Green Tea Brew Guide
Green Tea Brew Guide from About The Cup
If you are looking for a healthy and refreshing tea, green tea is a great choice. It is a delicate and delicious beverage that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Green tea is a good source of antioxidants and has been shown to have a number of health benefits.
It is a type of tea that is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant that have not been oxidized. This means that the leaves are processed immediately after picking to prevent the oxidation process from occurring. This gives green tea its characteristic green color and grassy flavor. To make green tea, the leaves are first steamed or pan-fired to prevent oxidation. They are then rolled or crushed to break down the cell walls and release the flavor compounds and then they are rushing to dry giving no time for further oxidation. There are many different varieties of green tea, each with its own unique flavor profile. Some of the most popular varieties include Sencha, Matcha, Gunpowder, and Long Jing. China is the most popular green tea producer in the world while Japan, India, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are also engaged in manufacturing.
Green Tea Brewing Guide
Brewing green tea is bit adventurous and you need to expert the process to have a perfect cup of green tea. A slight change in the process may make the tea cup bitter. The ingredients required to make a tea cup are as follows.
- 170ml of fresh water
- A kettle or a water heater
- One teaspoon of loose green tea or a green tea bag
- A teapot
- A teacup
Here are the steps that you need to follow for a perfect green tea cup.
- Always use fresh water sourced from filtered or bottled water
The water that you use to make the tea should follow the exact characteristics of definition to water. If the water has any kind of added taste or an odor, you will not get the exact taste of green tea.
- Boil the water through a kettle or a water heater, and allow it to cool for 1- 2 minutes under normal room temperature
Using of boiled water to brew green tea will urge the tea leaves to excrete all the characteristics of the dried tea particles to hot water and it would lead to excrete more bitter characteristics to the brew. By allowing the water to cool down a little, only the perfect characteristics would come out to the brew. Make sure to rinse the kettle or water heater before using it.
- Rinse the teapot and teacup using few drops of boiled water
By rinsing the teapot and teacup with hot water, the walls of teapot and teacup would get heated up and it will avoid sudden cooling of boiled water when pour in to the teapot and teacup. This will lead you to have a hot cup of green tea rather than a mild hot cup.
- Add 1 teaspoon of green tea from your preferred green tea variety or the green tea bag to the teapot.
Size of particle size is the first factor that decides how delicate your teacup is. Nearly 1 teaspoon contains 2g of tea. If you are looking for a delicately lighter teacup with low bitterness, you may use larger sized green tea particles and if you need a bitter teacup, you may use a tea bag or a loose green tea with smaller particles. Keep in mind that there are tea bags with larger sized green tea particles too. You may use an infuser to add tea for an easy filtering of green tea brew, which is optional.
- Pour boiled water to the teapot and close the lid and steep the tea for 1- 3 minutes.
Brewing time of a green tea is the second factor that decides the delicateness and bitterness of your tea cup. Brewing more means the green tea particles have more time to excrete the bitter characteristics. Therefore, the tea becomes bitter. If the tea is steeped for little time, the tea brew becomes delicate and lighter. If you added more or less green tea to the teapot accidently, then you may change steeping time and make yourself correct in this step.
- Pour the green tea brew to the teacup and add any additive as you prefer.
Generally, green tea is not consumed with sugar or milk. However, few drops of honey is recommended if the tea brew is bitter.
- Sit back, relax and enjoy your green tea sip by sip.
When it comes to green tea, there are several varieties that gives different bitterness levels and flavors. The above mentioned green tea brewing guidelines are for a common green tea and the process is completely different when it comes to Matcha green tea. Therefore, you need to have a good understanding on brewing method of each tea variety. Everyone has their own taste preference. So, do try making of your green tea with different green tea varieties, different green tea volumes and different steeping times until you find out the best combination that make you pleased through your own green teacup.