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HOW TO BREW

There's a world of difference between brewing loose leaf green tea and the stuff that comes in a tea bag. While brewing technique for a tea bag is simple to put it into hot water; the subtle, yet complex, flavor profile of a quality green tea is well worth seeking out. Green tea is much less robust than black tea, requiring lower water temperatures and less brewing time. It has a short window in which its fullest flavor profile can be enjoyed, so it needs to be brewed and drunk immediately. No tea cozies needed!

For a connoisseur of green tea, it requires more attention and care than black tea. We suggest you to brew it when you are able to really stop what you are doing, take a break and put all of your focus on the process. This is often a really wonderful and soothing thing to do and a big part of the green tea drinking experience.

  • Choose your brand carefully: Quality loose leaf green tea is widely available but it is also a very perishable product, so be sure to buy from a reputable seller. The tea should be fresh and come in an air-tight packaging. Air is an enemy of green tea as it causes oxidation.

  • Choose your pot & cup: The pot should be large enough that the leaves can fully expand and steep in the water. Cups for green tea tend to be smaller as you want to sip the tea somewhat quickly before it cools too much and the flavor changes.

  • Time & temperature: In general green tea uses 180-190°F (82-89C) water and is brewed for no more than 3 minutes.

  • Water: We suggest you to use fresh tap water. Please refrain from using already boiled water as it contains very less dissolved oxygen.

  • No boiling water: Never brew green tea with boiling water! The method below does start with boiling water,but allows for it to cool.

  • Warming the pot, cooling the water: When the water comes to a boil, remove from the heat and pour it into your teapot. This will heat the pot and cool the water a little. Pour little hot water into the cups to heat the cups.

  • Measure your tea: We recommend using 1 teaspoon of tea leaves (approx 2.5 g) per cup (approx. 235 ml) of water.

  • Brewing: Brew from 1 to 3 minutes. There is no thumb rule though, it depends on personal preference. However, if brewing time is too short, the nutrients will be partially released; if brewing time is too long, your green tea will be astringent in taste.

  • Enjoy: Green tea should be sipped somewhat quickly as the taste will really shift as the tea cools down. We suggest pausing and just focusing on drinking the tea in order to enjoy and give your attention to its subtle flavor.

Remember, the brewing and drinking takes less than 15 minutes which makes it a perfect-break time activity for you.

 

How to Brew Loose Leaf Green Tea: Below are the few steps to follow in order to fully appreciate our delicate green teas.

Tea: Use around 2.5 grams of our loose leaf green tea per cup of water. If you want to measure by volume, it should be 1 teaspoon.

Water: Bring a cup of fresh water to boil. Heating the water to the optimal temperature will draw out the right balance of amino acids and other nutrients, which contribute flavor & taste and tannins, which contribute bitterness and astringency. If the water temperature is too low, it may not extract the full range of flavors. If the temperature is too high, the tea will taste overly bitter and astringent. As a rule of thumb, the temperature should be around 80-90 degrees Celsius. If you do not have a thermometer to measure the specific temperature, heat the water to just short of boiling. 

Infusion: You need to now infuse the green tea leaves in the freshly boiled water for around 1-3 minutes. Whole leaf/big leaf green teas expand many times in size while brewing. So, you need to give it enough space to unfold and release their full flavors. If you are using an infuser, make sure it provides enough room to expand the tea leaves.

Note: As a common practice, we generally boil the black teas in hot water to make it a strong cup. Please ensure you don't do the same for green tea leaves because it will make it very bitter and astringent. 

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