Dancing Water

One mistake a lot of novice tea drinkers make is that they don't use the proper temperature water. Not all teas should be made with boiling water. While black teas enjoy that rolling boil, greens and whites certainly do not. The more delicate green and white teas prefer their water to be between 170-180 F.Oolongs are generally a bit higher at 180-190 F while black and most herbal teas can take the 208-212 of a full boil.

When I learned about these facts about water temperature my first though was, "Thank goodness I love black teas-no need to worry about temperature". My next thought was "How the heck do you figure out what the exact water temperature is?"

One way to make certain that you're heating your water to the correct temperature is to use a tea kettle with a digital temperature display. Set the machine for the temperature you want and it will click let you know when that temperature is reached.

However, you don't need a fancy machine-you can use a clear tea kettle and the water itself will tell you when it's ready. Watch the kettle. When little bubbles start to form you're ready for green teas. When the bubbles start bouncing a bit more, it's time for your oolongs. When the water hits that rolling boil the whistle will probably start to chirp announcing that it's time for black tea.

Honestly I use my inexpensive clear kettle more than my digital one. Waiting for the water to come to the proper temperature is a meditative process and it's fun to watch the water dance.