How to Brew Green Tea? [Definitive Guide]
There is no doubt about it. If you are looking for a healthy drink, green tea is the way to go. We are sure that you’ll have seen the super-healthy, my-body-is-a-temple, LA types drinking it, and maybe you’ve wondered if it is really as good as it seems.
But it’s true! Green tea really is a healthy choice, and we’ll explain some of the benefits below. The only problem with green tea is the taste. For a lot of people, green tea is not a tasty drink. Some people find it bitter or earthy, and for others, it’s just nasty. But we want to let you in on a little secret, most of these problems can be solved if you learn how to brew green tea properly.
And the best part is, it really is quite simple. You’ve just got to know how best to brew each type of green tea, depending on. whether you are going for loose leaf tea or a teabag. These different choices require different ways of brewing. Don’t worry, we’ll take you through them so that you can enjoy your green tea as it is meant to be taken.
Health Benefits of Green Tea
The health benefits of green tea shouldn’t be underestimated. It is really important to stay hydrated, and when you are thirsty, you need to go for the drink that is going to make your insides happy rather than grabbing a soda or drinking something sugary or processed. But beyond this, green tea is an active healthy choice too.
Green tea is full of polyphenols, which help to reduce inflammation and can therefore help to fight cancer. It also contains catechins, which are natural antioxidants that help to prevent cell damage and provide medicinal properties that can help to actually treat diseases.
Caffeine is still present in green tea, so it might not be the best choice before bed. But it does have a much lower amount than coffee. It also contains the amino acid L-theanine, which has anti-anxiety properties and also increases dopamine. Plus, it has been shown to increase fat burning and to mobilize fatty acids, so that you really will feel healthier when you are drinking it.
The list of health benefits of green tea really just keeps growing with every additional study that they do, but the final aspect we will highlight is that it contains lots of powerful antioxidants. It is the intake of antioxidants that can lead to a reduced risk of cancer.
That’s a pretty powerful property for a drink and is a great reason to start drinking green tea. Now we’ll move onto how to find the tastiest green tea for you.
Types of Green Tea
Green tea is not just one homogenous type of tea. There are actually loads of different types. They come in different shapes and colors, and they tend to have different flavors too, with some being stronger and others lighter in taste.
There are three popular Japanese green teas. The first is perhaps the most common, known as Sencha. It is known for being fresh, vegetal, and lightly sweet in taste. It is often recommended for people who complain of green tea tasting too much like grass. The second is Gen Mai Cha.
This is a much more earthy taste, and more savory than the other two too. It is actually a form of Sencha tea leaves but mixed with fire-roasted rice. This is a good choice for a cold winter’s day. At the other end of the seasonal spectrum, is the final one, which you have no doubt heard of – Matcha.
This is a little different from the other green teas as it is in powdered form. When you add water, it turns the tea bright green. It’s fun to drink and lighter in taste. The other main country that specializes in green tea is China. Again, we’ll run through three of the most popular green teas from China for you.
First up is Dragonwell, which is a really popular choice in China itself. The flavor is more mellow than a lot of the other options, and it is lighter green in color. It’s quite a fun option too., When you add the water, the leaves open up to reveal a bud.
The second Chinese green tea on our list is Pi Lo Chun, which translates to Green Snail Spring. This is a really interesting option for green tea drinkers, as the tea is grown in orchards. By growing in the orchards, it takes on a little of the flavor from the other plants, like plums, peaches, and apricots.
This tea comes in small leaves that are rolled up tight that looks a bit like snails, hence the name. Finally, there is Gunpowder or Pearl Tea. This is one of the best green teas for staying fresh for longer. Again, the name represents its shape, as the tea leaves look like little gunpowder pellets. They unfurl when the water is added.
How to Brew Green Tea?: Overview
When it comes to brewing green tea, there are two main routes you can take. One is based on the loose-leaf type of tea, and the other is based on teabags. They’re both pretty simple, but we’ll take you through both ways step by step, to make sure that you can enjoy a cup of green tea the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
Brewing Loose Leaf Green Tea
If you’ve decided that loose leaf green tea is the way to go, then what you need is the right equipment. The main thing that you need is a tea ball. This is a bit like a tiny, two-sided sieve that fits into a cup or mug.
Some tea balls also come equipped with a lid for the mug, which is known as an infuser basket. If yours doesn’t though, then it’s no matter. You can just use a lid or plate to cover the mug when required.
Once you have all the equipment, you need to boil some water, either in a kettle or on a hob. However, it only needs to be boiled to the point where the bubbles first start showing, which is known as the first boil.
It can then probably be left for a moment afterward, as green tea works best at 82º C, or 180º F. If it is hotter then it can make the tea taste overly bitter. Needless to say, this is one of the main mistakes made by people making their own cup of green tea.
To make green tea using loose tea leaves, you simply add a spoonful of the leaves to a tea ball, then place the tea ball in a cup or mug. If you would like to make it for more than one person, you can do the same but placing it into a teapot instead.
It is worth considering adding more tea leaves if it will be making more than one cup of tea. After you have added the tea ball to the cup or mug, it is time to cover the cup or mug, either with a lid, a little plate, or the lid of your infuser basket tea ball.
You can then leave it steep for three to five minutes, depending on how strong you want it to taste, the type of tea, and the instructions on the tea. If you have placed the tea ball in a teapot, then you can simply add the lid of the teapot and leave it to stew in there instead.
Now all that’s left to do is to remove the lid, remove the tea ball, and enjoy your mug of delicious green tea.
Brewing a Tea Bag of Green Tea
As you might have imagined, brewing a teabag of green tea is a lot simpler than brewing loose leaf green tea, especially if you are already accustomed to drinking tea.
As with the loose-leaf green tea, you still don’t want the water to be too hot. So either boil it until the first boil when you sell the first sign of bubbles or else boil it and then leave it to cool a little.
Once the water is ready, you can pour the water into the mug or teapot, and then drop in the tea bag.. This again needs to be left to steep for three to five minutes. As the tea is encapsulated within the tea bag, it is not necessary to cover the cup or mug.
If you have decided to brew it in a teapot to serve more than one person, you may need to add more tea bags. After you’ve left the tea bag to steep for a few minutes, you can remove it. Then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your freshly brewed mug of flavorful green tea.
Conclusion
So there you have it. These are the ways to make a perfect cup of green tea. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, that’s because it is. Just remember to check the instructions as different types can need different levels of steeping, and sometimes even different temperatures of water. Once you’ve got it figured out, you can start enjoying the taste and reaping the health benefits in no time.
