You would never leave a cake in the oven long past the recommended time. The same logic holds true when steeping your tea leaves.

If you leave the leaves in the water too long, almost all teas will become very bitter.

We recommend:

• Steeping your tea in an infusing basket or mug infuser, and then simply removing the whole basket and leaves at the right time.
• Steeping your tea in T-sacs. They're great because you can pre-fill them, steep on-demand, and then simply pull out the t-sac and tea leaves at the same time.
• Steeping your tea directly in a mug or teapot and then pouring and straining the steeped tea into a second pot or cup when the time comes.

Using a steeping device or process that allows you to separate the leaves from the liquid at the right time is essential.

Thanks for joining us on our Seven Steps to Great Tea series. We hope this helps!