Brewing Loose Tea {Tutorial}

For Rachel, Pam, Janet, and anyone else who is curious about brewing loose tea.
                                

There are different options and materials available, including tea balls, press and brew bags, basket strainers, some nifty kettle my husband used back in England; but if you don't have any of the above, here's a tutorial using:

• a sieve
• a glass jar
• a glass measuring cup
• a saucepan
• a measuring spoon 

1) I put 3 teaspoons of loose tea (I like a good, strong flavored tea) into a pint size glass jar. You can use less or more, depending on your tastes. A pint will fill one of my nice size mugs. Today I'm making a delightful cup of the Creamy Pumpkin Pie Tea.

2) While not nearly as lovely as my beloved sage green whistling tea kettle, which recently broke (I have a reputation for being hard on my appliances), this simple saucepan will do the trick! Start boiling up a few cups of water.

3) Pour the boiled water over the loose tea. This usually looks a lot prettier when one isn't trying to take pictures with one hand, while using the other to pour hot boiling water into a jar!

 4) I loosely set the lid on top of the jar and let it steep for about 10 minutes or so. 

5) Meanwhile, I set up my sieve. I'm using a small one today and it's atop an everyday Pyrex measuring cup. You can use a regular size sieve, if you'd like, it'll still work. :)

6) I pour the jar of steeped tea (loose tea and all) into the sieve. Loose tea leaves stay in the sieve. Beautiful herbal tea is perfectly strained into the Pyrex cup.

7) And there you have it! It's really very simple. The tea balls and other items listed above are definitely less of a process, but even if you only have a sieve, large glass cup, and a sauce pan, you can still brew and enjoy loose tea. :)

 And of course, y'all know where to find my favorite blends: