Green Tea: Its Varieties and Brewing Techniques

[caleb]

Over the past few years I've cut back coffee after lunch, and largely replaced it with black tea. Every now and then I try to make myself green tea instead, and I just can't seem to enjoy it. Right now I have a bag labeled "gunpowder green," and another that's a green and fruit mix. Every now and then I manage to get the brew time and temp right and it's tolerable, but more often than not I end up with a concoction causing significant pucker-factor.

What am I doing wrong here? Different tea? Different temp? Different brew time?

One of my students insists that it should be cold brewed first and then heated if you want it hot. Any merit to that idea?

Tips, tricks, suggestions are welcome. Learn me.

[spopepro]

Usually it's about time.

When I brew sen-cha use water well off the boil (I don't stick a thermometer in it though) and brew one cup at a time. 1 min for the first cup. 10 seconds for the second cup. 5 seconds for the third. Then the leaves are done. 2 grams of leaves and a roughly half-cup cup.

For a heartier tea, and is more tolerant, genmai-cha is green mixed with toasted brown rice. It will be good with hotter water and is less sensitive to brewing times.

[guido]

Sencha and Genmai-cha are my go to greens. But for special occasions I like Gyokuro, it has very delicate fresh favor.

When I can, I brew by the mug using loose tea and a large mug sized cylindrical strainer that lets the tea relax. Definitely keep the water short of the boiling point. I generally go for longer brew times than most recommend.

I also will use decent quality tea bags with these varieties when I'm in a rush. Way better than not having tea at all.

[dogrange]

Over the past few years I've cut back coffee after lunch, and largely replaced it with black tea. Every now and then I try to make myself green tea instead, and I just can't seem to enjoy it. Right now I have a bag labeled "gunpowder green," and another that's a green and fruit mix. Every now and then I manage to get the brew time and temp right and it's tolerable, but more often than not I end up with a concoction causing significant pucker-factor.

What am I doing wrong here? Different tea? Different temp? Different brew time?

One of my students insists that it should be cold brewed first and then heated if you want it hot. Any merit to that idea?

Tips, tricks, suggestions are welcome. Learn me.

I have a tea addiction from when I used to live in Chinatown in Seattle in the early-90s. I mostly drink green, green oolongs, and everything else too. It's not clear what you are brewing, but cheap green tea (like you find in most tea bags and grocery store green tea) is, IMHO, mostly horrible and much worse than cheap black teas. So, first step is to make sure you are brewing something of at least OK quality - I get a lot from imperialtea.com if you need a purveyor suggestion.

Most green teas also benefit from much cooler water than black tea, as low as 150 degrees - not boiling. Steep much shorter than recommended on the package as well, start with like 30 seconds and work your way up. Weaker is way better than stronger - if greens are too strong or the water is too hot you can end up with a bitter undrinkable mess.

[guido]

Weaker is way better than stronger - if greens are too strong or the water is too hot you can end up with a bitter undrinkable mess.

Hey I resemble that remark...

I also drink multiple cups of strong dark roast coffee in the morning before I start on the tea so...

[ZenNMotion]

I have a tea addiction from when I used to live in Chinatown in Seattle in the early-90s. I mostly drink green, green oolongs, and everything else too. It's not clear what you are brewing, but cheap green tea (like you find in most tea bags and grocery store green tea) is, IMHO, mostly horrible and much worse than cheap black teas. So, first step is to make sure you are brewing something of at least OK quality - I get a lot from imperialtea.com if you need a purveyor suggestion.

Most green teas also benefit from much cooler water than black tea, as low as 150 degrees - not boiling. Steep much shorter than recommended on the package as well, start with like 30 seconds and work your way up. Weaker is way better than stronger - if greens are too strong or the water is too hot you can end up with a bitter undrinkable mess.

