Follow these simple steps for brewing the perfect cup of tea or herbal infusion. It's fun and easy!

General guidelines

• Always start with fresh spring or filtered water.
• Use one level teaspoon of tealeaves per 8oz of water.
• With herbal infusions the general rule is steep "longer for stronger" however over steeping black or green tealeaves will only produce a bitter and unpleasant cup of tea.
• No fancy gizmos are needed to steep your loose tea. If you don't have a teapot with a strainer or paper tea filters you can heat your water in a small pot, take the pot off heat and add tealeaves (or herbs) directly to the pot, after the appropriate steeping time pour through a small kitchen strainer into your mug.

Tea-Specific Instructions

• Apricot
• Blueflower Earl Grey
• Ceylon
• Chai on the Fly
• China Jade Green
• Darjeeling
• English Breakfast
• Fuji Green
• Genmaicha
• Gunpowder Green
• Herbal Blends
• Hot Mate
• Iced Chai
• Iced Mate
• Irie Chai and Irie Herbal Chai
• Irish Breakfast
• Jasmine Gold
• Lapsang Souchong
• Mango Ceylon
• Mango Green
• Mate Latte-with an espresso machine
• Mate Latte-without an espresso machine
• Sencha Green
• Silver Needle
• White Peony
• Wu Yi Oolong
• Yerba Mate
• Yerba Mate Cocktail
• Yerba Mate brewed in a coffee maker

Ceylon, Blueflower Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Lapsang Souchong, Mango Ceylon, Apricot

• Pour boiling water over tealeaves and cover.
• Steep for 4-5 minutes
• Strain or remove tealeaves
• Tealeaves can be steeped 2 or 3 times.

Darjeeling

• Heat water to 190º; pour over tealeaves and cover.
• Steep for 3 minutes.
• Strain or remove tealeaves.
• Tealeaves can be steeped 2 or 3 times

Wu Yi Oolong

• Oolong teas take slightly more preparation than other teas. The tealeaves must first be warmed in order to achieve full flavor and fragrance. To do this pour 200º water over tealeaves, decant immediately and discard water. Now the tea is ready for steeping.
• Pour 200º water over tealeaves and cover.
• Steep for 4 minutes.
• Strain or remove tealeaves.
• Tealeaves can be steeped many times.

Sencha Green, Fuji Green, China Jade Green, Mango green, Gunpowder Green, Jasmine Gold, Silver Needle, and White Peony

• Pour 180º water over tealeaves and cover.
• Steep for 1-3 minutes. It is very important that the steeping time does not exceed 3 minutes.
• Strain or remove tealeaves.
• Tealeaves can be steeped multiple times by increasing the steeping time by 30 seconds with each subsequent steeping.

Genmaicha

• Pour 190º water over tealeaves and cover.
• Steep for 1-3 minutes. It is very important that the steeping time does not exceed 3 minutes.
• Strain or remove tealeaves.
• Tealeaves can be steeped multiple times by increasing the steeping time by 30 seconds with each subsequent steeping.

Herbal Blends

• Pour boiling water over herbs and cover. It is important to cover the steeping herbs to prevent the loss of precious volatile oils and essential nutrients.
• Steep for 5-10 minutes.
• Strain or remove herbs.

Yerba Mate / Hot Mate

• Use 1 TBS of Yerba Mate for each 8oz of water used
• First moisten mate with a little bit of cool water then cover with boiling water and cover.
• Steep for 3-10 minutes, longer for stronger
• Strain or remove tealeaves.

Iced Mate

• Use 1 TBS of Yerba Mate per 8oz of water used
• Cover Yerba Mate with desired amount of cool water
• Yerba Mate can steep for as little as 10 minutes or as long as overnight in the refrigerator.
• Strain and pour over ice in a tall glass

Yerba Mate Cocktail

• Follow steps 1-3 above.
• Strain Yerba Mate and sweeten if a sweeter cocktail is desired.
• Fill a tall glass with ice
• Fill glass with half Yerba Mate and half juice. Particularly tasty juices to try: mango, pineapple, peach, cranberry, coconut milk, ...

Mate Latte-without an espresso machine

• Moisten 3 TBS of Yerba Mate with cool water, cover with 16oz. boiling water and cover.
• Steep for 3-10 minutes.
• Strain Yerba Mate into two mugs. (or brew Mate in coffee maker, see instructions below)
• Add sweetener of choice and/or flavor syrup (particularly tasty choices are vanilla and hazelnut)
• Top each mug with 2-4oz of hot milk.

Mate Latte-with an espresso machine

• Fill brew basket with mate
• Brew as a double shot
• Add sweetener of choice and/or flavor syrup (particularly tasty choices are vanilla and hazelnut)
• Add 2-4oz steamed milk

Yerba Mate brewed in a coffee maker

• Fill brewer basket with Yerba Mate (1TBS per cup)
• Moisten with cool water
• Run machine as usual
• Great for making a Mate Latte

Irie Chai and Irie Herbal Chai
Traditional Stove Top Method

• Place 1 cup of cool water, 1/2 cup of milk (or soy milk), and 2 TBS Irie Chai or Irie Herbal Chai per serving in a pot and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and strain.
• Sweeten as desired, try 1-2 TBS honey or sugar

Chai on the Fly

• Place a disposable paper tea filter filled with 1 TBS Irie Chai or Irie Herbal Chai into mug.
• Fill mug 3/4 full of boiling water and steep for 5-10 minutes
• Remove tea filter, top with cream or milk and sweeten as desired

Iced Chai

• Place 1 cup of cool water and 3 TBS Irie Chai or Irie Herbal Chai and sweetener of choice (2-3 TBS sugar or Honey works best) into a pot and bring to a boil.
• Boil for 5 minutes
• Remove from heat, strain into tall glass filled with ice and 1/2 cup of cold milk.