Why does whole leaf tea leave a residue in the cup?
I purchased this nice whole-leaf oolong tea this afternoon.
I steeped it in 200 F water for 3 minutes (as directed) in my tea steeping basket:
And when I pulled out the basket, there were some uninvited guests remaining:
Did I do something wrong? I thought this was the kind of results to expect from tea "dust" that might be expected in a bag, but this is whole-leaf tea. Do I need to pre-sift my tea, or something? I'm afraid that as these remnant sit in the tea, they will make it bitter.
Best Answer
This is normal. Even with whole leaf tea, it's a dried (and cooked) product. You're going to experience some "crumbling," and, in my experience, these grounds are more common with loose leafed tea than with dust-in-a-bag. Just pour out the last of your cup--or get used to the texture.
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Why is there a film on my cup of tea?
Scientists at the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health in Zurich, discovered that tea leaves contain compounds called polyphenols. These have a habit of bonding with calcium carbonate in tap water. And when this happens, a film tends to appear at the surface of the tea cup.Is it OK to drink tea residue?
The loose leaf tea residue is completely safe to drink and rich in nutrients and antioxidants because the leaves are what hold the health benefits from your cuppa! Each kind of tea leaf has different benefits you can look into, but they are all good sources of vitamins and immunity aids.Why does tea leave a ring?
THE REASON is that tea contains tannin (or tannic acid) which gives tea its colour. Tannin is used as an agent for many dyes such as in the tanning of leather and in making ink, hence the reason that a stain is left in cups.Whole Leaf Tea Sachets – Find Your Perfect Cup of Tea | Two Leaves and a Bud
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Answer 2
In Chinese tea "rituals" they "rinse" the leaves with hot water before steeping. Fill the pot with water and dump it out right away. Then fill your pot and continue as normal. This gets rid of the majority of the "dust". Like the others said, yes it's normal.
Answer 3
I'd be disappointed if there were no residue in most teas that I drink. Good Japanese teas often have a fair amount of it. The only way to reduce it is to use a finer mesh, but you'll probably lose flavor as well with most teas. I was advised with a certain green tea to use a finer mesh, but in general, there's nothing wrong with what you see.
The main reason you don't see (much) dust in tea from paper bags is that the paper filters are preventing a lot of that dust from getting in your cup. Even though a lot of the contents of a cheap teabag is nearly dust-like, less will escape the iron clutches of those paper filters.
Answer 4
It's normal in China to throw out the first cup of tea made with new tea leaves. You pour some water over the tea, don't let is steep too long, then through out and seep a second cup, this one you drink. You can keep topping up the tea with more hot water till the tea leaves have lost all there flavour.
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