4 common loose leaf tea mistakes (and how to fix them)
Loose leaf tea delivers a better flavour experience, but a few small mistakes can ruin your cup.
The good news is that making better tea doesn’t require fancy equipment or years of know-how. A few simple habits can make all the difference.
Here are four common loose leaf tea mistakes, and how to fix them.
Mistake #1: Using boiling water for green tea
One of the most common loose leaf tea mistakes is using boiling water for green tea.
If you’ve spent years making hot drinks with freshly boiled water, it can feel a bit counterintuitive to do anything different. But “hot” doesn’t always mean 100°C.
Green tea is best brewed at around 80°C. That’s still hot enough to enjoy, but gentle enough to protect the tea’s flavour.
Why does green tea taste bitter when it’s brewed too hot? Because hotter water extracts bitter compounds such as tannins and caffeine much more quickly. At lower temperatures, sweeter amino acids like L-theanine and more delicate aromatic compounds come through first.
This matters particularly for green and white teas. Because the leaves are less oxidised, their softer vegetal and floral notes are easier to overwhelm.
How to make it right
- Brew green tea at around 80°C
- If your kettle doesn’t have temperature control, let freshly boiled water cool for 2–3 minutes before pouring
Mistake #2: Forgetting to remove the leaves
You’ve waited patiently, the tea is ready, and you want to start drinking straight away. Fair enough.
But if you leave the leaves in while you drink, you can quickly change the flavour for the worse.
You might end up with a mouthful of tea leaves (not ideal), or a cup that keeps steeping for too long. A good tea can become bitter surprisingly quickly.
How to make it right
- If you’ve brewed your tea in a teapot, pour it through a filter or sieve before drinking
- If you’ve used an infuser directly in the cup, remove it once the tea has finished brewing
- If you plan to have another cup, taking the leaves out will stop the tea from continuing to steep
- Many loose leaf teas can be infused more than once, but leaves left sitting in water for hours won’t be worth going back to
Mistake #3: Using too much tea
I ordered loose leaf tea in a café recently and was genuinely pleased to see it on the menu.
Then I saw how much tea they had packed into the infuser.
It was… generous.
It’s easy to think that more tea means more flavour. In one sense that’s true, but stronger doesn’t always mean better.
Using too much tea speeds up the extraction of tannins, caffeine and other astringent compounds. Instead of a balanced cup, you can end up with something harsh, bitter and muddy.
And you’ll also waste good tea.
How to make it right
- As a general rule, use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup
- Different teas vary, so it’s always worth checking the instructions on the packet
- If you want a stronger cup, try brewing for a little longer rather than adding more leaves
Mistake #4: Not giving it enough time
One of the main differences between tea bags and loose leaf tea is brewing time.
Tea bags often give you flavour quickly. Loose leaf tea takes a little longer, but the extra time is worth it.
Loose leaf tea needs time for the leaves to open up and release their full flavour. If you rush it, your tea can taste thin, flat or underdeveloped.
How to make it right
- Follow the instructions on the packet, as steeping times vary between teas
- Some teas may be ready in 2 minutes, while others benefit from 5–10 minutes or more
- Avoid over-brewing — leave it too long and bitterness can start to take over
- If you’d like more help with brewing times, read our How to Brew Loose Leaf Tea guide.
And most importantly, embrace the wait.
A proper tea break that isn’t rushed is no bad thing.