We have a question from a reader:
“When making a single cup of tea from a tea bag what is the optimal amount of time to leave the bag in there?”
Great question! I’m so glad you asked.
Until it’s the strength you want. (Official smarty pants answer.)
Really though, it’s probably about 1 – 2 minutes. Typical tea bag tea is made of small, broken bits of tea leaves called fannings or dust. Here is a previous post on the grades of tea if you’d like to read further.
The advantage of the broken bits of tea leaves is that it brews very fast compared to whole leaf tea. Remove the tea bag and avoid squeezing it, if possible. Squeezing it and over brewing both create bitterness.
However, going back to the first answer, it may be more accurate than it sounds. Brewing to taste and color may be your best gauge.
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