Can I make dark tea with samovar?
Yes, you can make dark tea in a samovar. To do so, just follow the directions above.
Should I buy loose tea leaves or tea cakes to make dark tea?
You can buy whichever you prefer. The leaves in tea cake will loosen once you pour boiling water over them. Just make sure that you buy a quality product to have an enjoyable dark tea.
Does dark tea help bowel movement?
As a stimulating warm drink, dark tea helps encourage bowel movement for many people.
dark tea recipe
Summary: Have you ever tried dark tea, hei cha? Here is the double tea kettle recipe for the most flavorful and warm dark tea, which you can also use to make pu-erh tea.
Tags: Dark tea recipe
Dark tea is a type of tea made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, the same plant that black and green tea are obtained from. As you probably know, black tea is made from fully fermented and oxidized leaves of Camellia sinensis while green tea is not fermented at all, and there are white, yellow, and oolong teas between the two with different fermentation and oxidation levels. Dark tea comes later than black tea in this scale and is known as post-fermented tea.It is made of fully oxidized and fermented Camellia sinensis leaves which then undergo an aging process from several months to many years.
Dark tea is sometimes called “pu-erh tea”. However, this is not a correct naming. Pu-erh tea is just one of the many types of dark tea, and produced only in Yunnan province of China. So, it is better not to use the name “pu-erh tea” while referring to dark tea.
Another confusion over the name of dark tea arises from the fact that the symbol used for dark tea in Chinese can be translated into English both as black and dark. What we call “black tea” is called “red tea” in China due to the color of its infusion. On the other hand, what we call “dark tea” in this blog is called “black tea” in some regions of China, and “dark tea” in others. It is better to call post-fermented leaves of Camellia sinensis “dark tea” instead of “black tea” to avoid any confusion.
Dark tea has a strong malty flavor with some earthy fragrance. However, it is not bitter as many think. As for caffeine content, dark tea has a fair amount of caffeine, similar to black tea. Other nutritional benefits of dark tea are similar to other types of teas obtained from Camellia sinensis, which you can learn by clicking on this link.
Dark tea is traditionally brewed using a single teapot. However, the recipe below describes how to make dark tea using a double tea kettle. Making dark tea in a double tea kettle yields more flavorful tea that is warmer for a longer time compared to traditional single teapot brewing. You can refer to our related blog following this link to learn more about the different tea brewing methods in the world.
We should mention one last point before moving on to the dark tea recipe below. You should pay close attention to the quality of tea leaves and water to experience a pleasant tea journey for any type of tea you are making. So, you should use quality tea leaves and distilled or bottled water if your tap water is low quality. Otherwise, you may have an unpleasant tea experience.
Now, let’s move on to the dark tea recipe below and enjoy the process of making tea in a double tea kettle!
Ingredients
85 oz (2.5 L) water (27 oz for brewing tea), filtered or bottled if tap water is of poor quality
20 g dark tea leaves for 27 oz (800 mL) boiling water
A double tea kettle
Some honey or sugar (optional)
Some lemon juice or slices (optional)
Directions
Add water to the lower kettle, and put it on the stove to boil. The amount of water should be at least at the capacity of the upper teapot since we will use this water to steep dark tea leaves.
Once the water is boiled, add dark tea leaves to the upper teapot and pour the boiling water over it. The amount of water you pour should be 27 oz (0.8 L) if you have put 20 grams of tea leaves. If your teapot is larger and you want to make more tea, increase the amount of water and tea leaves accordingly.
Add more water into the lower kettle, put it on the stove to boil, place the upper teapot over it, and close its lid.
Once the water is boiled, wait 10-15 minutes for tea leaves to release all their flavors into the water. You can check whether the tea is brewed sufficiently by opening the lid and observing the tea leaves. The tea is ready to drink if the leaves have completely sunk to the bottom. If not, wait some more because brewing time can change depending on the tea leaves.
Once the tea is ready, prepare the teacups and pour the infusion in the upper teapot as much as you want, and then fill the rest of the cup with the boiling water from the bottom kettle. You can adjust the hardness of dark tea by adjusting the amount of infusion you pour into the teacups.
Your dark tea is ready! Please be careful while drinking it since it will be hotter than the dark tea brewed in a single teapot. Also you may try drinking after it gets cool as some people prefer.
Enjoy your teatime!
Nutrition Facts
RECIPE NOTE FOR DARK TEA:
Please keep in mind that you can change the amounts of tea leaves mentioned above according to your preference. The more tea leaves you add, the stronger the tea becomes, and vice versa. On the other hand, you can also adjust the hardness of your tea by adding some hot water from the lower kettle to the infusion while filling the teacup.
HOW TO SERVE DARK TEA:
Dark tea is traditionally served in a porcelain teacup with a saucer. You can also offer some honey or lemon along with it depending on the preference. A sweet cookie or a cake goes very well with dark tea.
HOW TO DRINK DARK TEA:
You can drink dark tea warm, which I believe is the best way of drinking a soothing beverage. However, you should also know that many people wait until dark tea gets completely cool before drinking.
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