99% of a cup of tea is water. If your water is of poor quality then so will your tea be.
Hard water is bad for tea, giving a grey colour and surface scum.
Some believe that a level of minerals is essential for tea taste.
If you can smell chlorine in your water then this will affect the taste.
You can:
- Try a cartridge water filter (like Brita) which will reduce excess hardness and remove chlorine. But do read the instructions about soaking new cartridges, and change the cartridge in good time.
- Install an in-line ceramic water filter at your sink which will remove bacteria, particulates, chlorine, flourine and many pesticides. While it will not soften water it will certainly improve the taste.
- Use bottled water for tea making, but be aware that bottled waters vary greatly between brands, so find one thats good for you and stick to it.
Water Temperature
Different teas require different water temperatures to bring out their best character.
Have you ever spoken to a friend who claims that all green tea is bitter? Chances are they are using boiling water on their green tea.
The simple rule is:
- Boiling water at 100°C straight from the kettle with your black teas, pu erhs and tisanes.
- Water at 75 - 85°C for green teas.
- Water at 60 - 70°C for white teas.
But it pays to experiment and find the right temperatures for your own taste.
Until you are expert at 'listening' to your kettle - Japanese tea masters claim that you can hear the temperature - we recommend using a digital thermometer (AC02) which is available to purchase on-line from our shop.