TeaGinner said

How much is too much? (Let's make a guide!)

I’ve been brewing my oolong with 2 tablespoons of loose leaves and wondered why after drinking a couple of cups I’d sweat and my chest would hurt a tiny bit. Well today I was looking up some brewing stuff online and read that you’re only supposed to use 1-2 TEA spoons. Eek!

How much tea do you use to brew a cup/pot of tea? I tried searching on steepster but couldn’t find anything definitive as a guide to how much is the right amount of tea to use and how much is TOO much.

So how much tea do you use to brew oolong? pu-ehr? matcha? green tea? black tea? etc.

Let’s make a little guide of a sort so that beginners can know the right amount to use. (so they don’t get too much caffeine! Unless it’s an herbal or rooibos or a low caffeinated tea.)

18 Replies
darby select said

OH! LOL I didn’t know that it could give that reaction. I usually use more leaf if I want a stronger tea.

For Oolong I think I usually use 1 tsp per 8oz and sometimes add a bit more than that. I usually brew for 3 min.

Black tea I use 1 tsp per 8oz and brew 2-3min
Green tea 1 tsp per 8oz and brew 2-3 min
White tea 1 tsp per 8oz and brew 2 min
Herbal 1.5 tsp per 8oz and brew 5-6 min

TeaGinner said

It wasn’t pleasant at ALL! Thank you for your guide, hopefully users needing to know how much to use without overdoing it and getting too much caffeine will use it! Thanks. :)

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Nik select said

I read the instructions on the packet/tin. Usually, it’s the same as darby’s guide, though I tend to steep black tea and herbal tea for longer times.

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I use 2-3 perfect teaspoons per 16oz mug. That doesn’t matter the variety of tea. I do believe the perfect teaspoons are actually 1.5 teaspoons.

I know caffeine can produce those side effects. I don’t usually get them from caffeine. However last night I got the palpatations and chest pains after having a rooibos. It was weird.

TeaGinner said

Wow that is weird!
I used to get palpitations quite frequently due to thyroid problems, now I don’t get them as often (because I’m on thyroid medicine) which is great! It’s always a scary feeling having chest pain or palpitations (especially that weird second where your body goes ‘numb’ in a sense when you get a palpitation.)

Hmm interesting, didn’t know thyroid caused that as well. I have suspected for a while that I have something wrong with my thyroid.

I usually get chest pains and palpitations from anxiety. It’s very unpleasant. Although last night I wasn’t feeling anxious.

Claire said

I have a thyroid disorder as well, and a hyperactive thyroid can cause anxiety as well as heart problems. Definitely get it checked if you at all suspect you’re hyper or hypo!

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mrmopar said

pu-erh 15 to 20 second rinse simply toss it. second infusion 15 to 30 seconds depending on the strength you want water just at boiling. be sure to infuse several times, just increase your steep times on each brewing. i try to use at least 3/1 ratio of water to tea in a yixing pot or a kamjove brewer.

TeaGinner said

Thanks for your guide!
Have you ever brewed your pu-ehr western style? If so how long? Also, how much of the cake do you usually chip off to use? Thanks!

mrmopar said

for western style usually about 10 grams with a rinse and then about a 30 second infusion. just make sure you leave enough room for the tea to rehydrate and expand. be sure to brew it more than once(i usually get about 4) infusions from it this way.

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TeaGinner said

@tattooed_tea – (This is a bit off topic and I apologize) Yep it’s pretty crazy how much your thyroid DOES control! Thyroid problems have an affect on your mood, anxiety levels, and causes shakiness/palpitations. If you feel like you have thyroid problems, schedule an appointment with an endocrinologist. All they do is take a sample of your blood and then let you know if your levels are wonky once they get the results back. You’ll be amazed how much your mood/other things will change once they get you on thyroid meds!

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Aiko said

I tend to measure my tea by weight, since there’s a huge difference in volume between, say, fluffy silver needles and tightly balled oolongs/gunpowder green, and maybe I’m just a tad OCD about consistency. For western brew teas, usually 4-5 grams to my 16-oz mug. For eastern brewing, generally 4g to a 100ml gaiwan.

But the weight method assumes you’re weighing pure teas, not ones chock full of inclusions that have a higher weight-to-flavor ratio. Chais, for example, that have heavy whole spices in them, I usually end up using ten grams per 16oz mug.

TeaGinner said

Very good point about the volume of different teas.
Thank you for your guide, I appreciate it! :)

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WtFGoD said

i only drink blacks, but i use a small spoon i happen to have the fuller the leaf the more(by volume) i use… for ctc i use very little, for a bigger leaf ill use a ‘heaping teaspoon’ …. again use a very small spoon… as a ‘teaspoon’ how we use it isnt an exact measurement(volume) as others have said you can use a digital scale if you wanna get an idea about what you should be using

TeaGinner said

Thank you for your guide, I appreciate it! :)

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Celestial said

I tend to use 1 – 1 1/2 tsp of tea leaves per 8 oz cup. I would say to look at the directions on the label of your tea.

TeaGinner said

Thank you for your guide!
The teas I buy don’t usually have directions,(cakes, etc) and if they do, they’re in Chinese! :P

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Depends on how And what I’m brewing… Most things I do “western style” with 2.5g to 6oz of water. With Japanese or Chinese greens and Pu-Erh teas I prefer to do 1g to 1oz.

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