17 Ways You're Drinking Your Tea Wrong

Spoiler alert: Milk first, tea second.

Sian Butcher/BuzzFeed

First, you need to understand that there are only six kinds of tea.

All tea comes from the same plant. "All teas that are classed as a tea have to come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant," Kate Woollard, tea expert at Whittard, tells BuzzFeed Life. "A lot of companies have gotten into the habit of giving something the title 'tea' because it's something that you put in your cup and it's hot.

"Specifically, tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia plant. Everything else, a herb (like mint), fruit (like raspberry) and so on, is an infusion."

The types of tea are white tea, green tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, black tea, and pu-erh tea. "When you have the title 'white tea' or 'green tea', you're actually describing the process by which it has been made," Woollard says.

Read more about how tea is processed here.

Sian Butcher for BuzzFeed

You should never add boiling water to the pot.

"You never want boiling water when you're drinking tea," Woollard says. "You don't want to burn the leaf." When it comes to making an infusion, however, boiling water is a good idea. "You want to make sure you get the best amount of flavour out of an infusion. It's almost like a jam. You're rehydrating the fruit."

Here's a handy temperature guide:

White tea: 65–75°C

Green tea: 75–85°C

Black tea: 85–95°C

Infusions: 100°C

Sian Butcher for BuzzFeed

But I don't have a thermometer on my kettle!

Don't worry, you can learn to judge the temperature by eye.

"For white tea, once you see the first bit of steam come out of the kettle, and the kettle begins to vibrate, then you should pour," Woollard says. "That's round about 65–75°C. When it comes to the black teas, you end up getting used to your own kettle, but generally the moment it really starts to vibrate and bubble, then you can turn it off."

Sian Butcher for BuzzFeed

---

View Entire List ›