Ninety-nine per cent of a cup of tea is water. If your water is poor quality then your cup of tea will be too. So starting with good quality water is key to a great drink of tea.
Hard water doesn't do tea any good. It gives it a grey colour and a surface scum. Although some people say that a level of minerals is essential for tea taste, obviously if you can smell chlorine in your water then this will affect the taste of your tea.
You can:
- Try a cartridge water filter, 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 the 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 that's good for you and stick to it.
Water Temperature
Different teas require different water temperatures to bring out their best character. Check the recommendations in our brewing guide to get the right temperature for your tea.
If you have a friend who doesn't like green tea, and says that it is always bitter - the chances are that he or she is making it with boiling water. The water temperature can make that much difference between a horrible and a great cup of 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.
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.
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