This depends on the variety. Japan Sencha gets bitter quickly. However, Chinese Long Ching ("Dragonwell") tea is also bright green in color, but much softer in flavor and tolerant to longer steeping. I've become a tea snob in the past few years, with the opportunity to visit local plantations and specialty shops in Asia and Africa, with the owners giving me tastings and a schooling- like a Napa Valley winery tour, but with whiffs of diesel exhaust and sewage. Some suggestions for something different and wonderful in the green varieties if you haven't tried:

Puer (China)- classic tea ceremony variety, slightly fermented and then aged, sometimes sold in bricks, delicate flavor, steep very quickly (10-20sec) in water cool enough to stick your finger in comfortably. You can use the leaves 6-8 times
Golden Tips (Eastern Nepal and adjacent Darjeeling region in India)- this is the very young tips, first harvest, gold/yellow color, tastes very mellow and sweet If Sencha is like a hoppy IPA, this is a sweet malty bock or a belgian witbier (I guess...)
Mao Feng- If you like the grassy brilliant greenness of Japanese Sencha, but not the bitterness, you will love Mao Feng- brilliant green, long needle like leaves, very subtle and slightly sweet. This can be steeped quickly for a subtle flavor, or sometimes I just dump the leaves directly into a glass (to enjoy the color as part of the experience) and pour water in and drink as it gets progressively stronger- use the same leaves for 2-3 glasses. Water is warmer than for Puer, but definitely not close to boiling.
Last, definitely not green, but black Kenya tea, boiling water and extended steep time, strong black flavor and the absolute best for summer iced tea, keeps its flavor over ice. Amazing in a bike bidon, diluted somewhat with a little honey and electrolyte salts, beats sports drink

[spopepro]

Hey zen,
Who's your pusher of choice? I'm curious about some of the lesser known stuff you mention.

I have enjoyed getting my Japanese green from Tatsuo-san (charaku-tea.com). He is also the one who runs the store where our resident shinomaster's wares are sometimes peaddeled.

[ZenNMotion]

Over the past few years I've cut back coffee after lunch, and largely replaced it with black tea. Every now and then I try to make myself green tea instead, and I just can't seem to enjoy it. Right now I have a bag labeled "gunpowder green," and another that's a green and fruit mix. Every now and then I manage to get the brew time and temp right and it's tolerable, but more often than not I end up with a concoction causing significant pucker-factor.

What am I doing wrong here? Different tea? Different temp? Different brew time?

One of my students insists that it should be cold brewed first and then heated if you want it hot. Any merit to that idea?

Tips, tricks, suggestions are welcome. Learn me.

Gunpowder tea- FWIW, this is the stuff they use for tea in the Sahara/sahel region, they boil for a long time and saturate with sugar- like drinking very bitter candy served thick and hot from tiny glasses, not a surprise you don't care for it- it's everyday tea that's an acquired taste, I'd move on, or sit on the ground in the dust in the Sahel, then you'll like it (with mint). Any kind of fruit mix or spice mix, ugh ATMO. Like pumpkin beer, just wrong. If you're switching to black tea from coffee, then I guess you're looking for a strong taste with a caffeine hit, green varieties maybe not your cup of tea. To keep it simple (ie, bags- though bags are sacrilege for snobs) Try an Indian Assam tea, or a good Earl Grey if you like a subtle orange note (Earl Grey is good black tea, often Assam, with bergamot bitter orange) Try Ahmad brand tea, Assam or English Breakfast (unflavored) Earl Grey or "Special Blend" (slight floral notes) varieties in bags- I find it locally in the little Halal/MidEast/Pakistani stores we have in the DC area, look around your ethnic markets, also available online. If you don't like Ahmad tea, then you probably don't care for black tea at all- they're all pretty good. Green tea is its own thing, if you're moving from strong coffee to tea then black tea would be a closer transition. Cheap bad black tea is not good, Lipton and the like just plain sucks IMO, friends don't serve friends Lipton. If you were my office mate, I'd tell you to try my Ahmad Earl Grey to keep you awake during the monthly meeting.

