What Do You Need to Brew a Decent Cup of Tea?

There is several tea equipments needed to brew your perfect cup of tea. Some of things can be optional, others are essential. If you are new to the world of tea and want to get into the habit of brewing your own tea, here is the list of important as well as optional things to help you out.

Essential tea equipments

A teapot: this is obvious. You can't make tea without a tea pot. There are many varieties of tea pots from different countries. Each kind is made from a different material. Some of the popular ones are Chinese and Japanese tea pots. Chinese teapots include porcelain and Yixing tea pots. These kinds of teapots are in demand because they don't change the taste and color of tea.

A tea kettle: tea kettle is used to boil freshwater to brew the tea. In the past, people often put the kettle directly over the fire. Overtime, the soot deposits all over the kettle, thus make the kettle appears less desirable. Nowadays, electric kettles are available on the market. These new and improved kettles can boil water more quickly and more clean.

Cups: There are wide selection of tea cups from different times with different shape and special patterns. Often, tea cups with a teapot belong to the same tea set, thus they have the same design. However, if you are buying the tea cups for you own tea pot, try to find tea cups with pattern to complement the color as well as the design on the teapot.

Tea Strainers: Tea strainers are used to remove dust from dried tea leaves. The more common purpose of the tea strainers is to remove any tea leaves solid after brewing to obtain clear tea water.

Tea Caddies: Tea caddies are used to store individual tea or blend of different tea. Tea caddies were first used in 17th century to export packages of tea to other countries. Tea caddies help keep the tea fresh longer by efficiently isolating the tea inside from outside odor and humidity from the air.

Optional tea equipments

Teapot Cozy: tea cozies are used to keep the teapots warm for a long period of time. Tea cozies should only used if you brew instant tea or tea bags because you can remove the tea when the appropriate strength is reached. This tea equipment is very useful to prevent over-brewed tea.

A timer: Timing is very important in tea brewing. Thus, if you are very busy with other things but also want a decent cup of tea, you should obtain a timer to set 3, 4,5 minutes for appropriate of tea. This is one of the cheap tea equipments to prevent tea from being unpleasantly bitter.

Infusers: Infusers are used to make clear tea. Infusers are often quite large, enough to fit a teapot. Stainless steel is more popular than aluminum because aluminum changes the tea into dark color. Tea leaves are placed in the infuser. The infuser is then place on the teapot. Boiled water is poured over every tea leaves. The tea water is strained through the infuser into the pot. Using the infuser to make tea will yield crystal clear tea water.

Lemon squeezers: people often like to add lemon, milk, or sugar to adjust the tea to their preferred taste.

This is one of the unimportant tea equipments because if you can just squeeze a wedge of lemon by hand. Nevertheless, this equipment is a nice addition to your tea equipment set. Tea tasting equipments: often contains a tea pot and cupping bowls. This isn't important if drinking tea is only your habit. But if you are passionate about it and especially in the tea business, this set can give you an edge over the competitors who also are in constant chase for new, unique, and delicious tea.