Green Tea

[ToddWeston]

I enjoy green tea especially Fuji Natural - I attempted to make a batch and frankly it was awfully bitter and no depth of flavour. I boiled the water and let the tea steep and then poured it over ice, I think if I left it longer it would have been worse.

I'm not an iced tea (dark tea & sweet) fan, I read the Americans put tea bags in non boiled water and let it steep, some place the container in the sun, I also thought you had to boil the water first and use hot water especially with green tea ?

Any tricks how to make a home brew ? and suggested brands ?

Edited October 19, 2013 by ToddWeston

[AyG]

What kind of tea was it? Sencha, bancha? Something else? Personally I prefer genmaicha since the toasted rice adds a certain sweetness.

However, the boiling water was almost certainly the problem. A temperature of between about 50C and 80C is best (and varies with type of tea). Too high a temperature extracts the bitter tannins in the tea leaves. Next time boil the water, then let the kettle stand for 5 minutes or so, then make the tea and you should get a less bitter result. If you have a thermometer you could use that to check for a more accurate temperature.

Don't let the tea brew for too long. One to two minutes is enough for most kinds of Japanese green tea.

[ToddWeston]

What kind of tea was it? Sencha, bancha? Something else? Personally I prefer genmaicha since the toasted rice adds a certain sweetness.

However, the boiling water was almost certainly the problem. A temperature of between about 50C and 80C is best (and varies with type of tea). Too high a temperature extracts the bitter tannins in the tea leaves. Next time boil the water, then let the kettle stand for 5 minutes or so, then make the tea and you should get a less bitter result. If you have a thermometer you could use that to check for a more accurate temperature.

Don't let the tea brew for too long. One to two minutes is enough for most kinds of Japanese green tea.

Fantastic tip worked like a charm, made another batch this afternoon and it was excellent, just like you said the water was too hot.

I picked up a cheap brand Ranong Tea Sun Leaf to experiment now I'll start to explore better brands.

I did have a chuckle, here I am posting on an expat forum how to brew perfect green tea when all the folks under this roof hadn't the foggiest and loved the second batch.

Thanks again

[honu]

I like longching tea the best of green tea types (chinese green tea). I've never iced it; I guess the results would depend on your taste preferences.

I've drank a lot of Japanese teas, and they can be nice enough, but I'd rather get away from that seaweed / overly green flavor towards something closer to grassy or toasted rice.

Less oxidized oolong teas are close to green teas, the only difference being a slightly higher level of oxidation (the main difference in types of tea, with black tea even more fully oxidized). Some Thai oolong teas are light and relatively floral, versus having more vegetal flavors, and might work well iced. Some are not really expensive, something like 300 baht for 200 grams, or perhaps more for some better types. Royal project shops that are relatively common sell them, for example in the Suvarnibhumi or Chiang Mai airports, and there is one in a Big C we go to in Bangkok.

The two main cultivars (plant hybrid types) you see most often are #12 Jin Xuan and #17 Bai Lu, and both can produce very nice tea. The numbers refer to a list of tea hybrids developed in Taiwan, and the original plants were brought in from Taiwan.

[NexusWR]

On the temperature point - Instead of letting the kettle boil, stop it halfway through. Boiled water loses oxygen which helps in the brewing process.

[spidermike007]

I enjoy green tea especially Fuji Natural - I attempted to make a batch and frankly it was awfully bitter and no depth of flavour. I boiled the water and let the tea steep and then poured it over ice, I think if I left it longer it would have been worse.

I'm not an iced tea (dark tea & sweet) fan, I read the Americans put tea bags in non boiled water and let it steep, some place the container in the sun, I also thought you had to boil the water first and use hot water especially with green tea ?

Any tricks how to make a home brew ? and suggested brands ?

Yes, buy some high quality chinese green tea from a supplier on ebay, or elsewhere on the internet. they can ship directly to thailand, and there are no customs issues for importation of chinese tea into thailand. about 750 baht per kilo, in bulk. a kilo goes a very long way. delicious hot or cold. I would look at the bin luo cho, the jasmine pearl, or similar teas. The chinese still do some of the best green teas in the world, and the best thai teas do not even come close to the quality.

[PoetDrunkInTheBoat]

I like longching tea the best of green tea types (chinese green tea). I've never iced it; I guess the results would depend on your taste preferences.

I've drank a lot of Japanese teas, and they can be nice enough, but I'd rather get away from that seaweed / overly green flavor towards something closer to grassy or toasted rice.

Less oxidized oolong teas are close to green teas, the only difference being a slightly higher level of oxidation (the main difference in types of tea, with black tea even more fully oxidized). Some Thai oolong teas are light and relatively floral, versus having more vegetal flavors, and might work well iced. Some are not really expensive, something like 300 baht for 200 grams, or perhaps more for some better types. Royal project shops that are relatively common sell them, for example in the Suvarnibhumi or Chiang Mai airports, and there is one in a Big C we go to in Bangkok.

The two main cultivars (plant hybrid types) you see most often are #12 Jin Xuan and #17 Bai Lu, and both can produce very nice tea. The numbers refer to a list of tea hybrids developed in Taiwan, and the original plants were brought in from Taiwan.

The ONLY iced tea worth drinking is the Chinese green teas, or wulong too if it is very expensive wulong.

Thanks for your thoughts on Thai tea buying

[Katie Luo]

I like green tea

[tutsiwarrior]

I'm a big fan of the japanese gen mai cha, the green tea with toasted rice...after drinking a pot of that tea I feel...wholesome...

[tommoody336]

Longching tea the best of green tea types .don't let the tea brew for too long. I've never iced it.

www.dinein.co.uk

[honu]

I remembered reading an online friend's post about cold brewing tea earlier after checking back:

http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2013/09/cold-brewing-tea.html

He just puts the tea in a pitcher in the refrigerator for several days--easy enough. He also links to several references, to read further.

I have heard of "sun tea" but I don't remember details about technique.

I don't drink iced tea but I would think a lightly oxidized oolong would work really well for that, as I'd mentioned. But using green tea is much more common.

For those in Bangkok looking for better tea options I just visited a shop in Seacon Square with some nice stuff. They seem to specialize in pu'er (which I bought, good tea at a good price) but I also bought a nice highly oxidized oolong from China that they sold as "yamcha." The full description is all in Chinese but the tea itself was great, a little malty, a trace of cocoa, just wonderful.

For Thai teas I noticed a shop in Paradise Park that looked good, actually in the food court section of that mall, and they also sold pu'er.

[BboyRusty]

Although green tea is one of those thing sold to us as being a great health aid full of antioxidants it actually contains flouride, as does red and black tea!