How can I make Japanese tea taste better?
- Tuesday Nov 24,2009 04:16 AM
- By diddy
- In Others
Its cause today was my first time making Japanese green tea and it tasted horrible. I don’t know if I am doing it wrong because other people say it tastes good. I want to know how to make it taste better. Any tips on how to make Japanese tea taste that would be great.
Green Tea, Japanese Green Tea, Japanese Tea, Tea Taste
2 Comments
Brew your tea at a lower temperature. Instead of bringing the water up to boiling (212F), only heat it to 140F to 185F. You want the water hot, not boiling. Secondly, don’t brew if for as long a time as you would a black tea. Only steep it for a minute or two. The best way to find out what works best for the tea you have is to try it various ways. Steep one cup for a minute. If you like it, great! If it seems a little weak, let it steep for two. Just remember the flavor will be much lighter than a "normal" tea. The tea should smell pleasantly grassy–like hay, not strong like a compost heap.
Make sure you’re not using water too hot or leaving it in too long. Japanese tea tastes horrible if mistreated.
A rough guide:
212 F - 30 sec (don’t do this to good tea; do this to very cheap bancha)
180 F - 60 sec (don’t do this to fukamushi tea - if it’s in little bits it’s likely to be fukamushi)
180 F - 40 sec (fukamushi)
140 F - 120 sec (gyokuro; you probably don’t have this)
Did I tell you not to use water that’s too hot? It’s the number one mistake in making Japanese tea. My friend ordered Japanese tea from a famous coffee shop not called Starbucks and said it was the worst Japanese tea he’d had in his life. They put the leaves in 200 F water and left them 2 minutes. While that wouldn’t destroy most teas, it destroys Japanese tea.
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