How to Brew Summer Berry Blend and Good Night Tea
By Artisanal Teas & Stone-Ground Spices in Portland | Published: 2026-11-05
Category: How-to Guides
Learn how to brew Summer Berry Blend and Good Night Tea with the right water temperature, steeping time, and simple checks to avoid bitterness and get a balanced cup every time.
Quick answer
Brew Summer Berry Blend with just-boiled water for 3 to 5 minutes, then taste at 3 minutes and stop when the berry flavor is bright rather than drying. Steep Good Night Tea in slightly cooler water for 5 to 7 minutes to pull out its floral and licorice notes without turning the cup bitter.
Why the two teas need different water
Summer Berry Blend is built on a real black-tea base, so it needs water hot enough to open the leaf and carry the strawberry, raspberry, and cranberry notes. Water that is too cool can leave the cup thin and sharp.
Good Night Tea is a floral herbal blend led by chamomile and lavender, with marigold and safflower petals and a little licorice root for natural sweetness. Very hard boiling water can make the flowers taste dull, so let the kettle rest for a minute before pouring.
When to chill instead of steep longer
Summer Berry Blend is designed to be brewed strong, chilled, and poured over ice. If you plan to serve it iced, brew it at the stronger end of the range and taste before chilling, because cold temperatures mute sweetness and make bitterness easier to notice.
Good Night Tea is best kept hot for the last quiet hour before bed. If you want it iced, treat it as a separate experiment and expect the floral notes to soften.
The bitterness checkpoint that matters most
Bitterness in fruit tisanes and flavored black teas usually comes from steeping past the point where the aroma peaks. Use a timer, taste at the early end of the range, and remove the leaves or bag as soon as the cup tastes balanced.
Do not judge the tea by color alone. Summer Berry Blend can look dark before it tastes stewed, and Good Night Tea can look pale while still carrying enough licorice sweetness.
Step-by-step brewing for each tea
- Heat water for Summer Berry Blend: Bring fresh water to a boil, then pour it over the leaves or bag. If your kettle has a temperature setting, use just-boiled water rather than a rolling boil. Mistake to avoid: using lukewarm water and then steeping longer to compensate, which extracts bitterness without building body.
- Steep Summer Berry Blend for 3 to 5 minutes: Set a timer for 3 minutes, taste, and continue in 30-second increments until the berry flavor is clear and the black-tea base feels smooth. Remove the leaves or bag at that point. Checkpoint: if the cup feels drying at the back of your tongue, you have gone past the sweet spot.
- Chill Summer Berry Blend for iced tea: Brew a little stronger than you would for hot tea, let it cool uncovered for a few minutes, then refrigerate until cold and pour over ice. Taste before adding sweetener. Mistake to avoid: pouring hot tea directly over ice, which dilutes the berry flavor and makes the cup taste watery.
- Heat water for Good Night Tea: Boil fresh water, then let it rest for about a minute before pouring over the floral blend. If you use a thermometer, aim for water that is hot but not aggressively boiling. Checkpoint: if the steam smells sharply floral rather than soft, give the cup another 30 seconds before you start timing.
- Steep Good Night Tea for 5 to 7 minutes: Start tasting at 5 minutes. The cup should taste softly floral with a gentle sweetness from the licorice root. Remove the leaves or bag when that balance arrives. Mistake to avoid: steeping until the color is deep golden, which can flatten the lavender and chamomile aromas.
- Finish and serve: Pour Good Night Tea hot and add honey or a squeeze of lemon only if you want it. For Summer Berry Blend, serve hot or over ice, and adjust sweetness after tasting rather than before. Checkpoint: taste before sweetening, because the licorice in Good Night Tea and the fruit in Summer Berry Blend already carry some sweetness.
Product facts
- Good Night Tea: Good Night Tea leads with chamomile and lavender, adds marigold and safflower petals, and gets natural sweetness from a little licorice root. That floral base explains why a slightly cooler steep protects the delicate aromas and keeps the licorice from dominating.
Good Night Tea - Summer Berry Blend: Summer Berry Blend is a fruity berry cup built on a real black-tea base, with strawberry, raspberry, and cranberry plus whole cranberries and safflower petals. The black-tea base means it can take hotter water and a stronger brew than a pure herbal tisane, especially when you plan to pour it over ice.
Summer Berry Blend
