Comments on: Boiling Water for Tea: Bubbles and Steam

By: Mighty Leaf

Mighty Leaf — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:50:20 +0000

Once the water is fully boiled it is deoxygenated and becomes flat and stale. So, the same would apply if you simmered the water after already boiling it. There is no harm in drinking the water, but the flavor experience when tasting the tea is not going to be as robust and nuanced. The key is to take the water off the heat before it reaches a rolling boil.

By: Marion

Marion — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:01:44 +0000

If boiled water is kept on “simmer”; does it become deoxygenated?
If so, is there any harm or negatives?

By: Mighty Leaf

Mighty Leaf — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:51:36 +0000

Thanks for your feedback and the catch. You are correct in that you don’t want to add boiling water to mate. 175 F or so is the ideal temperature for brewing mate. We have some herbal infusions that contain some mate in addition to other herbals where we recommend that you might want to brew at a higher temp to get the herbals properly steeped.

By: Javier Areta

Javier Areta — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:47:45 +0000

Being an Argentinean and a mate aficionado I strongly disagree with the fact that boiling water should be used at boiling temperature. Indeed exceeding 176 F makes the first couple of mates very strong (too bitter) and the ones after them flavorless (or washed). Boiling water causes what is called “burning” the mate leaves, causing the distinctive flavor of mate to disappear and making it way too bitter, even for the strongest of the palates.
Other than that, which should be of marginal interest for tea lovers, I found this note very interesting and colorful. Nice to know there are names for the stages of heated water. I personally use the sound, that also depends on factors like water hardness and volume, but once you get used to the sound of your kettle, no need for fancier (or more expensive) methods are required.

By: Jason Witt

Jason Witt — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:43:25 +0000

Thanks for a good description of how to watch for those bubbles rising. I currently use a variable-temp kettle and it's served me pretty well but now I drink mostly Puerh and don't want to sample other teas very much anymore. In the future I'd like to be able to just watch the water and know what temperature is right to steep the tea by eye. --Spirituality of Tea