Why do so few people know how to brew green tea properly? (Whittard Japanese Green Tea)

Member Name: vanillawinegum

Product:	Whittard Japanese Green Tea
Date:	13/03/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious compared to green tea bags

Disadvantages: Very mild flavour, not everyone likes green tea

It is widely thought that green tea is very much an acquired taste, and while this must be true to an extent, it is also largely true that most people JUST MAKE IT WRONG! The difficulty is in getting past the presumption that you must use boiling water to brew it, as you would with ordinary black tea. It is easy to overlook the fact that black tea has been fermented and processed and needs boiling water to bring out the full flavour: green tea, on the other hand, is an unprocessed and quite delicate product that will be damaged by boiling water.

90 degrees is approximately the right temperature in which to brew this tea (although for some green tea bags I would recommend slightly lower). This is achieved by either pouring a dash of cold into your mug or pot before adding boiled water, or by turning off your kettle about 15-20 seconds before you can hear it's going to boil. The trick is to draw out the flavour and the goodness, not destroy it!

In the same way that you would expect the value of a vitamin C tablet to be destroyed if you were to pour boiling water onto it, these nutrient-rich leaves require gentle treatment, too.

Sencha is the mildest and most delicate tasting green tea (besides white tea, which is made from the youngest buds). I would recommend this tea to anyone who has ever enjoyed green tea in a bag before - it will be hard to go back to using bags after tasting this fresh stuff! If you want to try before you buy, I would recommend any decent sushi restaurant, as they are likely to serve up the "real stuff". There's nothing quite like it!

I find it refreshes me more and for longer than black tea, and as long as I have at least two cups a day, the antioxidants make me less prone to spots.

Price: £3.25 for 125g. For a small pot that will make enough for 2 mugs, I recommend using about 1 teaspoon. Allow to brew in hot water for about 5 minutes. It's worth the wait!

Summary: Get yourself a mini teapot and strainer for work!