by Lenna Gonya

Created on: April 08, 2010

Brewing green tea is a science in some countries, and, a very explicitly learned custom.

The trick to brewing any tea, and, especially green tea, is the water temperature. Very hot water will affect the flavor of green tea, and, possibly cause it to become bitter. Water than is too cool will not bring out the taste in the tea.

Substances in the tea leaf, itself are what makes up the flavor and the aroma of tea, combined with amino acids and natural sugars. Polyphenols, or tannins, are the really vital ingredients that make green tea beneficial in the first place. These are the chemical substances that provide antioxidants to the body. However, they provide a bitter taste to the tea.

Both the tannins, and certain amino acids dissolve when the tea is brewed, and, brewing the tea at a lower temperature causes the naturally sweeter flavors to come through and not be overpowered by the bitter.

Start off with a really good green tea. Green tea usually has a shelf life of about 6 months, but, once you open it, it has pretty much reached it’s effectiveness after 2 or 3 more months, unless vacuum sealed.

As a general rule, green tea should be brewed at temperatures between 140 and 185 degrees F. This does depend on the tea, however, and the time of its harvest. Earlier green teas, picked in early spring should be brewed at lower temperatures because they have higher levels of amino acids. The best green teas come from an early harvest in April and May.

Whatever variety of green tea you choose will probably give you some indication of the appropriate water temperature.

Of course, if you are going to be specific with your brewing methods, you will need a good kitchen thermometer to get an accurate water temperature. It is recommended that you boil the water in a tea kettle, and then pour the water into a Pyrex or other glass container, and test the temperature.

Once your temperature is correct, you can pour the water over your leaves. It doesn’t take long to steep green tea, and, the average time is anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes.

There are several schools of thought as to what to actually brew your tea in. Many people insist that a ceramic tea pot is the only thing to use. They recommend that the pot be rinsed several times with hot water before brewing the tea.

Other people have taken the faster and easier method, eliminated the work of temperature regulation and gone to making their tea in a coffee maker, simply substituting tea leaves for coffee.

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