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 fundamental reasons why brewing is used in green tea.
Reason # 1 – Brewing doesn’t eliminate the important nutrients, vitamins and components that comprises green tea.
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 easy 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. If you’re planning to use European bottled water, don’t. It’s this kind of water that is considered as hard water that is not suitable for brewing green tea. Any good quality Australian spring water is preferred.
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. (Water from your tap generally has chlorine in it just so you know)
Step 3 – Boiling process
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. If you are using an electric kettle don’t be scared to boil it twice.
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. Brew your green tea too hot, and your tea will become bitter. The correct temperature does vary depending on the green tea, but for most it is around 165-170 degrees F (73-76 C.)
Step 5 – Steep
Let your tea leaves steep for about two to three minutes. With longer steeping time, the polyphenol level increases and will result to bring about more caffeine in the tea and making it bitter to taste. 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 elements that create antioxidants.
Here 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.
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