How to Prepare Loose Leaf Green Tea

Jan 5
11:39

2018

Karina Garcia

Karina Garcia

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Perhaps even more so than with black tea, there's a world of difference between loose leaf green tea and the stuff that comes in a tea bag. While it's brewing technique a little fussier than dropping a tea bag into some hot water, the subtle, yet complex, flavor profile of a quality green tea is well worth seeking out.

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Best teaware for green tea preparation

 

In China,How to Prepare Loose Leaf Green Tea Articles there’s a saying that fine utensils are more important than fine food. That’s because it can add to the visual enjoyment and highlight the characteristics of the leaves and liquor. The best teaware for loose green tea should therefore be steeped with transparent glass or white porcelain teaware. To brew loose leaf tea, including a glass mug, straight glass, teapot, and porcelain gaiwan.

 

Temperature for loose green tea brewing

 

Generally for fresh green tea, you want to avoid hot water at boiling temperature, as the green tea might become bitter. Let the water cool down slightly until it reaches a temperature between 80 to 90 degrees Celsius (175 to 195 F). This will bring the best flavors out of the leaves. More tightly rolled teas should be brewed with temperatures closer to 90 C, while loosely rolled and delicate leaves should be steeped at temperatures closer to 80 C.

 

Steeping time

 

This varies the most given the teaware you’ve at hand. When steeping in smaller teaware such as a gaiwan, you want to apply shorter brewing times. With such teaware, you can start experimenting with 1-3 minute steeps, depending on the tea type and water temperature you apply. For larger teapots and less leaves relative to the amount of water, you want to increase the brewing time to between 3-5 minutes.

Brewing tips

 

  1. Boil water in your tea kettle.
  2. While waiting for water to boil, add the appropriate amount of loose leaf tea to your tea infuser. Place the tea infuser inside your teapot or mug. Tip: Double the amount of tea you use when making iced tea
  3. When the water reaches the desired temperature, pour it over the tea infuser into your mug or This will allow the water to circulate through the leaves.
  4. Time your tea. Once the time is up, dunk the infuser a couple of times to circulate the water. Remove the infuser and set aside for a second steeping.
  5. Serve in your favorite mug, or pour over ice for a satisfying iced tea.

Enjoy. Green tea should be sipped somewhat quickly as the taste will really shift as the tea cools down. I also like to pause and just focus on drinking the tea in order to enjoy and give my attention to it's subtle flavor.