green teas--bitter help!

[Deleted User #1714]

Okay, I don't know what I am doing wrong.

I am a black tea drinker, usually, but was given a set of Le Palais Des Thes set of green teas...I've followed the directions but each one I've tried has turned out bitter...

I bought some loose leaf tea from Peets to see if I could make that, rather than wasting all of my expensive "snooty" (;-) green teas, and the result: still bitter!

I'm using filtered water, and I've tried from boiling to almost tepid, steep time a few minutes to a few seconds...

Help!
I really want to enjoy these teas...

[jogrebe]

I personally make my green tea in a way that defies the "set rules" in terms of water and time. I use a mix of around 50% boiling water and 50% cold or room temp water and then infuse for around 90 seconds.

Also since you are used to black tea, keep in mind that green tea is a lot lighter and its shade varies heavily by type so you need to go by taste and time instead of color to determine how much.

[Deleted User #1714]

My favorite tea is Lapsang Souchong, so you may be right--I'm probably looking for doneness in color......

[marz910]

I usually brew green teas for 2-3 mins useing a half a teaspoon for a 6-8 ounce cup, but before the actual brew I pour hot water on the tea and let it steep for 30 seconds, then I dump that out and then brew the tea like I stated. I find this cuts back on the bitterness.

[jogrebe]

I usually brew green teas for 2-3 mins useing a half a teaspoon for a 6-8 ounce cup, but before the actual brew I pour hot water on the tea and let it steep for 30 seconds, then I dump that out and then brew the tea like I stated. I find this cuts back on the bitterness.

That will also decaffeinate the tea for you.

[Warden Andy]

How do the instructions say to brew it?

You might be using too much leaves, too hot of water, or too long of a steeping time (or all three).

Just make sure the water you're using isn't hotter than 180F, and either lower the steeping time, or the amount of leaves.

[yresim]

I usually brew green teas for 2-3 mins useing a half a teaspoon for a 6-8 ounce cup, but before the actual brew I pour hot water on the tea and let it steep for 30 seconds, then I dump that out and then brew the tea like I stated. I find this cuts back on the bitterness.

That will also decaffeinate the tea for you.

Actually, if you are looking to cut out the bitterness, 30 seconds is way too long (unless, as John pointed out, you want decaf).

Depending on the tea, anywhere from 1 to 5 seconds should be more than sufficient to reduce the bitterness. For most teas, 1-2 seconds is sufficient. However, every tea is different, and some definitely require 3-5 seconds.

Tea can be bitter for any number of reasons, including:
1. Using too much tea
2. Brewing too long
3. Brewing too hot
4. Tea leaves extremely fine/small
5. Bad water

Try this:
Heat water to 150 degrees. Pour small amount of water over 1/2 tsp tea leaves. Leave for 3-5 seconds. Drain. Add 8oz water to tea leaves. Brew for 1 minute. Drink.

I've never had that method produce a bitter tea. Of course, I haven't tried every tea available on the market, either.

In any case, if it is still bitter, is it possible that there is something going on with your water? Or that you paid a lot for overpriced bad tea?

~Yresim~

P.S. I realize that you use this water for other teas, but different teas will react differently to the same water. As an experiment, you might want to try a bottled water that others have found to go well with green tea. I've used the Fiji brand successfully...

[Deleted User #1714]

Hmmm...all the advice! I definitely came to the right place.

Let's see:

since I've tried different temps and brewing times, I'm gonna have to go with door number 1, that I'm using too much tea.
The containers have the measurements in minutes to steep, but not how much tea to use for how much water...the theophile book that came with the set has the measurements, but all in metric...my little American brain can't convert grams to teaspoons so I just kinda guesstimated. Which apparently is a bad idea.
[thud]

Is it really necessary to drag out the candy thermometer and gram scale to make a pot of tea? Well, the answer to that one is yes, if you want a drinkable pot of snooty tea. Heh.

Luckily, I didn't pay for them--they were a gift to my sister from a client, and she gifted them to me.

I told her to thank the client, and tell them that next time, get her the black tea sampler...

[jogrebe]

I don't think it is necessary to bring out a candy thermometer to make tea, which is why I just use the mix of boiling and cooler water to brew green tea. I have no idea what temperature water it produces, just that it works for me, especially with cutting the time down from 3 to 1.5 minutes.

As to the amount of tea the general rule is 1 teaspoon per cup of water but most of the time I actually use a 2/3 teaspoon to measure out my green tea if its not one that "stacks" with a lot of air between the leaves in the measuring spoon.

[yresim]

Is it really necessary to drag out the candy thermometer and gram scale to make a pot of tea? Well, the answer to that one is yes, if you want a drinkable pot of snooty tea.

Absolutely not! I'm sorry if I gave that impression.

Most avid tea drinkers rarely bother with accurate measuring devices.

When I make a cup of earl grey, this is my method:
toss a large pinch of tea into a cup, add some boiling water, leave it for a little while, scoop out most of the tea leaves, and drink my tea.

I'm a little more careful when making white or green tea, but that is just because I personally suck at temperature comparison. Most avid green tea drinkers follow a very similar method to my earl grey method (except they "add some hot water").

What the measuring devices do:
1. Help someone who hasn't made a lot of tea learn to make a pot of tea without someone to assist him/her the first few times.
2. Help one figure out the right way to make a brand new type of tea.
3. Allow tea drinkers to compare brewing methods.

Fortunately, adding too much tea is really the easiest problem to correct. Just pull out a measuring spoon and add the tea leaves that way the first few times. After a few tries, you will be able to tell by eye about how much tea to add.

In general, most teas use 1 tsp per cup of water. However, some teas work better with less, and some work better with more.

In the end, it is a matter of how you like it.

For example, if you find that adding a teaspoon-ish of tea leaves results in a bitter cup, you might want to add less tea. If you find, however, that it results in an extremely weak cup, you might want to add more tea.

~Yresim~