How to make loose leaf tea
Ever fancied making the switch from tea bags to loose tea? It’s pretty much the same brewing process – and it’s certainly the same drink – but you get to choose how much tea to add, so you get more control over the strength and flavour.
In this article we’ll take a look at the ins and outs of making loose leaf tea with your favourite blend, whether that’s Original Yorkshire Tea or Yorkshire Gold.
What is loose leaf tea?
Loose leaf tea is just tea without the tea bag. But there’s a bit more to it than that!
Tea bags are traditionally designed to brew pretty quickly, so they’re usually made with a smaller leaf size. It means the tea has more surface area in contact with the water, so all that flavour extracts quickly and makes a nice, strong brew.
There’s a specific grading name for that leaf size: CTC, or ‘Cut Tear Curl’.
Bigger leaves, meanwhile, are known as ‘orthodox’ tea. They’re not so great in a tea bag because they like a bit more space to move around in the water, so they benefit from brewing loose with a teapot or an infuser.
Now, you might expect Yorkshire Tea loose leaf to be pretty big – but in fact there’s barely any difference between our tea bag tea and our loose tea. The loose leaf is a smidge bigger, but not by much.
It’s because the farms and estates we buy from (which we genuinely think make the best CTC teas in the world, by the way) simply don’t make those same teas in an orthodox leaf size. And even if they did, it wouldn’t brew to that strength and flavour profile people expect from us.
So, the tea in our tea bags and the tea in our loose leaf packs are both the exact same quality. It’s a proper brew; however it comes.
Brewing tools and accessories
There are lots of ways to brew loose leaf tea these days. Any of these pieces of equipment will do the job – though if you’re brewing Yorkshire Tea, its small leaf size means you should make sure your strainer has a fine mesh. If the holes are too big, the leaves will get through!
Teapot
It’s a classic for a reason! It gives the leaves lots of room to brew, and you can strain them out by either popping a separate strainer over your mug when you pour or using a pot with a built-in strainer.
Infusers
These are basically modern teapots, and they come in various styles. Essentially, it’s a vessel with a built-in infuser that keeps the tea leaves separate, but still in contact with the water.
Mug infuser
This can be a little chamber that you fill and dangle it into the water, a bit like a refillable tea bag. Or it can be a strainer that you pop on top of your mug, letting the tea leaves contact the water but be easily lifted out afterwards.
Cafetière
You can actually use a coffee cafetière to brew tea. Ideally not one you’ve brewed coffee in, so the flavour isn’t tainted – but it does the job very well.
Preparing loose leaf tea step by step
Treat your water kindly
Run the tap a little so the water’s nicely aerated and only boil it once to keep the oxygen level up. Oxygen in water helps flavour!
Add tea and water
Add 1 tsp of tea per person to your infuser, along with the water. If you’re brewing in a teapot for a few people, add an extra tsp of tea to the pot.
Wait patiently
Tea needs time to unlock all its flavour, so give it 4-5 minutes to do its thing. This is a perfect time to munch a sneaky biscuit or daydream about holidays.
Remove the tea
However your infuser does it, now’s the time to separate your water and tea leaves. Remove the infuser from your mug or pour the tea from your pot into your mug.
Add whatever you like
We like a splash of semi-skimmed or whole milk, but your brew is unique to you – so add dairy milk, plant milk, sugar, honey, lemon or nothing at all. If you do use milk though, we have some advice about when to add it. Most importantly, enjoy!
For perfect brewing with tea bags, check out our other guide.
FAQs
How long does loose leaf tea last?
Ages! The exact shelf life depends on the conditions you’re storing it in – but keep it in a cool, dry place and it’ll be good for a very long time.
How to store loose leaf tea
Keep it away from light, heat, moisture and oxygen – and smelly things too. An airtight container in a cupboard is perfect.
How to drink loose leaf tea without an infuser
Some orthodox leaves are big enough to simply leave (pun intended) in the mug and drink around. Don’t try that with ours, though, or you’ll get a mouthful of bits!
