04.08.05

Green Tea - Top Ten Reasons Why It Didn’t Turn Out Great…

Posted in Green Tea in General, Brewing Green Tea at 3:49 am by site admin

Here we go - the top ten reasons why your green tea didn’t turn out great.

1. You started off with old green tea. Green tea, “when properly packaged”, has a shelf life of about 6 months. This can be extended up to a year if left unopened and refrigerated. That’s for properly packaged (vacuum packed or nitrogen packaged) tea - If your green tea wasn’t packaged properly and is exposed to any amount of air, it probably was never good to begin with. You know how green tea is supposed to be full of “antioxidants?” Guess what happens when you open the bag and expose it to oxygen? It starts to “oxidize.” Once opened, you have about 2-3 months to use it.
2. Your green tea was from a late harvest. It’s no big secret - the best green tea comes from the first harvest in late April, early May. You can get this throughout the year, however.
3. You brewed it too hot. This is probably the most common of all mistakes, and one which has the most influence over the taste. Depending of the variety of green tea, it should be brewed around 175 degrees F, give or take 5 degrees. If you brew it too hot, it will become bitter.
4. You brewed it too long. This depends on the variety, but generally speaking, no more than 2 minutes.
5. You used too much tea. This is where you have more room for adjustment. Again, it depends on the variety, but for normal sencha, about one teaspoon to 8-10 ounces of water. For one type of tea, you may have to use an even level teaspoon, and for another - a heaping teaspoon, and will vary from tea to tea.
6. You didn’t use enough tea. For gyokuro, you won’t get good results unless you use double the amount used for sencha.
7. You tried to use a tea ball or paper filter. Green tea is compact. Once you brew, it really expands, and needs plenty of space to open up.
8. You tried to use a 2 liter English Teapot. If you really know what you are doing, it is possible to use a Western teapot to brew green tea. However, you would be way better off using one designed for green tea. While I’m on the subject - a typical Japanese green tea teapot is only about the size of a large orange, they’re supposed to be small. Wait until you see how small the Chinese teapots are.
9. You didn’t start out with good water. Enough said.
10. You started of with low quality tea. Even in Japan, the quality levels of green tea vary considerably. Just because it’s from Japan doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good.

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