How to make Japanese Green Tea properly?!
I have purchased many different japanese green tea leafs but I can never make it taste like the japanese green tea they give you at a Japanese restaurant. The tea from the restaurant is green and it tastes wonderful, but I don't know how to duplicate it. Is it a problem with the tea leafs that I buy? Or the way I'm making it? I just put the leafs in hot water and the tea always ends up tasting like any other ordinary brown colored bitter tea..
Answers: How do you make Japanese Green Tea at home so that it tastes like the tea they make at a Japanese restaurant?
I have purchased many different japanese green tea leafs but I can never make it taste like the japanese green tea they give you at a Japanese restaurant. The tea from the restaurant is green and it tastes wonderful, but I don't know how to duplicate it. Is it a problem with the tea leafs that I buy? Or the way I'm making it? I just put the leafs in hot water and the tea always ends up tasting like any other ordinary brown colored bitter tea..
i remember going to a japanese restaurant, and asking about the green tea since it tasted so good. nothing I've ever tasted before. Well the waiter gave me a tea bag to take home. it was called Sencha Tea, and I don't remember the brand. But I saw it at the grocery store (Meijer Gold brand), and it was 4 dollars for 30 tea bags. They tasted so good. Almost as good as the restaurant. Since then I've only seen it in one other brand, which wasn't so good sadly. But try meijers or your store might have their own brand.
There are two important things to consider when brewing our loose leaf green teas. During processing, Japanese green tea is first steamed and not heat-treated. The result is that Japanese green tea can be brewed for full flavor using a lower water temperature and less time than other teas. Next, brewing a pot of Japanese loose leaf green tea is not difficult at all. With some experience, and a little trial and error, it becomes as routine and easy as -- dare we say -- brewing a pot of coffee.
Water Quality
The taste of our loose leaf teas is generally mild and not overpowering. If your tap water tastes bad, then so probably will your green tea. We recommend fresh, filtered, or bottled water without a lot of minerals for for the best tasting tea.
Heating the Water
Heat as much water as needed for the green tea you desire to drink. Many purists state it is necessary to bring the water to a boil for the best taste. We won't dispute that, but we can't taste the difference compared to when the water is not brought to a boil. For water heating purposes, either a kettle or microwave oven is fine. Nowadays, many Japanese homes and offices use an electric water dispenser, in which the temperature is set at a constant degree.
How Much Green Tea
One teaspoonful (two grams) per person or cup is sufficient. However, depending on your own taste, use as much tea as suits you. After gaining brewing experience, it won't be necessary to actually measure the quantity.
The Teapot
Using a tea ball will result in good tasting green tea, but typically it is too small to allow the tea leaves to properly expand during infusion. This restricts bringing out full flavor. We recommend a teapot that has a removable metal basket in which to place the tea. Another type (Kyusu) utilizes a metal strainer that covers the spout on the inside of the teapot. The tea leaves are placed directly inside this type of pot. It is also Jump to top of pageeffective. New innovatively designed infusion devices are also available. All should work well with loose leaf Japanese green tea.
Infusion Water Temperature
This will vary according to the variety of the green tea (please refer to tea images below). If the water has reached boiling point, then let it cool a few minutes, or add cooler water to bring the temperature down. Feel free to use a thermometer to accurately gauge the water temperature. But again, experience will play a role in your decision.
Checkmark Infusion Time
This will also vary with each green tea variety (please refer to tea images below). Please do not swirl or shake the teapot to speed up infusion because this may adversely effect the brew's taste. Then gently pour the brew into your cup.
Japanese green tea will usually not taste bitter. If a more astringent taste is desired, then increase the amount brewed, water temperature and brewing time. Conversely, if your brew tastes too bitter, then reduce the aforementioned factors. Loose leaf green tea may be infused more than once depending on your taste. We recommend three times as the maximum. Use the same temperature water, but the brewing time is only a few seconds. You can significantly reduce the caffeine in green tea by discarding the liquid from the first infusion.
The best kind in my opinion is that Ito En is the best commercial brand of Japanese green tea on the market:
I just recently purchase very young green tea (supposed to be the best) and was told to steep for 1 min only 2min tops.
You don't want to use boiling water when you make green tea. You should have your tea at about 170 degrees. Let the water sit for around 10 minutes after it has come to a boil. Then when you make the tea, you should only let it steep for about 2 minutes.
As far as the color of your tea, that depends on the type of green tea you use. There are different kinds that give off different shades of green. If you want a really bright green tea, you may want to try more sencha green tea. They tend to more bright green.
maybe your tea isn't fresh enough. right now i'm trying to grow my own tea. i have a tiny tea bush growing in my room. it will go outside in the spring summer.
Pour little bit of hot (not boiled like for a black tea) water in an empty clay or ceramic tea pot and close it. Warm it up for a few min. Pour water out of tea pot and put 1 teaspoon of tea per cup and then fill it with hot water. Close teapot an cover it with napkin or clean towel, let stand for 2-3 min. You may find that 1 teaspoon is to much for you and makes a tea too strong, then just reduce the amount next time