My Favorite Teas And Tips for Brewing Just Right

If you’re a long-time Instagram follower, you probably know I’m pretty much addicted to tea. Likely because I don’t drink coffee – at all, ever – and gave up Diet Coke years ago. Today I’m going to share some basic tea knowledge, my favorite teas, and the tools I have in my kitchen to achieve the perfect cup.

First, Some Basic Tea Knowledge …

I won’t pretend to know it all, but focusing on standard white, green, and black tea, the main rule of thumb is: the lighter the color, the less processed it is (which means more antioxidants), and less caffeine it has. So white tea has a very low caffeine, and tons of good stuff for you while black tea has high caffeine but isn’t as good for you.

A lighter tea can sometimes mean a more delicate leaf, so you should be careful about steeping at higher temperatures as it will cause the leaves to burn leaving you with bitter tea. This is complicated, I know, so I made a high-level cheat sheet for you:

My Favorite Teas Tea Steeping Cheat Sheet By Bumble and Bustle

Download a PDF version here

Keep in mind, each tea is different, so if the instructions on the package direct you differently, follow those. This is just how I steep mine.

My Favorite Teas …

Green Seduction by David’s Tea

Okay, this is a sad one because David’s just discontinued my go-to everyday green tea and I could use some help finding a new one. I hate tea with sweeteners and even though this one is a bit fruity, it doesn’t have that stevia or honey aftertaste a lot of flavored teas do. And it’s nice because it isn’t too earthy like some green teas. When I heard they were discontinuing it, I bought all my local store had in stock, so I have a bit before I get really desperate.

Lavender Rose Black by Spices and Teas

I found this awesome floral black tea in NYC at the Grand Central Station Market and my sweet coworker brought me a refill at our last in-person meeting. I love it because it’s a lot more mild than my old Earl Gray but still packs that caffeine punch I sometimes need.

Snow Leopard by Mighty Leaf Tea

If you are ever in a Peet’s Coffee and order a white tea, this is what you’ll get and it’s so nice and light. The name is oddly accurate – I love drinking this tea in the afternoon (since it’s low caffeine) on a winter day.

Chamomile Citrus by Pinky Up

This is my go-to night time tea because it has no caffeine. Based on the name you know chamomile and citrus flavors lead, but it also has some lemongrass and mint flavors going on as well and is the perfect tea to calm my mind at the end of a long day.

Turmeric Glow by David’s Tea

This is a new addition to my tea rotation and I drink it a couple of times a week in the afternoon. I kept hearing about the benefits of turmeric and decided to give it a go. The stuff I drink is an herbal blend with carrots, beet root, and turmeric. It’s great, but it may be a little on the sweet side for me, so I’ll keep you posted if I change it up!

Steep Like A Pro – My Favorite Tea Tools

If I haven’t completely lost your attention yet, I’m sure you’re wondering things like how I know if the water is 160 degrees vs. 200 degrees. I have methods to all my tea madness and they come in the form of kitchen gadgets.

The Mac Daddy Of Tea Kettles

I don’t use this baby every day, but it’s one of my favorite kitchen tools. It’s an automatic tea kettle / steeper that comes with temperature settings for different tea types, a timer built in for those standard brew times, and an easy release central cartridge to keep the leaves in the water for just the right amount of time. It’s pricey, but if you drink tea daily, it’s totally worth it.

Note: I bought a cheaper version of this and it shattered (glass everywhere) on the very first steep. This may be one of those splurge vs. saves where it’s really better to splurge.

Flamingo Tea Steeper for One Cup Brews

When I’m only brewing one cup at a time, this little guy is a perfectly fun addition to my mug. He was a gift from a friend and replaced a very boring silver steeper ball. Plus he’s easy to clean and holds the right amount of tea leaves.

Rose Gold Perfect Spoon

Why, yes, of course my tea spoon is rose gold. It’s so over-the-top, but not a terribly expensive way to get the right amount of tea every time. In fairness, everyone loves their tea at different strengths, but I use one “perfect” (as David’s calls it) spoonful to my 11 oz. mug and am very happy with the result.

Color-Coded Tea Tins

Did you really expect anything less than color coding out of my kitchen? Each colored tin denotes a different type of tea. White tea goes in a dark blue tin, green in green, black in light blue, herbal in pink. These airtight containers help to keep your tea fresh and the flavor locked in. No, the zip bag tea comes in isn’t enough to make it last forever.