Loose-leaf tea measurements: how many grams per cup?

A teaspoon, two teaspoons, a few grams… When you start preparing loose-leaf tea, one question quickly comes up: how much tea should you really put in a cup?

The dosage directly affects the balance of the infusion. Too few leaves and the cup may seem light or lack character. Too much tea and certain notes can become overpowering.

However, there is a very simple guideline to start with: about 2 grams of tea for a 200 ml cup.

This figure is not an absolute rule. It is mainly a starting point that you can then adapt to your tea, your equipment, and above all, your taste.

The simple guideline: about 2 g for 200 ml

To prepare a classic cup, start with:

2 g of tea for about 200 ml of water.

For a 500 ml teapot, this means about 5 g of leaves.

The goal is not to weigh every infusion to the nearest tenth of a gram. A small scale is simply useful when you are discovering a new tea and want to understand how it behaves.

After a few preparations, you will quickly learn to recognize the amount that suits you.

Why isn’t a teaspoon always accurate?

You often read that you just need to use “a teaspoon of tea.”

The problem is that not all teas occupy the same volume.

A tea with fine, rolled leaves can be relatively compact, while a white tea made of large leaves or buds can fill a teaspoon while weighing very little.

Two visually identical teaspoons can therefore contain very different amounts of tea.

This is why weight remains a better guideline than volume when you want to reproduce an infusion.

Are all teas dosed the same way?

Not exactly.

The shape of the leaves, their size, their processing, and the way they open during steeping affect the preparation.

Green tea

For green tea, start around 2 g for 200 ml.

If the cup seems too light, slightly increase the amount of leaves before significantly extending the steeping time.

Steeping for too long or using water that is too hot can accentuate bitterness and astringency.

Black tea

Black tea can often handle a slightly more robust cup.

A dosage of 2 to 3 g for 200 ml is a good starting point depending on the size of the leaves and the desired intensity.

Fans of a full-bodied cup can slightly increase the amount of leaves rather than letting the tea steep indefinitely.

Oolong

Oolong leaves are frequently rolled or twisted and can expand enormously in water.

Start around 2 to 3 g for a classic cup, leaving enough room for the leaves.

Some oolongs are particularly well suited to several successive infusions.

White tea

White teas can seem very voluminous when they are made of large leaves.

A teaspoon is therefore particularly misleading.

Weight will give you a much more reliable guideline: start around 2 g for 200 ml, then adjust according to the result.

Pu-erh and dark teas

For a classic Western preparation, you can also start around 2 to 3 g for 200 ml.

Some enthusiasts use more leaves when they perform very short, repeated infusions in small containers.

This is then another way of preparing tea, with a much higher leaf-to-water ratio.

More leaves or a longer infusion?

This is one of the keys to improving your tea preparation.

When your cup seems too light, your first instinct may be to let the leaves steep much longer.

This is not always the best solution.

Significantly extending the steeping time extracts more compounds and can enhance bitterness or astringency.

Try this method instead:

1. Prepare the tea for the recommended time.
2. Taste it.
3. If the cup lacks intensity, add slightly more leaves when you prepare the next one.
4. Change only one parameter at a time.

You will understand much more easily what really transforms your cup.

Temperature matters as much as dosage

Putting in the right amount of tea is not enough if the water is unsuitable.

A delicate green tea prepared with very hot water may seem aggressive even if the dosage is correct.

Conversely, water that is too cold can produce a very light infusion and give you the impression that leaves are missing.

Dosage, temperature, and steeping time therefore work together.

This is precisely why every tea sheet should be considered a starting point: first follow the preparation recommendations, then adjust gradually according to your palate.

Should you use a scale?

It is not essential, but it is extremely practical.

A small scale accurate to the gram or tenth of a gram makes it easy to reproduce a successful infusion.

It becomes particularly interesting when you compare several teas with very different leaves.

For example, you can prepare:

• 2 g of Sencha;
• 2 g of black tea;
• 2 g of white tea.

Visually, the three quantities may look very different.

Yet, their weight is identical.

This is an excellent way to understand why spoon dosing has its limits.

The volume of your cup changes everything

A 150 ml cup and a large 350 ml mug obviously do not require the same amount of leaves.

You can remember a very easy rule:

about 1 g of tea for 100 ml of water as a starting base.

This gives approximately:

These values serve as guidelines. Some teas and some preparation methods will require more or fewer leaves.

And for a second infusion?

Do not automatically discard your leaves after the first cup.

Many teas can be steeped several times.

For a second infusion, generally keep the same amount of leaves: it is the already used leaves that you put back in contact with the water.

You can then slightly adjust the temperature or time according to the tea and the result obtained.

The different infusions are not always identical. Some leaves gradually reveal other aromatic nuances.

Do your own dosage test

Here is a very simple little experiment.

Take a tea you know and prepare three identical cups with the same water, the same temperature, and the same steeping time.

Use:

• 1.5 g in the first;
• 2 g in the second;
• 2.5 g in the third.

Taste them side by side.

You will immediately perceive the influence of dosage on texture, aromatic intensity, bitterness, and length on the palate.

You can then keep the preparation you prefer.

This is much more instructive than a rule set in stone.

The right dosage is the one you like

Precision helps you understand tea. It should not turn its preparation into a laboratory exercise.

Start with a reliable guideline: about 2 g for 200 ml.

Then follow the recommended temperature and steeping time.

Then taste.

If the cup lacks presence, add a few leaves. If it seems too intense, slightly reduce the dosage.

Over time, the scale becomes less important and your palate gradually takes over.

This is where tasting truly begins.

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