by Erika Shanoff
Erika’s Tea Room wants to help everyone enjoy the perfect cup of tea! Erika’s Tea Room of Clermont is quickly gaining national attention for their tea and scone expertise. Here are some tips from Erika Shanoff, co-owner of Erika’s Tea Room.
Step 1 — Select A Good Tea! Brewing the perfect cup of tea is all about selecting a first flush loose-leaf tea. There are hundreds of wonderful and different tea varieties today, each with their own special benefits. Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world today. Water is number 1. Tea has been grown, harvested and enjoyed for thousands of years. Many parts of the world develop their own favorite tea varieties and tea culture. There are estimated to be well over three thousand tea blends available today with more flavors being blended and developed every day. There are a variety of tea blends that you can enjoy depending upon the time of day, the meal, your health or with whom you are drinking your tea.
Step 2 — Prepare Your Water! Most American tea palettes prefer their tea water to be boiling hot. Whether you use purified or tap water is up to you. Start to bring your water to a boil. Your choice of tea may have different preferred or required temperatures. For example, black tea water should be boiled to 180 degrees. At Erika’s Tea Room, they use purified water to best protect the flavors. Bringing the water to a boil will kill any germs. Erika Shanoff suggests, “Never microwave your water. Microwaving does not always bring the water to a rapid boil or kill germs.” Zapping your favorite tea bag in a cup of water together in the microwave may be a personal choice or a time-saver, but does not bring out the best flavor.
Step 3 — Prepare Your Tea Leaves! While your water is coming to a boil, prepare your tea leaves. Keep it super simple. You can use an infuser, put your tea leaves directly into the teapot ,or use an English tea strainer. You can also make sure no tea leaves get into your teacup by using a bio-degradable sachet tea sack as a filter. With a bio-degradable tea sack, no tea leaves will ever leak through. Tea sack strainers come in different sizes for a single cup or a full teapot. For just one cup, put a heaping teaspoon of tea leaves in the filter or strainer. Once placed into the sachet, knot it off, so the tea leaves can expand. For a full teapot, use 3 to 5 heaping teaspoons, depending upon the size of your teapot and the number of cups you desire to drink. A rule of thumb is one heaping teaspoon of tea leaves for every 8 ounces of water. Shanoff adds, “With our teas, you can save your tea leaves for a second cup or pot. Just let the tea leaves steep for an extra 3 minutes to best allow for a second infusion.”
Step 4 — Allow Tea To Steep! Once you add boiling water to your tea leaves, take time to allow the tea flavors to steep to perfection. The lighter the tea you desire, the less steeping time will be required. Traditionally, 3 to 5 minutes of steeping will be perfect. If you prefer your tea flavors to be stronger, then steep for up to 7 minutes.
Tea Preparation Tips: Be careful when pouring water through an English tea strainer. If you pour too fast, the tea leaves may overflow the strainer and go into your teacup. A common starting point is to use a tea ball strainer, even though many tea lovers outgrow it since they often become discolored and loosen or leak. Stainless steel infusers with a strong latch are good. With black teas, remove the sachet after the desired flavor is attained or else your tea may become bitter. Based upon the quality of the tea selection, you should be able to get a second steeped cup out of your tea leaves. When finished with your sachet of tea leaves, the cold tea leaves are very good to put under your eyes with use of the sachet. For many people, this may help you eliminate dark circles and eye bags.
Step 5 — Remove Tea Leaves & Enjoy Your Tea! Use your cozy to keep your teapot warm for full flavorful enjoyment during your tea experience.
Step 6 – Add Desired Accoutrements: You can add milk, sugar, honey, lemon, a creamer or just enjoy your tea au natural! Don’t forget to add a few scones and/or finger sandwiches as the perfect tea accompaniments.
Perfect Quality Tea! It’s really all about the quality when it comes to tea! Shanoff notes, “We carry first flush loose-leaf teas and tea bags, with no preservatives. Whether your tea comes loose for you to measure or in a pre-packaged tea bag, it’s really just a matter of convenience and personal preferences. You will get more value out of measuring your own loose tea leaves. With all of the infuser options available today, why not take advantage of it!! For example, in teabag form, they usually come with about 15 sachets in a tea canister. But, when you measure a loose canister of tea leaves, you will usually get about 30 cups to start.” Now is the time to brew the perfect cup of tea!
Erika’s Tea Room is a wonderful place to celebrate bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays and other special occasions with safe social distancing. With over 60 different teas to select from and a delicious, customizable menu, Erika’s Tea Room is the perfect location to spend your day and make memories to last a lifetime. For more information, contact Erika Shanoff at Erika’s Tea Room, located at 787 West Montrose Street, Clermont, FL 34711.Call: 908-670-2305 or visit: www.ErikasTeaRoom.com.
