Why your tea tastes bitter – and 3 easy ways to fix it

Have you ever made a cup of tea that looks beautiful, but when you take a sip, you grimace in response to the harsh, bitter flavour?

If your tea tastes unpleasantly bitter, it may not be a problem with the tea itself. It could simply be that your infusion is out of balance.

What is bitterness?

People often associate 'bitterness' with 'unpleasantness'. And it’s true, bitterness can be a sharp and bracing flavour experience.

But there’s more to it than that. 

Bitter is one of the five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, acidic and umami. Examples of foods with a strong bitter taste are olives, coffee (when plain, nothing added), dark chocolate, silverbeet, broccoli, cabbage.  

In the right amount, bitterness brings balance. It can lift a flavour profile, making a food taste more refined, refreshing and complete. Without bitterness, foods can feel flat, or overly sweet or rich. When bitterness is balanced with other tastes such as sweet and/or acid for example – it adds complexity and contrast to food, making it more interesting and satisfying to eat or drink.

Bitterness can also be a clue to a food’s health properties as polyphenols and phytonutrients in tea, vegetables and some fruits have a bitter flavour.

In tea, bitterness can add structure and sophistication to the infusion. It can make the tea’s flavour feel cleaner, brighter and more balanced. 

Too much though and it tips into unpleasantness.

Bitterness and astringency

When drinking tea, bitterness can easily be confused with astringency, but they are two different things.

Bitterness is a taste.

Astringency is a sensation or ‘mouthfeel’.  

Astringency comes from tannins or polyphenols in food and drinks that interact with proteins in your saliva, creating a dry, rough sensation in your mouth [1]. Your cheeks, tongue and gums can feel slightly ‘grippy’ or tight. You can feel this after a few glasses of red wine. 

Both can happen at the same time, which is why they are often confused.

So if your tea tastes too bitter, what can you do?

The three most common reasons a tea tastes unpleasantly bitter are:

1). Water too hot
2). Steeped for too long
3). Too much leaf

Here’s what you can do to fix these:

1.       Lower your water temperature.

While most kettles heat to boiling point, most teas are best steeped in water that isn’t boiling. Black teas are best in water between 90 – 100°C ; green teas suit much lower temperatures – typically between 80 – 85°C; and oolongs and white teas are in between. Cooler water creates a smoother, more mellow and rounded flavour.

If you don’t have a variable temperature kettle, open the kettle lid once the water has boiled, and leave it for 30 seconds for black and oolong, or 1½ minutes green and white, or simply add a splash of cold water to your leaves when pouring the boiling water over them.

2.       Reduce your steep time, and use a timer

Over-brewing your tea is one of the most common ways to turn your tea unpleasantly bitter. A helpful starting point is a 3-minute steep-time, but you can reduce this to 2 minutes if you like a lighter flavour. Always remove all of the liquor from the leaves (large teapots can make this tricky) once they're steeped.

It's a good idea to use a timer so you don’t get distracted and forget about your tea.

3.       Reduce your leaf volume

I recommend using 3 grams of tea leaves per 150 ml of hot water. This equals roughly one level teaspoon for a small/broken leaf tea or a bead-style oolong, or two teaspoons for a large, whole leaf tea. If you want to be precise, grab some kitchen scales.

Sometimes though, no matter how careful you are with your tea prep, your tea still tastes too bitter. This can be a result of a lower grade tea that is old and may not have been stored well. This often happens with mass produced green tea, where more mature leaves are harvested, and they then sit for too long before they're used (green teas are typically best within 18 months of harvest). Sadly, there’s not much you can do to revive the flavour of a tea in this state.

If your tea tastes bitter, don't give up on it too quickly. A few small adjustments to water temperature, steep time and leaf volume can transform the cup. When bitterness is kept in balance, it can reward you with a well-structured, satisfying cup of tea. 

~ Anna x