[spopepro]

Gunpowder tea- FWIW, this is the stuff they use for tea in the Sahara/sahel region, they boil for a long time and saturate with sugar- like drinking very bitter candy served thick and hot from tiny glasses, not a surprise you don't care for it- it's everyday tea that's an acquired taste, I'd move on, or sit on the ground in the dust in the Sahel, then you'll like it (with mint). Any kind of fruit mix or spice mix, ugh ATMO. Like pumpkin beer, just wrong. If you're switching to black tea from coffee, then I guess you're looking for a strong taste with a caffeine hit, green varieties maybe not your cup of tea. To keep it simple (ie, bags- though bags are sacrilege for snobs) Try an Indian Assam tea, or a good Earl Grey if you like a subtle orange note (Earl Grey is good black tea, often Assam, with bergamot bitter orange) Try Ahmad tea, Assam or English Breakfast (unflavored) Earl Grey or "Special Blend" (slight floral notes) in bags- I find it locally in the little Halal/MidEast/Pakistani stores we have in the DC area, look around your ethnic markets, also available online. If you don't like Ahmad tea, then you probably don't care for black tea at all. Green tea is its own thing, if you're moving from strong coffee to tea then black tea would be a closer transition. Cheap bad black tea is not good, Lipton and the like just plain sucks IMO, friends don't serve friends Lipton. If you were my office mate, I'd tell you to try my Ahmad Earl Grey to keep you awake during the monthly meeting.

And if you were my office mate, I'd brew you a pot of lapsang souchong, a Chinese black tea smoked over pine. Of course, I prefer it brewed to supernatural strength (in a samovar if I am lucky) and with milk and sugar. But if you're trying to cut down on caffeine.... yeah... probably not the right way to go.

[caleb]

Awesome info here, all. Thanks.

Lapsang souchong has been my go-to for a couple years, with Early Grey for variety. I usually brew a little pot and keep it on my desk during the afternoon, but it sounds like I should be brewing individual cups instead of using the pot. Correct?

You guys are talking about way shorter brew times and lower temps than I expected. I'll experiment.

Thanks for the specific varietal recommendations. I'm going to toss the gunpowder and try some of the options recommended above.

[ZenNMotion]

+1 on the lapsang souchong, also sometimes found in bags as "Russian Caravan" tea, pine smoked- perfect black or one of the few teas I would sweeten with sugar/honey (some like with milk). This is what you put in your thermos for a morning in the woods on skinny skis. Serve with raw herring, or pemmican.

Water temp is important, and so it not making a mess or creating a fire hazard in your office. After (too) much research on finding the right tool, this electric tea kettle sits next to my desk, easy to get the right temp for the right tea, heats super fast and it turns itself off after a few minutes of staying warm or when the water is low. When people started coming by my office for tea water, management (rightly) sensed an insurrection in its infancy, so bought one for the kitchen, thus preventing congregation of the dangerous coffee opposition. You can find these cheaper elsewhere, but here's a link:
CPK-17 - Tea Kettles - Products - Cuisinart.com

[Paul Jacobs]

I thought tea was an English drink. I always learn so much from any topic which crops up on here. In case anyone thinks I just drink Yorkshire Tea, I have been buying Lapsang Souchong in 1kg bags for years.yorkshire-tea-2000858_2.jpg

[Todd Amunrud]

IMG_0025.jpg

No green tea pictured, but Upton Tea Imports has been our go-to the years. The catalog that comes with orders is an enjoyable read.

[guido]

Upton is great. I also like tealux.com and their shop in Cambridge MA a lot too...

[dogrange]

Thanks for the suggestions, I plan to try upton and tealrya next time I order!

[caleb]

Thanks again for all of the recommendations.

I'm currently working through my first Upton order. The sample size options are nice for figuring out what I like.

Afternoon tea today is a Mao Feng, per the suggestions you all made.




Cold but sunny out, a good afternoon for a cup of tea.