Considered as one of the healthiest beverages in the world, green tea is now the preferred choice of everyone and has left coffee far behind.
Loaded with antioxidants and nutrients, many people like to drink a cup of green tea first thing in the morning. Today, green tea is considered an essential component of everyday life.
Not just that, green tea has been popular since ancient times for its several medicinal uses and is known to aid weight loss process while decreasing the risk of cancer.
There are several benefits of sipping green tea, however, not many people like its taste and find it boring. It has a bland taste which can even turn bitter, if it’s not brewed in the right way.
The ideal taste of green tea should be herbaceous with a little grassy flavour in it, but it should never be bitter.
From setting the right temperature of water to choosing the right leaves of green tea, there are many things that will make your green tea taste good.
Here are some tips that you can follow to make that perfect cup of green tea.
Step 1: Choosing the right tea
It is extremely important to choose the right green tea for yourself. Whether it’s the green tea bags, leaves or powder, it should be chosen carefully. Now, the question that arises is which one of them has more quality? While, most of the people choose tea bags over green tea leaves or powder, as it is very convenient to brew a cup of tea, especially when you are working long hours. However, you will be surprised to know that tea bags contain the dust and fannings of tea leaves, which can result in bitterness. On the other hand, green tea powder, which is commonly known as matcha tea in Japan, has more nutrition than any of these two.
Step 2: Setting the right temperature of water
Water plays an important role in the brewing of green tea. The water you use for green tea is usually boiled, and when you add green tea bag in it, it makes it bitter and tasteless. The right temperature for brewing green tea should be 160-180 degree fahrenheit. Or, you can also let the boiled water sit for 2 minutes and then add the tea bag in it.
Step 3: The right time for steeping
Another point that plays an important role in making the right cup of green tea is the duration it has to be kept for before drinking. Green tea is known to be very delicate and thus it should steep for just 2-3 minutes. Do not let it steep for more than 3 minutes as it will make your green tea bitter.
Step 4: Importance of additives
Additives play another important role in the taste of green tea. Adding a bit of lemon juice can enhance the flavour of your green tea while increasing its nutritional quotient. This is the most common type of additive for your green tea. Not just that, honey is another common additive for taste enhancement. Apart from these two, you can experiment with vanilla essence, mint leaves or powdered herbs.
Step 5: Using the right amount of tea
While it is important to have the right temperature of water and the right time for steeping, it is equally important to add the right amount of green tea while brewing. However, depending on your taste, you can tweak the amount of tea leaves or powder. An ideal ratio is to add 2 grams of green tea leaves in a half cup of water.