Why does my tea have no flavor

[ACardAttack]

I really did not know where to put this because I am having issues with all my loose tea, black, oolong, white and green....but lets let this concern with black tea mostly, unless you have something to say about the others, but I'm mostly sticking with Black since this is the black tea forum

But like the topic says, my tea has NO flavor other than water, ive done everything, I have tired using 1tsp per cup, to 1.5 tsp per cup. I have put my tea in a tea ball, I have also let the tea lay loose in the cup and then strained it out so the tea had more room to expand. I have let it steep from anywhere from 5min like it said on the package to even 30minuets (I like strong tea), I have used filtered, bottled and tap water nothing....it just tastes like hot water with a nice smell. I can put sugar in it and then it tastes good, but then each type tastes the same, like sugar water with a nice smell. I have had success with tea bags, but cant have any with loose tea. I dont let the water boil long, once it goes to a full boil i take i turn off the heat and pour it over my tea in my cup.

So what could I possibly be doing wrong, I dont think its the tea I ordered from adagio, and its different flavors, so its not like I just got one bad container of a certain tea

any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Wesli]

1-1.5tsp per cup is way too little for you.

I would normally suggest twice that, but for you I recommend 2-3 times. And if you can't taste that, then fill your teapot half-way up with leaf, and the rest of the way with water. Then get help.

[Trioxin]

Try a cooked pu-erh. I'm quite positive you'd be able to taste that.

[chrl42]

I really did not know where to put this because I am having issues with all my loose tea, black, oolong, white and green....but lets let this concern with black tea mostly, unless you have something to say about the others, but I'm mostly sticking with Black since this is the black tea forum

But like the topic says, my tea has NO flavor other than water, ive done everything, I have tired using 1tsp per cup, to 1.5 tsp per cup. I have put my tea in a tea ball, I have also let the tea lay loose in the cup and then strained it out so the tea had more room to expand. I have let it steep from anywhere from 5min like it said on the package to even 30minuets (I like strong tea), I have used filtered, bottled and tap water nothing....it just tastes like hot water with a nice smell. I can put sugar in it and then it tastes good, but then each type tastes the same, like sugar water with a nice smell. I have had success with tea bags, but cant have any with loose tea. I dont let the water boil long, once it goes to a full boil i take i turn off the heat and pour it over my tea in my cup.

So what could I possibly be doing wrong, I dont think its the tea I ordered from adagio, and its different flavors, so its not like I just got one bad container of a certain tea

any help will be greatly appreciated.

That's quite a news to me, using full boiling water, 1 spoon and steep for 5 mins and no taste.

When things like this happen, I would narrow down to 3 for reason.

Tea, teapot or tongue.

[zipflint]

A cold will do that, as will certain medications. I'm on chemo and it certainly screws up my sense of taste.

[rodstnmn]

Are you using the best quality spring water you can find in your area?

[Intuit]

I suggest using filtered tap water. Spring water isn't regulated by the USEPA (it is, however, by certain states that require source and analysis information be included on the label). Therefore, it can have dissolved solids (salts) that interfere with the extraction process, wherein saponin-like salts form a scum on the surface of brewed tea, ruining the flavor of the more delicate types.

You need to prepare tea properly, according to the type. Some tightly rolled/furled or thickly leaved black (oxidized) varietals require hotter temps and longer extraction time than others (green, relatively unoxidized teas) with delicate leaves - they need less heat and far less extraction time, else you will be extracting bitter-tasting flavor components and compromising tea extract quality.

Make certain that your tea is relatively fresh (less than 10 months after opening), has been stored correctly. Low quality and old tea is basically tasteless, no matter how you prepare it.

Tea that is overbrewed has an acidic, slightly sour flavor.

If you have too little tea to steep, you get very dilute extractions with essentially no flavor. Ditto if your infusion period is too short.

If you are a smoker, have had oral cavity infections, or have genetic problems with your sense of smell and taste, tea might seem bland, even when properly selected and prepared.

But I think that is not the case here. Agreed with a previous poster who points out that you are preparing a very weak infusion. Won't matter how long you let it brew, its little better than colored hot water!

[tenuki]

go back to drinking coffee.

[Love4TheLeaf]

When I first tried tea, I had kind of the same experience. Tea can be more subtle than much more strongly flavored beverages. If you're used to coffee or soda,it may take a while for your taste to adapt to the more subtle flavors of tea.

[RayCho]

I really did not know where to put this because I am having issues with all my loose tea, black, oolong, white and green....but lets let this concern with black tea mostly, unless you have something to say about the others, but I'm mostly sticking with Black since this is the black tea forum

But like the topic says, my tea has NO flavor other than water, ive done everything, I have tired using 1tsp per cup, to 1.5 tsp per cup. I have put my tea in a tea ball, I have also let the tea lay loose in the cup and then strained it out so the tea had more room to expand. I have let it steep from anywhere from 5min like it said on the package to even 30minuets (I like strong tea), I have used filtered, bottled and tap water nothing....it just tastes like hot water with a nice smell. I can put sugar in it and then it tastes good, but then each type tastes the same, like sugar water with a nice smell. I have had success with tea bags, but cant have any with loose tea. I dont let the water boil long, once it goes to a full boil i take i turn off the heat and pour it over my tea in my cup.

