How Many Times Can I Steep My Tea?

So, you've just brewed a cup of tea. You look at all those tea leaves you spent your hard-earned money on and wonder if you should toss them or if it's possible to get more than one cup of tea out of single steeping. The answer is that it depends on the tea.

Some teas, like white and green teas, can be steeped multiple times without losing flavour. Many people believe that these teas taste better after the second or third steeping.

Let's take a deep dive into how many times you can steep your tea without sacrificing flavour.

Black tea

Black tea lovers rejoice! You can steep your black tea multiple times without losing flavour. Many people believe that the second cup of black tea is even better than the first.

In general, you can steep black tea 2-3 times before it loses flavour. However, if you're looking to get the most out of your tea leaves, we recommend steeping them for 3 minutes first, then increasing the steeping time by 1 minute for each subsequent step.

Oolong tea

Oolong tea is a bit more finicky than black tea, so you'll want to pay close attention to the steeping time and number of steepings.

Steeping oolong tea 2-3 times is generally the limit before it loses flavour. However, the ideal steeping time for each subsequent steeping will be shorter than the first. For the first steeping, we recommend 3 minutes. For the second steeping, decrease the time to 2 minutes. For the third steeping, decrease the time to 1 minute.

Green tea

Anyone who loves green tea knows that the flavour is a bit on the delicate side. This means that green tea is best when steeped fewer times and for a shorter amount of time than black or oolong teas.

You can steep green tea 1-2 times before it gives up its flavour. The length of time will also be shorter than for black or oolong teas. We recommend steeping green tea for 1-2 minutes the first time, then decreasing the steep time by 30 seconds for each subsequent steeping.

White tea 

Like green tea, white tea is best when steeped fewer times and for a shorter amount of time.

You can steep your white tea a few times, but we recommend no more than three steepings. The ideal steeping time for white tea is 1-2 minutes each time. White tea is so delicate that you don't need to decrease the steeping time for each subsequent cup.

You'll need to test what works best for you

If you've searched the internet trying to find an answer to this age-old question, you'll soon discover that everyone has a different opinion. And that's because the answer to this question completely depends on your personal preferences.
Some people like their tea weak and watery, while others prefer it to be robust.

The only way to know how many times you can steep your tea without sacrificing flavour is to experiment and find what works best for you.

Should you steep your white tea for three or fifteen minutes? Should you steep your black tea for one hour or overnight? Well, overnight is probably a bit much if you want to sit on a hot cup of tea, but you get the drift.