Why Grandpa Style Tea Brewing Is The Best Way to Enjoy Tea

There are so many different ways to steep your tea: using tea bags, tea steepers for loose leaf tea, but also, using nothing at all!

Introducing grandpa style tea brewing, the tea steeping method that throws your tea directly in your hot water – no strainer necessary!

Here’s how to brew loose leaf tea without an infuser, and why it might be the tea steeping method for you!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

What Is Grandpa Style Tea?

Grandpa style tea is when you add your tea leaves directly to your mug, pouring water directly on top of them.

That means you don’t use any tea bags, or steepers to make your tea!

You can even re-steep the tea leaves as much as you can, constantly adding more water (and even tea leaves) to your mug.

Why So Much Hate Towards Grandpa Tea

A lot of serious tea drinkers will turn their nose up at drinking tea grandpa style, saying that it’s not the “proper” way to enjoy tea… but is there even a proper way to drink tea?

I guess the “proper” way to steep tea is to remove the tea leaves from the water, to stop them from over-steeping.

Grandpa style tea has adopted a negative reputation as a ‘lazy’ way of steeping tea. And I have to agree, it is pretty lazy, but it’s also VERY convenient and simple!

And it’s important to remember there’s no right or wrong way to steep tea. It’s all about finding your favourite way of enjoying your daily cuppa.

Steeping Tea Without A Strainer You Risk The Tea Becoming Too Bitter & Strong

A very valid excuse for not like grandpa tea is that you’re over-steeping the tea leaves.

There’s a reason why tea steeping directions come with a specified steeping time. If you over steep tea, you risk it becoming stronger and more bitter.

And you are indeed over steeping the tea leaves. There’s no way of removing the loose leaf tea from the water before you finish your cup.

So if you’er brewing tea grandpa style, you have to enjoy stronger tasting tea.

Not All Teas Are Meant For Grandpa Style Tea Brewing

As I mentioned, this steeping method isn’t for everyone but it also isn’t for every tea.

Grandpa style tea brewing works very well with most Camellia sinensis teas (white, green, black… see the types of Camellia sinensis teas here) but it doesn’t work for herbal teas.

Grandpa style tea brewing works because the tea leaves fall to the bottom of the mug once steeped.

This doesn’t happen when the tea leaves are too small and light. For example some green teas and herbal teas won’t end up sinking (like mint or camomile).

It also doesn’t work for tea blends that include any floral or fruity pieces (like jasmine green tea). These extra pieces will stay at the top of the water, making it very difficult to drink your tea.

But there are two workarounds for this… which I’ll discuss in a bit!

So Which Teas Are The Best For Grandpa Style Brewing

As I mentioned, teas from Camelia sinensis work best for grandpa style tea brewing.

I find the darker the tea, the better they work for this steeping method (like black tea).

I personally love it for morning brews when I’m still waking up. I pour myself a very strong cup of tea that becomes weaker and weaker as the day goes on!

But brewing tea grandpa style also works very well with white tea. If you’re looking to maximize refills, white tea is the way to go! Depending on the quality of the tea, the flavours change with every steep, but never become too bitter tasting.

Why Grandpa Style Is The Best Way To Brew Tea: The Benefits

Despite some negatives, there are actually a few reasons why grandpa style is the best way to brew loose leaf tea!

It’s Simple & Convenient For At Home, Work, & Travel

Brewing tea grandpa style is so easy there’s really isn’t much to think about!

Let’s be real, drinking loose leaf tea is a hassle! You have to worry about measuring out the right amount of tea, using steepers, cleaning up the steepers afterwards …etc.

When you brew tea grandpa style, there’s none of that! You throw in your tea and forget about it! There’ also nothing extra for you to clean up afterwards, it’s just your mug!

It’s even better for drinking tea at work or on the go! It’s a hassle to drink loose leaf tea at work, so I would bring tea bags out of convenience. But with grandpa style brewing you can enjoy some of your favourite teas at work hassle free!

Offers The Most Strength Flexibility For Your Cup Of Tea

Drinking tea grandpa style gives you the most flexibility to adjust the strength of your tea.

If it’s too strong at first, just add some water. And if it’s too weak, you can very easily add more tea to steep!

Cheaper & Environmentally Friendly Tea Steeping Method

And finally, grandpa style tea brewing is a very cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to make tea!

Think about it, you don’t have to spend on one time use teabags or silicone steepers, and there’s zero waste after!

P.S. an added bonus of not spending on steeping accessories is you can spend your money on better tea! 

How To Make Loose Leaf Tea Without A Strainer: Grandpa Style

When making grandpa style tea, make your tea as you would if you were using any other tea steeping method.

First, you’ll need to boil water to the specific temperature based on to the tea you’re making.

Next add the amount of tea you want to steep to your mug. When your water is ready, simply pour it on top of the tea leaves in your mug.

There’s no need for any steepers, filters, or strainers when brewing grandpa style tea. You also don’t need to pay attention to steeping times because there’s no way of stopping the infusion – the tea leaves are directly in the water.

Tips For How To Brew Loose Leaf Tea Without An Infuser

Although making tea grandpa style is very simple, there are a few tricks to make your tea drinking experience even better!

How To Avoid Ingesting Loose Tea Leaves?

As I mentioned, the leaves will float for bit before they start expanding and eventually sink to the bottom.

For the most part, you won’t have any issues when drinking your tea.

But, if you want to drink a tea grandpa style that doesn’t sink well, you can use a bombilla. A bombilla is traditionally used to brew yerba mate tea (see what that is in my post here).

A bombilla is a straw that has a strainer at the bottom, so no tea leaves can get through! Shop a bombilla straw on Amazon here.

Plus a side benefit of using a bombilla is that you don’t stain your teeth!

How To Avoid Brewing Very Strong Tea

If you’re worried about brewing a really strong cup of tea, start using less tea leaves and less water. You can always add more water if it is too strong or you can add tea leaves if it’s too weak.

If you do add new leaves, make sure to reboil the water and pour it over the new leaves quickly. This way the new leaves will mix better with the old leaves.

How To Make Tea Loose Leaf – Tips For Refilling

When you brew tea grandpa style, try not to finish your mug completely.

I try to leave 1/3 of my mug full when I refill. Otherwise, the tea will be very light when you refill it with more water.

Shop Grandpa Tea Brewing Must-Haves On Amazon

Related Posts!

• How To Switch From Tea Bags To Loose Leaf Tea
• The Tea Basics: The Different Types of Tea
• A Look At Gongfu Cha: Why It’s The Best Way to Enjoy Tea

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Last update on 2024-12-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API