Correct preparation of tea makes sense when tasting it, you should feel all the flavors in your cup. To do this, you need the right tea accessories with quality products. What tea accessories do you need? Tea spoon, tea pot, tea filters? What equipment should you buy for more specific preparations such as matcha tea or mate tea? Let's take stock.
The tea spoon: an essential for measuring tea
The teaspoon is a measuring instrument to have the right amount of tea for your cup and some of these spoons allow you to brew directly in the cups.
Tea spoons: what are their characteristics?
It can be made of bamboo, stainless steel, metal, porcelain, etc.. It is generally recognizable thanks to their long handle to facilitate the recovery of the tea in its box or in its packaging. It is a measuring instrument like coffee spoons or soup spoons in cooking. Some spoons, also called tea ball with handle, can be equipped with an infuser and look like a completely closed tong with holes. You take the tea directly from the canister or package for preparation and brew it in your cup or mug as you wish.
What are the doses of the teaspoons?
The teaspoons generally correspond to 5 ml or 2 to 3 grams of tea. Teaspoons are less accurate than a scale because they do not take into account the density of different teas such as black tea, white tea, rooibos, etc. You should count 2 g of tea for 100 to 150 ml of water. However, there are no rules and the dose of tea depends on your wishes and especially on the intensity of the flavors you want to have.
The teapot: the recommended accessory for brewing tea
The teapot can be made of different materials such as cast iron, porcelain, stoneware, clay: the choice is vast. Teapots are often associated with a particular country. We think for example, the silver teapot for Morocco, the cast iron teapot for Japan, the English tea set, etc. Zoom on the electric teapot, the glass teapot and the cast iron teapot.
The cast iron teapot
The cast iron teapot originates from China, but it is the Japanese who developed it, it is also known as Tetsubin. When it is not enamelled, it is used as a kettle and is not used for brewing tea. The cast iron teapot is the one you see for the Japanese tea ceremony, and it is decorated with different patterns. The purchase price of this teapot can be more important than the others.
The glass teapot
You can also choose a glass teapot to watch the water take its color, admire the shade of the tea leaves. It can integrate a filter or an infuser in glass or stainless steel. It is one of those teapots without memory, which allow you tobrew different types of tea.
The electric teapot
The choice of an electric teapot for your tea time allows you to use it as a teapot, but also as a kettle. The choice of the capacity of the teapot depends on the use you will have of it and your wishes. Depending on the product you choose, you can choose the program for the water temperature, the brewing time according to your desires, etc.
The tea filter: the perfect accessory for loose tea
A multitude of tea filters exist: small or large, made of wood, silicone, paper, stainless steel, different shapes or colors, etc. Your choice will depend on the advantages and disadvantages of the filter material. For example,stainless steel is strong, but small pieces of tea leaves or rooibos beans can get stuck in the small holes. Silicone filters can blacken over time and become impregnated after several brews. Glass filters allow you to watch your tea brew, but they break more easily than other filters. You can also choose disposable paper filters.
Preparing matcha tea: what equipment should I use?
Matcha tea is a type of green tea that comes in the form of a powder. It is prepared in a large bowl with wide sides, the Chawan. The accessories for matcha tea are few, as you need a bowl, a whisk and a spoon. According to the Japanese ritual, the traditional bamboo whisk is used to mix the green tea with hot water. It is recommended to use a specific matcha bowl with a flat bottom and vertical sides. The better the bowl, the more expensive it is. Finally, the bamboo matcha spoon will provide you with the precise dose for a bowl.
Mate tea: which utensils for its preparation?
You will need two accessories for mate tea to enjoy your drink in the right way. It is recommended touse a calabash and a bombilla. The calabash is the traditional container of mate tea, it is a ball-shaped cup, which looks like the gourd of the same name. It can be made of handcrafted wood, ceramic, leather or metal, and may have a lid. The bombilla is a metal straw with a filter. The infusion of the mate leaves is done directly into the calabash and the bombilla's filter prevents you from sucking them out.