Once the water starts boiling and the pot is whistling, I remove the pot from the eye on the stove and put a tea bag in. Sometimes I forget about it and come back like 6 hours later to remove the bag and poor the tea in a pitcher. When I don’t forget about it, I usually let the bag soak for around 90 minutes-2 hours.
Question: How long is the maximum efficient time to let a tea-bag soak? Meaning, after that point it is not going to significantly change the taste.
90 minutes???
I would guess about 3-4 minutes is more than sufficient for a pot. 20 seconds & a stir does in a pinch.
What sort of tea are you talking about?
To back that up a little - See here…
I don’t think “efficiency” is the right term here. The taste keeps changing, but after some time it will change for the worse. I’d say 1-2 minutes is optimal, depending on how fine the tea leaves are.
You are talking about hot tea, right? Iced tea is different, and I don’ t know anything about that.
It depends on the tea, but if you’re using one tea bag for an entire pot, all you’re getting is colored water.
I’ve actually seen people take a tea bag, dunk it for ten seconds in hot water, and take it out. Sure, it’s brown, but that’s just the color. Unless you steep for at least a minute (more for most teas), you aren’t getting any of the flavor. You might as well just drink hot water.
Best way is to go with the directions on the box*. The usual timing for Lipton, Red Rose, Tetley, etc. is 3-5 minutes per bag. Try one bag for that amount of time (use a timer if you must) in one cup of hot water.
*I have four different teas at my desk. Gevalia China Mountain Green calls for 4 minutes; Ch’in Ch’u Oriental Blend calls for 1-1 1/2; Gevalia English Breakfast is 3 minutes; and Republic of Tea People’s Green Tea is 1-3. I stick with these guidelines and they’re great. (I’m also not a big fan of orange pekoe – try some of the other varieties.)
yes, the tea is not the colour it is the essential oils and flavours
some teas are so light you cant stew them
i use just normal tea bags and give 2 mins
it also is important that the water is boiling:(