Brewing at altitude

[hronrade]

Since water temperature is so important, am I going to get less of a product at ~7000 ft ASL? At my altitude, water boils just barely under 200 deg F. Perfect for oolongs and anything requiring less temperature, like the greens, but are the black teas losing a little flavor up here? I can taste some difference when I go back to sea level and keep everything the same (minus the type of water, only variable involved aside from boiling temperature).

[Mary R]

It depends. I think some black teas actually do better at about 200ºF. I guess you could try steeping a little longer, or making sure you always steep in a preheated, covered pot or something to help minimize temperature drop.