Yen Family Site

The Art of Making Green Tea

If you make green tea and it comes out bitter, it's because you haven't yet learned the secret of making good green tea. 
 
Hot Green Tea
Here is the secret:  the water temperature must be 70 C degrees.  Use a thermometer if you have to and use good quality tea for this.  If you buy Japanese tea, look for "Sencha".

For 2 cups of perfect tea:
1 heaping teaspoon tea leaves
Tea cups (not gigantic latte mugs, just normal size tea cups)
Water

Fill your kettle with cold water, bring to a boil.  Fill two tea cups and teapot with hot water to warm them.  When the water in the tea cups is at 70 C (or 158 F) degrees, discard the water in the teapot and add the tea leaves to the now empty pot.  Pour the water from the tea cups into the teapot and wait 1 minute (yes, just 60 seconds!).   Pour the tea into tea cups alternating between them so that each cup as the same strength of tea.  Be sure to pour all of the tea out of the pot.  Now you should have two perfect cups of tea!

You can use the same tea leaves 2 more times, just add about one more minute of brewing each time.

Iced Green Tea
You don't need really high quality tea leaves for this, just use whatever you have.  The reason that you don't make hot tea and then chill it is because you don't want the tea to oxidize while you wait for it to cool.  Brewing it in cooler water means that you preserve the healthy properties of the tea.  Drink this instead of water the next time you're at the gym! 

1 rounded Tablespoon loose green tea leaves, or 2 tea bag
4 cups of filtered, room temperature water

Place the tea leaves or the tea bag in the water.  If using leaves, stir for about 15 seconds.  If using bags, move the bags back and forth through the water for 15 seconds.  Cover and put into the refrigerator for at least one hour.  Strain the leaves, or remove the tea bag, and serve.  If you like it over ice, add more tea leaves (or another bag) to make it a little stronger. 

Go forth and make tea!