DavidsTea Buddah's Blend
So DavidsTea changed all their steeping instructions, from including temperatures to just saying “hot” (which is 75 degrees), Boiling (95 degrees), so it makes it really hard for me, which I have a kettle that has temperature and steeping settings.
I read that White tea is to be 75-80 degrees and only 30 seconds of steeping.
The packaging says to steep for 2-3 minutes. I’m always afraid to steep white tea, because it’s so delicate and more expensive than other teas.
Buddah’s Blend is a white/green tea. And I always read that it should be steeped to the lowest of the two temperatures, and to lowest steeping time.
Does anyone know if I should be steeping this tea for 30 seconds or okay to steep to 2 minutes without ruining the tea?
I’ve steeped this blend multiple ways (very short steeps with very little water, long steep with lots of water), but it ultimately depends on the amount of tea you use and the temperature of the water. 2 minutes isn’t too long for 75-80 degree water and less leaf (1 tsp), but I would never use boiling water with white tea, nor would I recommend 2 minutes if you use a lot of tea. I generally brew this using 1-1.5 tsp looseleaf with 500mL of 80-85 deg water for 1-2 minutes (taste/smell it while it steeps).
Oh, okay, so if it’s a normal amount of tea for one cup, its more important about temperature than time, as long as it’s reasonable time? Thank you. I’m always so nervous making white tea.
Hey Scarlett!
I currently work at DAVIDsTEA, and I’d say that if you’re using a 75C(ish) temperature anything under two minutes should be safe – this blend is notorious for getting bitter VERY quickly so anything over that tends to burn the leaves/make for an unpleasant drink. In our store, we tend to brew it between two to three minutes, but just personally speaking I think that three minutes is definitely pushing it. That said, if you try a two minute steep and it does taste bitter to you, I’d just continue to gradually cut the steep time down/lower until you find a balance that works for your tastes.
On the note of brewing white teas for 30 seconds; if you’re Western brewing at an appropriate temperature (around 70-75 Celsius) that seems rather short to me. Sure, white teas are more delicate than other teas but with an appropriate water temperature they can totally withstand a longer brewing time, and that will make for a more flavourful cup. Since white tea is so delicate in general, I think my fear with a 30 second steep is that you’d just get no discernible flavour.
Now, if you’re brewing Gong Fu then that’s a whole ’nother story…
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