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Welcome to my look at making the perfect cup of elderflower tea. Perfect being a relative term because what is perfect for me may not be for you.
Use this article as a starting point for finding your own personal perfection.
How To Make Elderflower Tea? Use Good Quality Spring Water And 2 Teaspoons Of Elderflowers. Steep Your Elderflower Tea 5-10 Minute At Roughly 95°C/203°F. Always Steep Your Tea Covered.
Read on to discover a more in-depth look at what makes a great cup of elderflower tea. If you enjoy elderflower tea then check out some other great herbal flower infusions in our article here.
What You Need To Make Elderflower Tea
Before we get to the steeping process we need to make sure that we have a few things to ensure that we get a great cup of elderflower tea.
I used Starwest Botanicals Organic Elderflowers for this article.
These are basic but often overlooked concepts that can really make a difference in the steeping process.
By steeping properly you are going to get the best possible flavor for your elderflower tea. You can check out our full flavor profile of elderflower tea right here.
The Right Water For Elderflower Tea
Good-Quality spring water is probably going to be your best best for steeping your Elderflower tea. The balanced pH will ensure that the flavors of the tea really shine through.
An alternative is filtered tap water. Once you filter out the minerals the water is pretty balanced and will give you a nice cup of Elderflower tea for the most part.
This is not always the case as tap water varies wildly from region to region but once filtered it makes a pretty good option for your tea.
Distilled water will typically make your tea taste pretty bland or flat. I would recommend avoiding it for Elderflower tea.
Tea Infuser? Yes or No?
Another decision that you need to make when Steven your elderflower tea is whether or not to use an infuser.
The issue with tea infusers is that they are typically very small and don’t let the flowers of the elderflower plant really expand and release their flavor.
I’ve used infusers to steep this to you before and it hasn’t really been much of an issue but or some teas, especially green tea, you want the leaves to really expand and release their flavor so using an infuser might not be the best option.
Is Bagged Tea Ok To Use For Elderflower Tea?
Another option is to use bagged tea for your elderflower tea. This is probably the most common way that people steep their tea these days. You can find most types of tea whether their herbal infusions or true teas in a bag forum.
Typically bags are perfect for a quick cup of tea. They’re pre-measured they’re easy to dispose of once you’re done and they’re incredibly convenient.
What you want to look out for with bad teeth is what the bag is actually made of. Be sure to find teas that are in unbleached bags so that you’re not getting any artificial flavors or chemicals in with your tea or herbal flowers.
There’s going to be a little bit of trial and error with bagged tea because some brands are going to have a better more consistent flower inside the bag. It’s just something you’ll have to learn as you go along.
But bagged teas are great for making a nice cup of elderflower tea.
Can Loose Elderflowers Be Used?
Another great option is using a dried loose flower elderflower for your tea. This ties into using an infuser since you can put your dried flowers into the infuser and steep it that way.
But in this case, what I’m talking about is just taking the dry flowers and putting them directly into your water.
This is really how I like making my tea for the most part when I’m not using a bagged tea. Basically you measure out the number of flowers that you want for your cup of tea and then you simply drop them into the water.
When your steeping process is done you fish them out with a strainer and go about drinking your tea.
This is for a single-cup of elderflower tea. You can boil a whole pot full of elderflower tea by adding the dry flowers into a pot and boiling it for 7 to 10 minutes then strain it.
In addition, you can also use fresh elderflowers in the same manner. simply dop the correct amount of fresh flowers into your water and steep as normal.
Elderflower Tea Steeping Essentials
These are what I like to call the essentials to make a great cup of elderflower tea.
Now that we have the delivery of the tea settled whether using a bag or an infuser or straight loose leaf and the right water we are ready to get to it.
Let’s check out these essential oils and discover how to make the perfect cup of elderflower tea. With this one caveat. The perfect tea is going to be perfect for only the individual is making it.
If you like your tea a little bit stronger than you want to add more flowers to it that’s perfectly fine because it’s your cup of tea.
