black tea gets bitter

[t5dianne@adelphia.net]

When i make black tea it gets bitter as you drink it--at the bottom of the cup. Why and what am I doing wrong?

[garden gal]

I use to have that problem BT (before trinitea). I hate to admit it but I would boil the water, put the tea in and come back when I remembered it. I use 5 min for all black teas instead of the 7 even and I don't make them near as strong as some or they taste bitter to me.

[klemptor]

Bitter tea is usually a sign of oversteeping. If you're using teabags and leaving the teabag in your cup (resting toward the bottom), that's why.

Here's how to make a proper cup of black tea:

Boil fresh, cool water. Place into an infuser one teaspoon of black tea leaves per six-to-eight ounces of water used. When the water boils, pour a small amount into your teapot and/or mug (depending on how you're brewing), swish around, and discard. Place the infuser in your teapot or mug; pour the desired amount of water. Allow to steep no longer than five minutes. (Use less time if you want a weaker brew.) Remove tea leaves; do not compress.

Hope this helps!

[rhpot1991]

I posted a similiar problem before:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=942

Squishing the leafs definately made the tea bitter for me, the ingenuiTEA seemed to help a lot. Now I just need to test out some iced tea out of the ingenuiTEA to be sure that my iced tea maker is oversteeping.

Also... Might not be a good idea to use your email as your name dianne, that will no doubt get you some spam.

-John