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Making the perfect cup of green tea
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This flowering tea is white not green,
but it's VERY pretty
For many of us tea conjures up the images of white gloves, tiny sandwiches and dainty pastries. With the exception of the portion sizes, there is very little about the afternoon tea, heavy with creams and sugar cubes, that is particularly healthy. But there is a wide variety of delicious teas beyond the extended pinky world of the Europeans.
Green teas and oolongs are much more traditional among Asian cultures. The saddest part of my day is when a visitor to the shoppe tells me that they don’t like green tea because “it’s so bitter”. My sadness is doubled because I know what will happen next. First I will slowly shake my head from side to side, then I will look them in the eye and explain “ Unfortunately… that’s probably your fault.”
Loose-leaf green teas are fantastic, flavorful and full bodied–but only when prepared correctly. If you make green tea the same way you do the much more highly processed black teas (steeped for 5 minutes with boiling hot water) the results will be wretched. Green teas are better for you because so much less is done to them. Therefore much less needs to be done to extract the essential oils trapped lightly in the leaves.
Green Tea Recipe:
- Steep loose leaves for a scant three minutes in water that is 175-185 degrees.
- Hotter water and longer steep times will make your otherwise delicious green tea bitter and acidic.
- Instead of guessing about the water temperature as you heat it, I recommend letting it cool from a temperature that you know and we know that boiling water is 212 degrees,. Boiling hot water loses about 10 degrees per minute for the first 5 minutes or so in an un-insulated container.
Hot (not boiling) Water Recipe for Green Tea:
- Bring water to a boil. (212 degrees). Let cool three minutes (now approximately 180 degrees). Add loose green tea leaves – let steep for three minutes.
- Drink and Enjoy.
Green teas and their slightly hardier cousins, the oolongs, are full of healthy anti-oxidants called flavanoids that help to fight pre-cancerous cells called “free radicals”. But even without those health benefits, the low caffeine green teas are a much healthier choice than soda, or sugary fruit juices or even those high calorie flavored waters.
Visit you neighborhood loose tea shoppe for more information about green tea. We know many local loose tea shoppes that do a great job providing loose tea and information:
These are our friends, let us know about tea shoppes that you know.