Experiment with the amount of tea with the Steep time with the water temperature and find your perfect balance for a cup of elderflower tea that you were going to enjoy Time After Time.
Water Temp For Your Elderflower Tea
Water temperature is something that most people don’t think about when they go to make a cup of tea.
They simply boil the water and then dump the boiling water on to the tea that they’re trying to make.
This is not a great idea. For many true teas, like green tea, this will burn the tea leaves and cause the tea to be bitter and not very drinkable.
This is less of an issue for Herbal flower teas. This is because the flowers are typically hardier than the tea leaves.
For most herbal infusions you can use a little bit hotter water without having to worry about it really affecting the taste of the cup of tea.
For elderflower tea, I recommend a steeping temperature of about 95°C/203°F. This is slightly below boiling so just let the water rest in your cup for a minute before adding your elderflowers.
Here is a quick little Celcius to Fahrenheit conversion tool for finding your temperatures.
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Find Your Perfect Steep Time
Steep time is another one of those often overlooked Essentials to making a great cup of elderflower tea.
Similar to the temperature the time for steeping elderflowers is going to be much longer than for a traditional real tea.
I recommend steeping your elderflower tea anywhere from five to 10 minutes or more depending on your individual taste.
Steeping herbal flour infusions takes much longer than a regular cup of tea. You really need to let the water Infuse with the flowers and drawn all those flavors.
I like to let my elderflower tea steep for about 7 and 1/2 to 8 minutes so I’m a little bit on the high end of the table when it comes to Steve Time.
The only way you’re going to really find your perfect steep time is with a little trial and error and eventually, you’ll find just where you like it.
The Amount Of Elderflower Tea
The amount of tea that you put in is another critical aspect of making a great cup of elderflower tea.
It’s not something you really have to think about if you’re using a bagged tea. The amount in there is going to be perfect for a typical cup of out of flower tea.
If you’re measuring it out yourself you typically want to get about 2 teaspoons of dried flowers for a standard size cup.
But this is one of the areas where it really depends on your individual tastes. For example, I know people who steep a regular cup of green tea with two bags in just a standard size mug.
You can absolutely do that if it fits you a taste.
If you want to use two bags of elderflower tea, go right ahead and do it and make the strong cup of tea that you want.
So I always use about 2 teaspoons as a Baseline and it’s usually what I end up putting in my tea.
But you’ve got to find the perfect amount for you and just use the two teaspoons as a starting point for your cup of elderflower tea.
Always Cover Your Steeping Elderflower Tea
The last essential part of making a great cup of elderflower tea is to cover your tea when it’s steeping.
I cannot stress this enough. Do not leave your tea open while it’s steeping. This is true of elderflower tea and this is true of any tea.
When you choose a steeping temperature you want to try and maintain that temperature as long as you can while sleeping that tea.
If your tea is uncovered you are just letting heat flow out of the tea and into the air. So be sure to cover your tea with just whatever is convenient.
I typically use a saucer at the place on top of the teacup and it works great.
It’s not something that you really think about and it’s not something that a lot of people do when they steep their tea but it has a profound effect on the overall taste of the tea.
Especially for more delicate teas like green tea.
The Ideal Elderflower Tea Steep Recap
- Good Quality Spring Water
- 5-10 Minute Steep
- 2 Teaspoons Of Elderflowers For About A 10oz Cup
- 95°C/203°F Water Temperature
Finishing The Perfect Cup Of Elderflower Tea
And that brings us to the end of our look at how to make a great cup of elderflower tea.
Is it the perfect cup? Well, that depends on your individual tastes.
Don’t take this as the absolute only way to make a cup of elderflower tea. Every metric that I lay down here is for my perfect cup of tea. Because that’s the only way that I know how to make it. And have a taste great for myself.
As I mentioned before, you’ve got to experiment with every little aspect of making you a cup of elderflower tea.
Maybe you prefer using a bagged elderflower to make your cup of tea.
Maybe you like using an infuser or having a longer steep time.
It’s all up to you and ultimately you’ll have to trial and error your way to making that perfect cup of elderflower tea.
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day.