How to Brew Tea: Infuser Mug
Put 3-4g of loose leaf in the basket of a 350ml infuser mug. Pour water at 95-100°C (203-212°F) for black tea, 90-95°C (194-203°F) for oolong or 75-80°C (167-176°F) for green, cover, and steep 3-5 minutes for black, 3-4 for oolong or 2-3 for green. Lift the basket out and rest it on the lid.
An infuser mug is a large mug, usually 300-450ml, with a removable mesh or ceramic basket that sits inside it and a lid that keeps heat in. You brew loose leaf in the basket, then lift it out and set it on the upturned lid. It is Western brewing scaled down to one serving. Infuser mugs became common as loose-leaf tea shops spread in the 2000s and offered a middle ground between tea bags and a full teapot. The key design point is basket size: a basket that reaches near the bottom of the mug and is at least 6cm wide lets the leaf open fully, which small spoon and ball infusers do not. Brewed this way, whole-leaf tea gives a fuller and less astringent cup than the dust and fannings in most tea bags, because larger leaf pieces release flavor more slowly and evenly. Because the basket comes out completely, you control steep time as well as you would in a teapot. It suits nearly every tea: breakfast blends and Earl Grey, Chinese and Japanese greens at lower temperatures, rolled oolongs, white tea and herbal blends. Rolled oolong and green tea can be resteeped in the same basket two or three times, adding a minute each round.
Recipe
Teaware
- 350-450ml infuser mug with basket and lid
- Kettle (temperature control helps for green tea)
- Kitchen scale or measuring teaspoon
- Timer
- Small dish for the spent basket if the lid is not designed to hold it
- Soft brush for cleaning the mesh
Steps
- 1
Heat the water
Heat about 400ml of fresh water to 95-100°C for black tea, 90-95°C for oolong, 85°C for white or 75-80°C for green.
Heating a little extra lets you warm the mug first.
- 2
Warm the mug
Swirl some hot water in the mug for 10 seconds and pour it out.
A cold stoneware mug drops the water temperature by several degrees.
- 3
Add the leaf
Put 3-4g of leaf in the basket and set the basket in the mug.
Use 3g for dense leaf like Assam or gunpowder green; use 4g for bulky leaf like white tea or Darjeeling.
- 4
Pour and cover
Fill the mug to the line, about 350ml, so the leaf is fully submerged, and put the lid on.
Leaf above the water line does not brew; top up if the basket sits high.
- 5
Steep
Steep black tea 3-5 minutes, oolong 3-4 minutes, white 4-5 minutes, green 2-3 minutes, herbal 5-7 minutes.
Lift the basket once halfway through and lower it again to circulate the water.
- 6
Remove the basket
Lift the basket out, let it drip for 3 seconds and set it on the upturned lid.
Do not press the leaf against the mesh; that squeezes out bitter tannins.
- 7
Resteep
For whole-leaf green, oolong or white tea, return the basket for a second steep of 1 minute longer than the first.
Most rolled oolongs give 2-3 good mugs from the same 4g.
Tips
- Black tea: 3g, 95-100°C, 3-5 min. Green tea: 3g, 75-80°C, 2-3 min. Oolong: 4g, 90-95°C, 3-4 min. White: 4g, 85°C, 4-5 min.
- Choose a mug whose basket reaches at least two-thirds of the way down; shallow baskets give weak tea at the bottom.
- Fine-mesh stainless steel holds back rooibos and fine Japanese green tea particles better than coarse mesh or plastic.
- For a stronger cup, add leaf rather than time; extra time adds bitterness faster than flavor.
- Rinse the basket right after use; dried leaf in the mesh is much harder to clean.
Common Mistakes
- Leaving the basket in while you drink — the tea keeps extracting and turns bitter; remove it at the end of the steep.
- Under-filling the mug — leaf sitting above the water does not brew; fill to submerge the basket.
- Using a tiny ball infuser instead of a full basket — leaf cannot expand and the tea comes out thin.
- Squeezing the leaf with a spoon — it adds bitterness and pushes fine particles through the mesh.
- Using boiling water for every tea — green and white teas scorch; match temperature to the leaf.