French Press Your Tea

There's one problem when it comes to looseleaf tea (tea that is not in a bag): you need a strainer of some sort.  I currently do not have a tea strainer, which may come as a surprise.  So, I was talking to my mom recently about it and we both thought it would be a cool idea to use the french press for loose leaf tea.

"What is a french press?" you say.

A french press is normally used for coffee and is known to give a coffee and extremely smooth texture.  How it works:  you put your grounds in the bottom of the french press (if you have coffee beans, you want to make sure they are ground before you put them in the french press), boil some water, pour the water in the french press, and then after a bit of time press down the grounds and pour out your coffee into a cup. 


So why is this relevant to tea?  Sometimes when you use a tea strainer, you can still get some floaties in your cup.  I don't really have a problem with them, but if you do and you want a really smooth-brewed looseleaf tea, you should try this method.  I'm going to use my french press in the same way I would with coffee, but to make looseleaf tea instead.


If you are still confused with how to use a french press, you can check out this video or these if you prefer reading instructions. 


What you need:

-French press (you can get these at target or cheaper on amazon) 
-Desired amount of water brought to a boil (plug-in tea kettle or stove top tea pot)
-Looseleaf tea of your choice
-Good size mug
-Any other ingredients you desire (sweeteners)


DO IT YOURSELF:


Get out your looseleaf tea of choice and pour your desired amount into your french press.  I'm going to use my Darling Darjeeling tea.  If you want to know the facts behind this tea check out my blog post on it.

Now that you have your tea in there, boil some water.  I like to use my trusty plug-in tea kettle that heats up water in a matter of twenty seconds.  You can get one for super cheap at Walmart.

After your water is boiled, pour it into your french press and put the lid on it, but don't press it yet.  Let it sit for a few minutes.

After a few minutes, use the lever on the lid to press down the leaves to the bottom of the container.

After you press the leaves to the bottom, pour your tea into your tea cup.

After your tea is poured, add whatever else you want and stir.  I like to add some honey to my cup.

There you have it. I really hope you enjoy it!  This was my first time making a cup of tea this way and I already absolutely love it.  Using a french press, especially for tea, is wonderful because it presses nutrients out of the leaves and into the water for you to drink.  You get a lot more nutrients and antioxidants this way compared to a regular tea bag. Try it out.  You may find you love it as much as I do.

Kayla