We have something to tell you about great tasting green tea. You probably already know (being a tea lover and all) and yet we still commonly hear a lot of people say that green tea is ‘bitter’, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Green tea, when you know how, can be one of the sweetest, freshest and most satisfying drinks of all, not to mention that it’s packed with antioxidants that can help support your health.
We’ve put together a short blog on the how-to when it comes to great tasting green tea. We hope you enjoy it. And, when you’re done, we’re hoping you might try it for yourself and spread the good word? We wouldn’t want anyone to miss out…
Choose High Quality Green Tea
While it stands to reason that higher quality tea will usually taste better, this is by no means an instruction to go out and buy the most expensive green tea you can find. Rather, look to try a range of different green teas within, or just above, your usual price range and find the one that suits you best.
What kind of things should you be looking for?
+ Tea that is well packaged – protected from light, moisture, heat and air
+ Tea that smells good when you open it – fresh and sweet
+ Unbroken leaves with a good colour
+ If you’re buying flavoured green tea, check to see that the ingredients are natural
Check Water Quality & Temperature
The main reason that green tea can end up tasting bitter is using the wrong water temperature. Green teas should generally be made with water that’s anywhere between 60 and 90 degrees celsius, depending on the type. Fresh, filtered water will also help elicit all the delicious natural flavour of the tea. Always read the instructions to find out what temperature you need. Here are a few examples of ours:
Jasmine Phoenix Pearls – 80 degrees celsius
Organic Japanese Gyokuro – 60 degrees celsius
Brew for the Correct Amount of Time
It depends how you like it, but we recommend 3 minutes for green tea for a beautifully balanced infusion. You can use a tea timer for this, the timer on your phone, or hazard a guess at a song that you know is around 3 minutes long and pop it on in the background while you wait.
Decant Fully
While brewing in a spacious, glass teapot means plenty of room to infuse, a lot of the flavour will condense towards the bottom of the pot, which is why it’s important to fully decant every last drop to get a balanced, full flavour.
Share With Friends
Depending on the mood, sharing a cup of tea with a friend adds to the uplifting nature of taking time out to make a tea, or creates feel-good vibes when you choose to make one for a friend in need.
Store Your Green Tea Carefully
How should you store green tea? Ensure it’s kept in a dark, airtight and cool area. The enemies of tea are moisture, light, odours, air and heat. Our tea caddy tins are great for storing tea.
What About Matcha?
Well, that’s an entirely different and delicious story. Follow our Matcha Guide for everything you need to know.