So what could I possibly be doing wrong, I dont think its the tea I ordered from adagio, and its different flavors, so its not like I just got one bad container of a certain tea

any help will be greatly appreciated.

I buy many teas from China and Local shops, and I think that globaly the quality is no more good as before.
First like you I thought it would be something wrong with me, but then I brought tea from TK Maxx and one organic in transparent plastic bag from Tesco, so there is some good quality teas left but not so many in my opinion.

I think most of teas are washed. I also make kombucha from black and green teas, because of my exp I could tell when something wrong with with the tea or sugar (honey in case of making jun) So the fermentation proccess with bad quality teas ( those days most of the teas ) most of the time is longer with problems.

[tealubish]

I really did not know where to put this because I am having issues with all my loose tea, black, oolong, white and green....but lets let this concern with black tea mostly, unless you have something to say about the others, but I'm mostly sticking with Black since this is the black tea forum

But like the topic says, my tea has NO flavor other than water, ive done everything, I have tired using 1tsp per cup, to 1.5 tsp per cup. I have put my tea in a tea ball, I have also let the tea lay loose in the cup and then strained it out so the tea had more room to expand. I have let it steep from anywhere from 5min like it said on the package to even 30minuets (I like strong tea), I have used filtered, bottled and tap water nothing....it just tastes like hot water with a nice smell. I can put sugar in it and then it tastes good, but then each type tastes the same, like sugar water with a nice smell. I have had success with tea bags, but cant have any with loose tea. I dont let the water boil long, once it goes to a full boil i take i turn off the heat and pour it over my tea in my cup.

So what could I possibly be doing wrong, I dont think its the tea I ordered from adagio, and its different flavors, so its not like I just got one bad container of a certain tea

any help will be greatly appreciated.

I've had the same issue. Lets enphasize, it's a lose leaf issue. As you point out, it doesn't happen with the tea bags usually. I suspect the lose leaf ones are not kept properly or have stocks mismanaged so that we end up receiving old flavorless tea. I got lucky with the gunpowder variety. Pretty rich flavor and smell. Mao Feng though have been a disappointment. It's crazy you just can't find that strong with a caffeine kick you get from a starbucks green tea for example. I wish they'd sell lose leaf tea, I'd pay top dollar to have that like some will do for their coffee. They actually started selling some teavana, but it's all these silly fruity stuff and tiny amounts, plus I don't think it's loose leaf.
If anyone can recommend a very strong Mao Feng or China Green loose leaf, I'd appreciate.

[KingLion]

I really did not know where to put this because I am having issues with all my loose tea, black, oolong, white and green....but lets let this concern with black tea mostly, unless you have something to say about the others, but I'm mostly sticking with Black since this is the black tea forum

But like the topic says, my tea has NO flavor other than water, ive done everything, I have tired using 1tsp per cup, to 1.5 tsp per cup. I have put my tea in a tea ball, I have also let the tea lay loose in the cup and then strained it out so the tea had more room to expand. I have let it steep from anywhere from 5min like it said on the package to even 30minuets (I like strong tea), I have used filtered, bottled and tap water nothing....it just tastes like hot water with a nice smell. I can put sugar in it and then it tastes good, but then each type tastes the same, like sugar water with a nice smell. I have had success with tea bags, but cant have any with loose tea. I dont let the water boil long, once it goes to a full boil i take i turn off the heat and pour it over my tea in my cup.

So what could I possibly be doing wrong, I dont think its the tea I ordered from adagio, and its different flavors, so its not like I just got one bad container of a certain tea

any help will be greatly appreciated.

I've had the same issue. Lets enphasize, it's a lose leaf issue. As you point out, it doesn't happen with the tea bags usually. I suspect the lose leaf ones are not kept properly or have stocks mismanaged so that we end up receiving old flavorless tea. I got lucky with the gunpowder variety. Pretty rich flavor and smell. Mao Feng though have been a disappointment. It's crazy you just can't find that strong with a caffeine kick you get from a starbucks green tea for example. I wish they'd sell lose leaf tea, I'd pay top dollar to have that like some will do for their latte(machines review here). They actually started selling some teavana, but it's all these silly fruity stuff and tiny amounts, plus I don't think it's loose leaf.
If anyone can recommend a very strong Mao Feng or China Green loose leaf, I'd appreciate.

Have you ever tried strong kinds of black or green tea? Got the similar issue and it was helpful