What are the common misunderstandings about brewing black tea?
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Japan is a green-tea country, but black tea (kōcha, 紅茶) is firmly part of daily life too, and we get many questions — from how to use a tea bag to the so-called "golden rules". Japanese tap water is soft, which happens to suit black tea. Here are the basics, with that point included.
The basics (general guidance from the UK Tea & Infusions Association and the Japan Tea Association)
| Item | Guide | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Water | Freshly drawn tap water (soft), used just after it boils | Water that still holds air moves the leaves. Avoid re-boiling |
| Water temperature | 95–100°C | Black tea releases its aroma and compounds at high temperature (the opposite of green tea) |
| Amount of leaf | One teaspoon (2.5–3 g) per cup (150 mL) | — |
| Steeping time | Small (broken) leaf 2–3 minutes, large (whole) leaf 3–4 minutes. Tea bag 1–2 minutes | Too short is weak, too long is astringent |
| Pot | Warm it first (fill with hot water, then pour it away) | Stops the temperature dropping |
| Milk | Milk at room temperature. First or after is a matter of taste (the Royal Society of Chemistry once published a light-hearted paper recommending "milk first", but it is not an official standard) | — |
| Storage | Once opened: airtight, dark, room temperature; use up within a few months | Moisture and light carry the aroma away |
- Japanese tap water is mostly soft, with a hardness of around 30–80 mg/L. It is generally described as giving black tea a bright liquor colour and a good aroma. With hard European water (over 200 mg/L), the colour comes out darker and tends to cloud.
- Black tea contains about 30 mg of caffeine per 100 mL of infusion (Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan). That is about half of coffee (about 60 mg) and slightly more than green tea (about 20 mg).
- Do not squeeze the tea bag: squeezing releases the astringent compounds. Shake it lightly and lift it out.
[Verify] Check the caffeine figures against the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (8th revised edition), and the water hardness against water-quality data from the Tokyo Metropolitan Waterworks Bureau or similar.
Misunderstanding 1｜Pour the water and drink straight away
Steeping for 1–4 minutes is what brings out the aroma and the compounds. Even a tea bag needs 1–2 minutes. Watching the clock is the only real trick.
Misunderstanding 2｜Black tea takes the same water temperature as green tea
Black tea wants water just off the boil; green tea wants 70–80°C (158–176°F) (see our green-tea article). Swap them and the black tea is weak and the green tea is bitter.
Misunderstanding 3｜Milk goes in first — that is the proper way
There is no official right answer. The argument continues even in Britain, and it is a matter of taste. Using milk at room temperature makes more difference to the flavour.
Misunderstanding 4｜Squeeze the tea bag to get everything out
Squeezing releases the astringent compounds. Shake it lightly and lift it out. Do not brew a second cup from it (one brew takes out all the compounds).
Misunderstanding 5｜Tea keeps for years
Once opened, the aroma fades within a few months. Keep it airtight, dark and at room temperature; the fridge causes condensation and dampness. Unopened, follow the best-before date (1–3 years).
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Sources
- Japan Tea Association (日本紅茶協会), "How to brew delicious black tea" [紅茶のおいしい淹れ方]
https://www.tea-a.gr.jp/
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), "Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (8th revised edition), 2023 supplement" [日本食品標準成分表（八訂）増補2023年] (beverages, infusions)
https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/syokuhinseibun/mext_00001.html
- Tokyo Metropolitan Waterworks Bureau, "Water quality data (hardness)" [水質データ（硬度）]
https://www.waterworks.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/suigen/topic/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
About this article
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
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