All of our options can be brewed several times. The optimal amount will vary depending on how you brew, and especially depending on your preferred taste.

For our tea sachets, we find that 3 times is the optimal amount of reinfusions in an ordinary cup or mug.

When brewing loose leaf, typically we find all of our products being able to be brewed 5 or more times with full flavor using our guide, adding about 10 seconds to the steep with each infusion.

Although this is not our recommended way of heating your water, there are still many who use the microwave to get a hassle free hot cup of water. Different tea will be comfortable at different temperatures, so the lack of control is the biggest reason we suggest to shy away from this method. Learn more about water quality and control.

We do have some recommendations from experience for those who have no other option or just like the quick convenience. Be sure to use a microwave safe mug or cup, as not all might be. Additionally, water does not always bubble from boiling in a microwave, so be careful not to superheat your water. More information about this can be found in our water guide listed above. Finally, only heat the water in the microwave and add the teabag in after. This will give greater control over steeping and intensity.

This is likely due to either too high of a temperature or brewing for too long. While our guide is a baseline, each tea has its own unique character, and each person has different tastes. Try decreasing the water temperature; if it is still too bitter, brew for less time. We strive to make sure that we recommend what we believe to be the best variables for enjoying tea on its own, so be sure to check our product pages for specific recommendations on brewing.  

If the taste is still too bitter after trying these recommendations, you can try adding a little bit of sugar, or even some milk. Most of our teas work great for making milk tea, or you could try some more adventurous recipes.

Typically, metallic tea is a result of contaminated water. Please view our water guide for more information about water quality. If the water is not the problem, it is possible that lower quality brewing vessels which have metal components may be contaminating your tea. We recommend thoroughly scrubbing your tea ware with soap and water and running boiling water through a couple times. After this, taste some of the water that has been in the vessel. If there is still an odd flavor, it is probably better not to use it.

Bland tea can happen for a couple of reasons. If the leaves are left out in an unsealed environment, especially where there are other fumes and strong scents, they can lose their flavor. Make sure to store tea away from strong scents such as spices, and keep the bags sealed when stored.  

Water quality can also make a big difference to extracting flavor from tea, so be sure to check our water guide.  To remedy this, adding a small pinch of salt can bring out a lot of the flavor that is lost.