Do you reuse tea bags?

[Thorn]

"Well," she says, having returned from brewing a second cup on today's green leaves, "why, yes, it is fine."

Seriously, for a couple of hours, no issues; keeping until the next day...please, no (yes, I've known people who did this....shudder). I will brew several cups from a set of leaves. The tea gets progressively weaker, but I drink my tea weak.

When I had cafeinne issues, I read that a large percentage of the caffeine in tea is released in the first minute of the first brew. Thus, a quick way to reduce the caffeine in your tea is to add hot water, wait a minute, drain and add more hot water. It did seem to work and I justified keeping my tea habit.

That info was from eons ago before all the anti-oxidant stuff so I don't know what happens on subsequent brews.

[lph]

Interesting! I had never thought of it, because I find green tea (from teabags) grows so quickly bitter. But maybe that doesn't happen with a second brewing.

[badger]

I find that reusing a black tea bag that's sat for a while (say an hour) just doesn't taste right. It gets a really strange taste (for me). So I only use it once, and that's it.

The only exception is when my boyfriend wants a cup. He likes his tea super weak, so I just dunk the bag a couple of times and then I'll steep mine longer.

I have a Scottish co-worker who'll use the same Tetley bag all day, which I find a tad too much.

The way my parents drink green tea, they do it the way they do in Japan. They'll put quite a bit of the leaves in a small pot (and I mean small, probably holds only about 12oz). They'll steep for a short time, like 1 minute or less, and pour it out. The cups they use are small, no more than 2oz, I think. But they keep adding hot water to it and just keep pouring it out.

[Blueberry]

Interesting! I had never thought of it, because I find green tea (from teabags) grows so quickly bitter. But maybe that doesn't happen with a second brewing.

Try using water less than boiling (I use about 175F) and only steeping 2-3 minutes. Of course, the quality of tea in tea bags does vary widely.

[OakLeaf]

It really depends on the kind of tea. Check for instructions, either on the package or at the shop. My favorite Gyokuro steeps for 45 seconds at 145°. Most of them get bitter if they steep too long, I think, but for some reason, that doesn't happen with successive steeping.

[Skierchickie]

I absolutely do re-use tea bags. I spend 1/2 as much on tea that way. And I'm cheap! In the morning I have a cup of plain old Lipton black tea, with lemon and either sugar or honey. If I do it right, I can get a second cup out of it (most of a cup, at the very least). Unfortunately, for the last 2 or 3 months the bags have very often been splitting on the second steeping, and I end up with a cupful of leaves. I think I got a box of tea bags that were improperly processed. They almost look like they're cut part way through, right down the side. Probably something to do with the equipment they use.

[redrhodie]

So, I did it. Boss lady (jokingly, she's my best friend) bought some really excellent green and white tea blend. I'm sure it was pricey. I didn't want to drink it all before she even tried it (which will probably happen anyway ).

I steeped the first cup for under 2 minutes. Second cup was steeped 3 minutes. It wasn't bitter at all, and tasted really good. I think until now I was steeping a little too hot, and a little too long.

[Catrin]

So, I did it. Boss lady (jokingly, she's my best friend) bought some really excellent green and white tea blend. I'm sure it was pricey. I didn't want to drink it all before she even tried it (which will probably happen anyway ).

I steeped the first cup for under 2 minutes. Second cup was steeped 3 minutes. It wasn't bitter at all, and tasted really good. I think until now I was steeping a little too hot, and a little too long.

Greens and whites shouldn't be steeped overly long, and the water shouldn't be boiling. Certainly each steeping should be longer than the one before - so it sounds like you settled on the right combination. Oolongs are my favorite, they fall in that range between green and black teas.

[Owlie]

It really depends on the kind of tea. Check for instructions, either on the package or at the shop. My favorite Gyokuro steeps for 45 seconds at 145°. Most of them get bitter if they steep too long, I think, but for some reason, that doesn't happen with successive steeping.

What is it? I've been itching to try gyokuro for a while, now.

I don't reuse tea bags. I find that because they're such small particles, they tend to loose flavor fast and just become nasty--bitter without other flavors in there. I'll make an exception for full-leaf filter bags, though.
I do reuse loose tea, though. I get three steeps out of my jasmine pearl (only green tea I have), and two to three out of my white and oolong teas. I like mine relatively strong (I add about 25% more leaves than they tell you to), so I get fewer steeps out of it.

[shootingstar]

At home, I tend to use 1 tea bag for a large pot of hot water.

And that gives me 2-3 c. of tea which I do drink it with milk.

When tea is too long in water, it gets bitter. Not recommended.

Loose tea (which i tend to use green tea): I tend to use more tea leaves for a pot.

And for leftover cold tea water, I water plants. They love it.

[OakLeaf]

What is it? I've been itching to try gyokuro for a while, now.

Basically, it's matcha that hasn't been powdered, so you steep the leaves and remove them from the water like other leaf teas. It's the highest grade of sencha - shade-grown young Japanese leaves.

Rishi brand gyokuro is worth every penny but way too expensive for everyday. If you're buying some to treat yourself, I'd recommend you splurge on it (of course, then your taste buds will be spoiled for life). Normally I drink Teavana brand - there's a Teavana store in Columbus where I can buy it by the pound. But honestly - IMO Teavana gyokuro tastes only slightly better than Rishi sencha, and generally I like Rishi better as a company.

[Owlie]

Basically, it's matcha that hasn't been powdered, so you steep the leaves and remove them from the water like other leaf teas. It's the highest grade of sencha - shade-grown young Japanese leaves.

Rishi brand gyokuro is worth every penny but way too expensive for everyday. If you're buying some to treat yourself, I'd recommend you splurge on it (of course, then your taste buds will be spoiled for life). Normally I drink Teavana brand - there's a Teavana store in Columbus where I can buy it by the pound. But honestly - IMO Teavana gyokuro tastes only slightly better than Rishi sencha, and generally I like Rishi better as a company.

I need to try matcha as well. I don't agree with Teavana's business practices, but there's a Teavana near me at home and one a bus ride away from the apartment in Cleveland. The Whole Foods near me doesn't carry Rishi's Gyokuro, as far as I know. And Rishi has absurd shipping costs. Maybe I'll try SpecialTea's...I knew I was going to get bike enabling, but not tea enabling!