How do you brew your green tea?

[mcrdotcom]

I guess this is aimed at Chinese greens because I have yet to experience Japanese greens, so this topic is split into two! Firstly, would anyone be able to recommend some Japanese green that would be nice to buy now, or should I wait till next spring/summer to have my first experience with it?

Now the real topic. How do you brew your green tea? When I first started drinking tea I brewed it western, then I thought gongfu was the way forward! But after buying off verdant tea and watching some of their videos, they are obsessed with grandpa brewing it in an open top glass (and I must say I enjoy grandpa brewing greens at low temperatures now, great while doing college work and tasty)! I found with my last batch of green that I couldn't get much flavour out of the tea gongfu, that realistically I was just western brewing on a small scale in the end because I had to leave it so long (that was a light tea though). So far I prefer western or grandpa, but I was wondering what you guys think? How do you brew your green tea? (Japanese is cool too, but I can only relate to Chinese greens currently).

Greens I have had: Dragonwell (very nice grandpa), Jade Snow (a bit too bitter for grandpa), Loashan Summer Harvest (just tried it today, very nice grandpa and lasts a long time), and An Ji Bai Pian White Slice (very light and very suited to grandpa, no bitterness at all).

Thanks guys!

[debunix]

I tend to brew my chinese greens light on the leaf, a leaf to water ratio of as little as 1 gram per 50mL water, but I don't worry about being too precise unless I'm writing a review, because if I get it a little too concentrated, I can dilute it with more water from the kettle; if I get it too dilute, I brew the next infusion longer.

More important to me is the water temp & time profile. I usually start with cooler water, but often will do one 'hot' rinse at about 180 degrees--a flash infusion, hot water in/out as soon as the leaves are wet. After the optional 'hot start' flash infusion, I settle into a series of infusions at 150-160 degrees starting temp, and build up the temp by 10-20 degrees per infusion, depending on how I liked the previous infusion--pushing temp and time both up on later infusions to draw more from partially depleted leaves. The first infusion could be 30 seconds to 90 seconds, the next is about 1/3 the time of the first, and then I go back to the first infusion time and start stretching out from there.

[NoTimeLikeTeaTime]

I honestly don't worry much about how I brew it, but more about the water temp. I don't like to use water that's too hot for green teas. As far as how I brew it, I usually just go for the tea pot with a strainer method. I guess I'm just stuck in my ways haha

[Stentor]

Re: When to buy Japanese greens.
It is perfectly fine to buy Japanese greens any time of the year. The good vendors all store their teas very well and use nitrogen flushed packaging so the tea practically doesn't age once it's inside the packaging.
I've had Japanese greens past their "best before" date and they've always been as fresh as new tea.
A good time to buy is actually before the new spring harvest as many vendors will have special sales with low prices to clear their stocks before the new harvest comes in.

[Mureke]

Re: When to buy Japanese greens.
A good time to buy is actually before the new spring harvest as many vendors will have special sales with low prices to clear their stocks before the new harvest comes in.

This is an interesting view point. I've never quite bought into the spring hype since a dry product like green tea shouldn't age significantly if stored properly. Would you say this would apply to Chinese greens, i.e. are there vendors trustworthy enough?

[Stentor]

I can't say if this applies to Chinese greens as well. I have only limited experience with Chinese greens.

[sherubtse]

Re: When to buy Japanese greens.
It is perfectly fine to buy Japanese greens any time of the year. The good vendors all store their teas very well and use nitrogen flushed packaging so the tea practically doesn't age once it's inside the packaging.
I've had Japanese greens past their "best before" date and they've always been as fresh as new tea.
A good time to buy is actually before the new spring harvest as many vendors will have special sales with low prices to clear their stocks before the new harvest comes in.

+1 to all of Stentor's comments.

Maiko, for one, has a particularly good "clearance" sale in the spring.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[mcrdotcom]

Thanks for the advice! I'll put in a japanese order soon! Need some green tea anyway!

[rabbit]

Depends on the tea, but I like it two ways- glass brewing or in a smaller gaiwan. I don't worry TOO much about how much leaf, I eyeball it most of the time, I too am careful about water temperature though.

[joelbct]

Glass is a reliable standard for any tea- good because it doesn't retain any flavorings, so you can use the same vessel for China Green, Japanese Green, Black Tea, etc, w/ no cross contamination. French Press carafe's work well.

But for Japanese I use the stuff below, the tokoname teapot and water cooler, and the bizen teacups are made from clay specially chosen to enhance the flavor of Sencha.

[img]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/22/7adutuve.jpg[/img]

As for Japanese Tea recommendations, my favorite is the Chiran region in Kagoshima prefecture in the Southern island of Kyushu. The rich volcanic soil produces an equally rich vegetal tea:
https://www.itoen.com/loose-leaf-tea/ja ... idori.html

You can't go wrong ordering from Ito En (above).

Ippodo is another top vendor, they as well as Ito En supply the famous Japanese tea schools, and their Kyoto store is one of the oldest continually running businesses in the world, dating back several centuries.
http://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/index.html

Downside is you have to pay international shipping, whereas Ito En ships to USA from their Brooklyn warehouse.

[yalokinh]

Ive found that gaiwans are the best vessel for brewing chinese greens, at least for me. There is something beautiful in the simplicity of a cup with a lid. Anyways, i drink mostly chinese greens, thats where i started with greens, havent taken the plunge into japanese greens yet, need to do more research about it.
1g/30ml is a sweet spot for me, brewed with a temp of 180 or so. Leave the lid on inbetween infusions for shorter brewing times.

[mcrdotcom]

Downside is you have to pay international shipping, whereas Ito En ships to USA from their Brooklyn warehouse.

I live in Ireland so I have to put up with it anyway sadly! Thanks so much for that advice

Ive found that gaiwans are the best vessel for brewing chinese greens, at least for me. There is something beautiful in the simplicity of a cup with a lid. Anyways, i drink mostly chinese greens, thats where i started with greens, havent taken the plunge into japanese greens yet, need to do more research about it.

Same as myself, but I haven't quite found the gaiwan sweet spot!

[ClarG]

I make green tea with water in a pot or tea kettle that is not boiling but it is hot, and steep for 3 minutes in a measuring cup and then strain the leaves out when pouring into a mug.

I had to look up what you meant by "grandpa style". I have had tea made like this where boiling water is just put over the tea leaves into the cup. The only problem with it is that you can't get the last bit of tea in the bottom of the cup.

I've only done this with oolong tea, and Peshawari kewah from Pakistan.