tea making it cloudy and potentially dirty looking. Another mistake when brewing tea is to never use the same tea leaves twice. It can create toxicity as they can start to spoil or grow bacteria, especially if they are left sitting in water for a while before being used again.
3. Can I Use A Cold Tea Base When Assembling Bubble Tea?
Our last common mistake we want to talk about today is, whether you can use cold tea when making bubble tea. Well, the reason it’s best to use hot tea when making bubble tea is because all ingredients are much more easy to blend. When you are making fruit teas, it’s less important to use hot tea as syrups are quite easy to blend. Milk teas however use powders and those are much more difficult to blend when cold. If you did per mistake already cool down the drink by adding ice too soon, shaking the drink with the ice can help dissolve the ingredients for a big part. But you can still have little chunks left in your drink.
Summary
To summarise:
- there are three different types of tea leaves: black tea, green tea and oolong tea. Black tea is mainly used for classic and brown sugar milk teas. Green tea is primarily used for fruit teas. Oolong can be used for both. They are all interchangable but it depends on your preference for bitterness or sweetness.
- Black and oolong tea are brewed for 15min with 7g of tea, while green tea is brewed for 7min with 5g of tea.
- Don’t put pressure on your tea leaves while brewing tea to avoid toxicity and an overpowering taste.
- Lastly, you can use cold tea as a tea base, but it will be harder to blend all your ingredients together, especially when making milk teas.
At Taipec, we’re here to help you create the perfect bubble tea experience. Which type of tea base will you choose for your next drink?
Happy brewing!