One of the most common questions among tea drinkers is whether one can reuse the tea leaves. While this question is simple, the right answer depends on several factors. In this article we will discuss whether reusing tea is actually ok for tea bags versus tea leaves, and whether it’s possible to reuse it right after the first steep, or even the next day. At last, we will also discuss how to store tea for next day use.
Reusing Tea Leaves vs Tea Bags
Both tea in form of loose tea or a tea bag are made from the same ingredient. Yet, this distinction is still important. Tea bags contain crushed tea, which often release pretty much all their flavour in a single steep. Unless, you can still enjoy a very light next brew, reusing a tea bag is pointless. Instead, it would make more sense to use a larger brewing vessel, so you make more tea in a single brew.
Then the question is: Can you reuse loose leaf tea? This will depend on the leaf characteristics. If your loose tea consists of crushed tea, then it will also release its flavour in a single steep. Thus, like a tea bag, it will be pointless to re-steep the tea. If the loose tea consists of whole leaves or buds, then it’s definitely recommended to reuse.
Recommended: read in this article about the history of tea and how the tea bag was invented: History of Tea in China & How It Spread Across The World.
How Often To Reuse Leaves?
How often one can reuse loose leaf tea will depend on the leaf characteristics, tea-to-water ratio, and the temperature applied to brew the tea.
Here’s what’s important when it comes to leaf characteristics:
- Small leaves: if your tea consists of small leaves, it will release more flavour at once. Hence, you can reuse it less often.
- Large leaves: if you tea consists of large leaves, the release less flavour at once. So it can be reused more often.
- Buds: tea buds contain a lot of flavour, and thus can be reused. Also often times they're steeped at lower temperatures so that less flavour is released at once.
When it comes to tea-to-water ratio, the idea is simple. In traditional ceremonial style brewing, tea enthusiasts often use a lot of tea relative to the amount of water. In such case very short steeping times of just a few seconds are applied. In such case, the same tea leaves can be reused very often, sometimes up to 12 times.
Regarding temperature, some tea types often are steeped with lower temperatures. For example, green teas are often steeped at around 80ºC (175ºF), and as a result less flavour is extracted at once. Since more flavour is left in the tea, it can definitely be reused! With green tea, the grandpa method is often applied for re-steeping.
Can You Reuse Tea Leaves The Next Day?
Before we answer this question, we would like to state that reusing tea leaves the next day is generally not recommended. Whether or not the tea would still be drinkable, the flavour will never be as good as when you steep it fresh.
That said, let’s answer the question ‘can you reuse loose tea leaves the next day?’
This depends on whether we are talking about ‘pure tea’ made from the Camellia Sinensis tea plant, or whether it’s a herbal tea or tea blend. With herbal tea, we can’t answer the question, because it really depends on what herb is used for the tea. With tea blends, it’s the same, because it depends on all the individual ingredients used in the tea. Often times, some fruits and flowers used in blends can’t be reused the next day. So if you are not sure, it’s better to assume that next day brewing is not possible for the sake of your health.
Now with pure teas, reusing the leaves the next day is actually possible, given that it is stored correctly. Let’s discuss how it should be stored in the next section!
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How to Store Loose Leaf Tea for Reuse
To allow for next day reuse, make sure that no liquid is left in a brewing vessel. To do this, simply pour out all the tea that’s still inside, and wait until last drop comes out of the teapot. This makes sure the tea doesn’t continue to release flavour when it’s stored.
Afterwards, remove the lid from the teapot and let it steam out and cool down.
When the tea is at room temperature, you can now put back the lid, and store the teapot in the fridge.
How to Reuse Loose Tea Leaves
The next day, you can take out the teapot and check if the content is still ok (this is likely the case).
Let the teapot somewhat warm up to room temperature. If you don’t do this, the teapot is too cold, and when you pour hot water in it, the water will cool down too fast.
Now pour hot water inside the teapot, and apply your preferred steeping temperature and steeping time. We generally recommend to apply the same temperature as your first steep, but increase the steeping time so that you can extract a proper amount of flavour.
That’s it. Feel free to comment, ask questions or share your thoughts/experiences in the comment section below!