Taking Tea

Now that you know the Charleston Tea Plantation is the only tea grower/producer in America, you should also know a perfect way to brew tea. At Bloomsbury we follow the same basic guidelines regardless of making loose leaf tea or when using tea bags.

Bring fresh/filtered room temperature water to a boil. When making black tea, herbal tea and some oolongs, it is best to pour boiling water over the leaves. If you are making white, green and tender oolongs, allow the boil to die before pouring the water over the leaves. It just could not be much more simple than that. Use one teaspoon of tea leaves for making each eight-ounce of tea.

Steeping time is primarily driven by your preference, but most black teas should steep about five minutes. Oolongs and green teas steep between one and five minutes. White teas require three to eight minutes. This guide will assist in brewing the best teas....remember we want to brew...not stew...tea.

For those interested in tea types: All teas are from the same plant,Camelia sinensis. Black Tea and Green Tea can come from the exact same plant; it is the curing and production process that makes the tea either black or green. Green tea is picked and dried almost immediately. Black tea is picked and alowed to wilt before being dried. 'This oxidation process produces either green or black tea. Oolong tea is produced about half way between green tea and black tea. Decaffeinated tea is green or black tea which is produced via a decaffeinating process. Remember, decaffeinated tea is not caffeine free. Herbal tea is caffeine tea, but it isn't actually tea. It is a mixture of herbs, spices or fruit that has been dehydrated and is brewed in the manner of good tea.

We would love to share a cup of tea with you...tea is always available to guests of Bloomsbury Inn.