Jasmine Green - Tangy flavor when brewed in different places

[Kerrath]

I've been drinking jasmine green tea from specialteas and local grocery stores for quite some time and I've always noticed inconsistencies between one batch and the next.

Recently however, my tea has had an odd tanginess to it. It really subtracts from the flavor of it and I'd like to do what I could to eradicate it. I've tried brewing between 77* and 82* C with no appreciable difference in the presence of it, and I've tried letting it cool before adding water, and using ice to cool it rapidly.

I noticed that while I was taking care of somebody's house, when I used their ice to chill the tea, the favor was significant better. The houses, in the same city both have hard water, however at my home, there is a reverse osmosis filter that provides the water for the freezer and the water the tea is steeped in. At the other house, their refrigerator has a basic filtration unit.

When I brewed the tea at my home, but used their water or ice to dilute the concentrate, the tea's flavor was far better. I've tried not using ice from my home, thinking the freezer might be giving its own unpleasant flavor to the tea, but continue having the same result.

The longer I leave the tea sitting before drinking it, the better it seems to be. So if I were to brew it today and drink it tomorrow, it'd be far superior to what it tastes like today.

Please share your knowledge and give me feedback on what you think the problem might be. thanks!

[Kerrath]

So, nobody has any ideas?

[Chip]

Patience, grasshoppa!

Although this is a tough riddle to solve.

[Kerrath]

I tried microwaving the water first, in a glass pyrex container to eliminate the potential of it being the lack of O2 in the water from having been previously boiled, and to eliminate possible contaminants in the pot I'd normally used, but achieved the same result.

Brewing method:
3 cups water @ 82* Centrigrade
8 heaping teaspoons of jasmine tea
Steep for 3 minutes
Filter through coffee filter into container
Add enough ice to cover the top level of the container, then add water from the reverse osmosis filter to make 48oz or 6 cups
Then into the fridge.

Hopefully that helps?

[Kerrath]

help mehbeh?

[Chip]

Looks like you stumped us, Riddler!

The only thing I can say is that I had a Jasmine green that tasted awful, perhaps even sour, but the stuff was just fowl. Purchased in a Chinatown, it was in a canister that had a different language on each of its 4 sides, like "Au Jasmin."

Yeah, I know, not likely to help you.

[Kerrath]

Well, this admittedly isn't the best tea, but there were times I made it that it was pretty much heavenly. (Mostly the times I referenced in my description of the problem.)

I've made it twice since my last post. The first time, I slightly reduced how heaping my teaspoons were and heated the water to boiling, then let it cool to 82* and then steeped it for 3 minutes. (More like 2:45 when you take out the time after setting the timer and actually pouring it.) It turned out pretty well, though it had a subtle but strong aftertaste.

This last time, I heated it to boiling, then added water to get it down to 82* and it turned out too mild, but I suspect I miscounted spoonfuls or made them too small or something. overall, it was better, but too mild.

I'm not sure if it was the water being boiled first, the smaller amounts of tea or 15 seconds less steeping, but it's better.

I once read something though about not boiling the water before steeping the tea because without the oxygenation of the water, the flavors wouldn't come out the same, and it'd tend to have more astringency, but I guess that isn't true after all huh?

[braven]

I've had some green jasmine. It reminds me of kukicha (twig tea), which luckily, I like.

[AlexZorach]

I can't claim to know what's going on here, but I have three thoughts:

• One, brewing at a higher temperature often makes Jasmine Green teas more acidic. You seem to have addressed this already though.
• Two, hard water tends to bind to acidic chemicals and, while some people say it degrades the quality of brewed tea, it could actually make the tea less acidic. This also doesn't seem to fit with what you're saying though.
• I used to work at a bakery...there were some days when mysteriously, we had to vary the recipes slightly in order for the baked goods to come out with the same consistency. We never fully understood why...air pressure? Humidity? It could be some other strange factor. I also find taste is in perception...sometimes different things taste and smell different in different places because there are different background smells, different context.

Have you tried brewing with water as cool as 70C? Usually if green tea is too acidic or tangy I just keep lowering the temperature until it's less so, and see if I enjoy the flavor then.

[Kerrath]

I tried using our hard water here, and it's very hard. Even if the tea's bad flavor were reduced, the flavor of the minerals in the water was too strong for it to be enjoyable. I ended up dumping it out, while usually with the bad flavor tea, I either could add a little honey or wait 12 hours and it'd be good enough.
Most of the time, I've got I think very close to distilled water, as the reverse osmosis filter is extremely effective.

I've tried brewing at lower temperatures and it seems to just make the tea watery. I'm using a meat thermometer to gauge temperature, and it seems accurate, but there have been times when I've wondered if having dropped it damaged the coil inside.

[Kerrath]

I've reduced the amount of tea I put in and the temperature by just about 2 degrees C. I don't know if I can get it any better than it is though.

When you brew it at 70 degrees, how long do you let it steep for?