All ‘Tea’ comes from the same plant. Whether you get black, green, or white tea is a matter how the leaf is processed!
Herbal Teas come from any variety of other plants that are not Camelia sinensis, but we still love them!
A Crash Course on Caffeine…
The caffeine level in your cup of tea is based on two things:
- type: black is highest, then oolong, green, and white
- steeping time: the longer you steep, the more caffeine you extract.
Note: Tea bags (containing crushed up leaf particles) will infuse more caffeine than loose leaf tea.
Not only does tea have just the right amount of caffeine, but its chemically designed for all of the benefits without any of the negatives.
Coffee: 70-180 mg caffeine/cup
Tea: 20-70 mg caffeine/cup
The antioxidants in your tea allow for a slower & longer absorption of caffeine into your system providing a gentler wake up with no crash at the end!
Tea contains a special chemical, L-theanine, that has relaxing & de-stressing properties which complements the caffeine in your cup, allowing you to feel both alert & calm.
Our Guide to Steeping Teas
Tea = Leaves + Hot Water + Time.
The above table is based on a traditional Western-style mug of tea. We’ll save the approach to brewing gong-fu style tea for another post.
Tea Leaves
All teas vary in shape and size so serving size for one type of tea will not be the same as another. If you want to get really precise about it you can measure 3g of tea per 8oz of water but we like the thrill of adventure so we prefer to eyeball it. Like everything, practice makes perfect, after a few dozen mugs you’ll get a pretty good sense of how much you should use.
Water Temperature
Some teas prefer higher temperatures in order to extract all their best & complex flavors, others (particularly green teas) will burn and get bitter. Please, don’t get a thermometer out to test your tea water. Estimating is perfectly acceptable! Our preferred way to gauge temperature is the amount & size of water bubbles as your kettle heats!
Steep Time
So much of a good cup of tea is based on personal preference. These times are guides. The more tea you drink the more you’ll figure out what length of time works for you!
It’s your cup of tea. Drink it however you want it!
Like Weaker Tea? Reduce leaf amount or steep time (or both!)
Like Stronger Tea? Add more leaves or steep longer (or both!)
The perfect cup of tea is all about personal preference. We fully support experimentation to see what works for you. The above are simply our suggestions.
Tea Hive 
Great article! Thanks
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