Tea MasterHow much loose leaf tea per cup
Use 1–2 g of loose leaf tea per 100 ml of water for a mug or teapot: about 2.5–5 g for a 250 ml (8 oz) cup. Black tea and pu-erh take the high end, 2 g per 100 ml, green tea and herbal tea about 1 g, sencha 2.5 g. Gongfu brewing uses 5–8 g per 100 ml with short steeps, matcha 2 g per bowl, cold brew 1.1–1.5 g per 100 ml. A teaspoon holds anywhere from under 1 g to about 4 g depending on the leaf, so weigh when you can.
Grams of tea per cup, pot and litre
| Tea | g per 100 ml | 250 ml cup (8 oz) | 500 ml pot | 1 litre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black tea (breakfast, Assam, Ceylon) | 2 | 5 g | 10 g | 20 g |
| Earl Grey style (bergamot) | 1 | 2.5 g | 5 g | 10 g |
| Chinese green tea | 1 | 2.5 g | 5 g | 10 g |
| Longjing, Bi Luo Chun, Mao Feng | 1.2 | 3 g | 6 g | 12 g |
| Sencha | 2.5 | 6 g | 12.5 g | 25 g |
| Gyokuro | 3.3 | 8 g | 16.5 g | 33 g |
| Silver Needle | 1.6 | 4 g | 8 g | 16 g |
| White Peony, Shou Mei | 2 | 5 g | 10 g | 20 g |
| Tie Guan Yin, Da Hong Pao | 1.5 | 4 g | 7.5 g | 15 g |
| Rou Gui, Shui Xian | 2 | 5 g | 10 g | 20 g |
| Shu pu-erh | 2 | 5 g | 10 g | 20 g |
| Sheng pu-erh | 1 | 2.5 g | 5 g | 10 g |
| Rooibos | 2 | 5 g | 10 g | 20 g |
| Chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus | 1 | 2.5 g | 5 g | 10 g |
These are the western recipes from Tea Master. A 2 g ratio makes a full, strong cup that stands up to milk; many people drink black tea a little lighter, at 1–1.5 g per 100 ml.
Cup sizes and ounces
A cup is not a fixed size. A US cup is about 240 ml (8 fl oz), a typical mug 300–350 ml, a teacup 150–200 ml. Measure your own: put the cup on a kitchen scale, fill it to where you normally stop, and read the grams. 1 g of water is 1 ml.
- 1 g per 100 ml is about 0.3 g per fl oz, or 2.4 g for an 8 oz cup.
- 2 g per 100 ml is about 0.6 g per fl oz, or 4.7 g for an 8 oz cup.
- For a 12 oz (355 ml) mug, multiply the per-100 ml figure by 3.5.
How many grams in a teaspoon of tea
A teaspoon measures volume, and tea leaves differ hugely in how much air they trap. The same level teaspoon can hold four times more rolled oolong than fluffy white tea. Rough weights for a level teaspoon:
| Leaf type | Examples | Level teaspoon |
|---|---|---|
| Tightly rolled balls | Tie Guan Yin, Jin Xuan, gunpowder | 3–4 g |
| Small broken leaf | Breakfast blends, Assam, rooibos | 2.5–3 g |
| Fine needles | Sencha, gyokuro | 2–3 g |
| Matcha powder | Matcha | about 2 g |
| Twisted, wiry leaf | Keemun, Dian Hong, Bi Luo Chun | 1.5–2.5 g |
| Flat leaf | Longjing | 1–1.5 g |
| Large open leaf and buds | Da Hong Pao, Dan Cong, White Peony, Shou Mei, Silver Needle | 0.5–1.5 g |
| Dried flowers | Chamomile, hibiscus pieces | 0.5–1.5 g |
These ranges are approximate; your tea can differ. Weigh your teaspoon of each tea once and write it on the tin.
Gongfu, matcha and cold brew ratios
- Gongfu: 5–8 g per 100 ml for oolong and pu-erh, with steeps of seconds. Tie Guan Yin, Da Hong Pao and shu pu-erh use 7 g, young sheng pu-erh 8 g. Fine teas use less: 3 g for Silver Needle and White Peony, 2 g for Longjing. A 120 ml gaiwan of oolong takes about 8–9 g. See gongfu brewing.
- Matcha: 2 g (about 1 level teaspoon, 2 bamboo scoops) whisked with 70–80 ml of 75 °C (167 °F) water. See how to make matcha.
- Cold brew: 1.1–1.5 g per 100 ml, so 11–15 g per litre: 1.1 g for Longjing and Mao Feng, 1.2 g for Silver Needle and White Peony, 1.3 g for sencha and Shou Mei, 1.5 g for gyokuro and hibiscus. See cold brew tea.
- Hot-brewed iced tea: double the normal amount, steep for the normal time, pour over ice.
How to measure tea properly
- Get a scale that reads to 0.1 g. A cheap pocket scale is enough.
- Know your vessel's real volume: weigh it empty and full of water to the level you actually fill it.
- Multiply that volume by the grams per 100 ml for your tea and divide by 100. A 350 ml mug of green tea at 1 g per 100 ml is 3.5 g.
- Note the result in teaspoons for that tea, so you can skip the scale next time.
Adjusting strength
Leaf and time do different things. More leaf gives more body and flavour. More time gives more strength but also more bitterness. If a tea is thin but not bitter, add leaf. If it is bitter, shorten the steep or cool the water before you cut the leaf. For times, see how long to steep tea.
Taking milk? Stay at 2 g per 100 ml for black tea, or go slightly above. Drinking it plain and finding it strong, drop to 1.5 g first.
Common mistakes
- One teaspoon for every tea. It overdoses rolled oolong and underdoses white tea.
- Measuring for the brim. Dose for the water you actually pour, not the vessel's full capacity.
- Too little leaf in a gaiwan. 2–3 g in 150 ml is western strength with gongfu times, which tastes like nothing.
- Scaling up a pot by guess. A 1 litre teapot of black tea needs about 20 g, not two teaspoons.
