Hot-Brewed Loose-Leaf Tea: Black, Green and Oolong
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
Fresh leaves brewed with precise water temperature and timing to release the full flavour of black, green, or oolong tea.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Heat. Heat fresh water to the right temperature for your tea: black tea to 95–100 °C (just boiled), oolong to 85–90 °C, green tea to 70–80 °C (let boiled water stand 3–5 min or add a splash of cold water).
- 2
Warm. Warm the teapot or mug and tip the water out.
- 3
Add. Add about 2.5 g (1 tsp) leaves per 240 ml.
- 4
Steep. Pour over the water and steep for the correct time: black 4–5 min, oolong 5–6 min, green 2–3 min; taste a minute early as overlong steeping or too-hot water makes green tea bitter.
- 5
Strain. Strain or lift out the infuser.
- 6
Serve. Add whole milk to black tea if liked; oolong and good green leaves can be steeped a second time, a little longer.
Storage
Brew and serve fresh. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 4.3 g protein per 100 kcal, about 17% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low fat: 1 g fat per 100 ml (limit ≤ 1.5 g)
- Low sugars: 1.5 g sugars per 100 ml (limit ≤ 2.5 g)
- Low salt: 0.05 g salt per 100 ml (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 ml of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 101 ml a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Caffeine · Free sugars
- Per serving: about 29–48 mg caffeine (serving: 1 cup (240 ml)). Source: 240 ml × USDA FDC SR Legacy #171917 (brewed green tea, 12 mg/100 g); USDA FDC SR Legacy #174120 (brewed oolong tea, 16 mg/100 g); USDA FDC SR Legacy #173227 (brewed black tea, 20 mg/100 g): green tea about 29 mg, oolong about 38 mg, black tea about 48 mg.
- Scaling: making more servings does not change the caffeine in each serving; what counts is how many servings you drink in a day. 1 serving: 29–48 mg · 2 servings: 58–96 mg · 3 servings: 87–144 mg · 4 servings: 116–192 mg.
- General guideline: EFSA Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015): for healthy adults, up to 200 mg in a single dose and up to 400 mg per day do not raise safety concerns. 1 serving = 7–12 % of 400 mg. EFSA
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- kettle (ideally with temperature control)
- teapot or mug with infuser
- timer
- mug
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 21 kcal |
| Protein | 0.9 g |
| Carbohydrate | 2.2 g |
| of which sugars | 1.5 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| of which saturates | 0.6 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 0.05 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
4.3 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
