How to Properly Brew Green Tea
To experience the utmost health benefits, green tea is preferably brewed rather than fermented. Fermentation is most likely used in black tea but never in green tea. There are basically three important reasons why brewing is used in green tea.
Reason # 1 – Brewing doesn’t eliminate the important nutrients, vitamins and components that comprises green tea. On the other hand, fermentation wastes there components leaving other beverages with nothing but the idea that it is tea and people can get something from it.
Reason # 2 – Brewing can bring out the best in catechin and theanin for these two elements contribute to a lower level of caffeine in your green tea.
Reason # 3 – Enhance taste and aroma. Indeed, brewing has a very enticing smell that can’t be found in fermented beverages.
If you wanted to have a good green tea, brew it. Although, if you keep on wondering why you’re green tea tastes a bit strange compared to other great tasting brewed green tea, maybe there’s something terribly wrong with how you prepare your tea.
Brewing green tea is easier contrary to what people think. To learn more on how to brew the best green tea, read the instructions below.
Step 1 – Water
Choosing what kind of water to use is a very important detail that you have to take note of. Ideally, manufacturers would prefer brewing green tea using soft mineral water or natural water. If you can’t afford purchasing bottled water daily, you can take into consideration tap water. Here, you would know how tap tasteless water can be converted into one soothing beverage. If you’re planning to use European bottled water, don’t. It’s because this kind of water are considered as hard water that is not suitable for brewing green tea.
Step 2 – Chlorine-free
Chlorine must not be mixed with the process. To remove it, just leave your water in your pot for a couple of hours before finally boiling it.
Step 3 – Boiling process
Depending on how much water you have put will be the time it will boil. The more water, the more time it will take to boil. When you have noticed that the water is already boiling, take off the lid of the pot and let it boil continuously for a few minutes more.
Step 4 – Temperature
It is said that correct temperature of boiling water will vary on the kind of tea that you are about to use. This is the moment when extraction of polyphenols take place.
Step 5 – Steep
Let your tea leave steep for about three to five minutes. With longer steeping time, the polyphenol level increases while if steeping time takes only for a couple of seconds, it will result to bring about more caffeine in the tea. The moment the caffeine content in your green tea is increased, it will result to a decreased polyphenol content which is one of the main reasons why antioxidants are made.
There is an additional knowledge regarding brewing.
Tea leaves
Research shows that it is better to brew green tea leaves that are smaller because of the fast infusion. Choosing large leaves or ones that are tightly curved can have a longer infusion time.
Teabags or loose leaves?
It is more advisable to use loose green tea than green tea teabags. Loose green tea enables polyphenols to freely float inside your cup of green tea instead of locking them inside your teabag.
