There’s nothing more luxurious feeling than selecting your own herbs from a shop or foraging for them in the wild, grinding them up, and making your own special loose-leaf tea blend.
Or maybe you’ve been gifted a special blend of tea that doesn’t come in a tea bag. Don’t let that stop you from enjoying your special tea!
Here are five simple methods to make your own tea without the need for a tea bag:
1. Use a Kitchen Strainer
The first method is the simplest and requires nothing more than a pot of boiling water, your herbs or loose-leaf tea, and a kitchen strainer. This means something like a fine mesh strainer that is dense enough to hold in the herbs, yet porous enough to allow the flavor to infuse.
First, fill a pot with water as well as the tea and bring it to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, slowly pour it over your strainer directly into a serving cup. Make sure you’re careful with this process as the water can be very hot and cause burns or splashes.
2. Use Cheesecloth
Cheesecloth is great for steeping loose-leaf tea and is even reusable if you’re careful with it. You can create an infuser pouch by cutting down a 3 by 3 inch square out of the tea pouch and filling it with loose tea. Then use a piece of string to tie off the pouch and hold it together.
Don’t have a string? Then tie a knot in the cheesecloth itself. Place the pouch in a cup and slowly pour boiling water on top of it. Steep for as long as the tea brew requires and remove the pouch before drinking.
3. Use a French Press
A french press is a great way to brew tea because it can provide a fine strain that holds in even very small pieces of herbs. It’s also one of the least messy ways of brewing tea.
Simply fill the press with the loose tea and hot water, stir it gently, then plunge when finished steeping. If you’re making black tea or green tea, finish by pouring the finished tea into another container to avoid over-steeping the brew.
If you’re using herbal tea, feel free to let it steep longer and remain pressed at the bottom of the container.
Don’t have a french press? If you happen to have a pour-over coffee maker, you can use that instead. The process is the same, but it will give a slightly different and ligher flavor profile to your tea.
4. Use a Drip Coffee Machine
If you have a coffee machine and a coffee filter available, you can brew the tea leaves right in the same drip machine. This is an especially good method if you’re making a big batch of tea and want to keep it warm while drinking.
Simply fill up the filter with your loose tea, then place it into the machine as usual. Turn on the machine and let the hot water come out over the leaves and drip directly.
You can also use a coffee filter itself in a similar method to the first on this list. But instead of using a fine mesh strainer, you just pour the tea over the coffee filter that is placed in a mug.
5. Try the Double Cup Method
The double cup method is effortless and available to anyone, regardless of their kitchenware. All you need are two mugs and a cup, et voila! You’re ready for straining.
Before you begin your tea-making journey, make sure to have two mugs on hand – one for pouring in the loose leaf and hot water, and another mug that is clean and ready to be used as a filter once brewed.
When pouring the tea from one clean mug to another, partially insert a cup in between them. Doing so will form an effective barrier that will prevent any loose leaf particles from entering your beverage.
This method can be messy if you’re not careful, so you may want to practice the first few times over the sink. Also, be careful not to burn your hands with hot water.
The Bottom Line: How to Make Tea Without Teabags
If you want to brew loose leaf tea without a strainer, it’s definitely possible without needing to purchase a tea infuser or tea pot. You probably have everything you need around your kitchen to make the perfect cup of tea.
What’s your favorite method for making tea without a tea bag? Let me know in the comments below!
