I made the mistake of picking some samples that looked interesting as opposed to what I would be likely to buy in a big batch. I've tried:
gyokuro - the best out of my samples, but too expensive for me
dragon well - like it, but i keep getting a hint of bitterness in my brew, plus it's too expensive anyway
gunpowder - wayyy to smokey tasting, reminded me of my lipton teabags
white monkey - i like this alot, i'll be getting more, but i want to have a green with a bit more 'green tea' flavor like gyokuro
What do you guys drink as an affordable green? I will most likely be ordering from adagio, but feel free to talk about your personal favorite.
If you like the green flavor of Gyokuro, then you may have an affinity to Japanese Greens. Some you might try are Sencha, and Kukicha. Both can be found on Adagio, and both can be found fairly cheaply. Fukamushi is my favorite type of Sencha, but it is fairly expensive.
The best of the all the cheap Senchas I have tried is Imperial Tea Court's. It becomes bitter more easily than others, so it will require more strict brewing parameters.
Remember that Sencha (as well as most other teas) is not supposed to be bitter. To brew it right, the water temp should be around 175°. Then the steeping time should be no more than 1:30 for the first steeping. If after following this procedure, the tea still turns out bitter, then try reducing temp and time.
Good luck!
The best of the all the cheap Senchas I have tried is Imperial Tea Court's. It becomes bitter more easily than others, so it will require more strict brewing parameters.
Remember that Sencha (as well as most other teas) is not supposed to be bitter. To brew it right, the water temp should be around 175°. Then the steeping time should be no more than 1:30 for the first steeping. If after following this procedure, the tea still turns out bitter, then try reducing temp and time.
Good luck!
I looked at that Matcha stuff, I don't think I'm ready to tangle with that yet. I think I'll be putting in an order for adagio's sencha overture. I can't see getting an expensive green until I step up my tea game. At first I dismissed Kukicha, it looked kinda weird with the 'twigs' it has in it, but I'll pick up a sample of it when I place my order.
Re: your favorite everyday/affordable green
isn't that what buying samples is about? trying a bunch if different teas w/o the financial or quantity commitment of a full container so you're more willing to try different things rather than assume what you may or may not like?amanojakumo wrote:I made the mistake of picking some samples that looked interesting as opposed to what I would be likely to buy in a big batch.
True, you're 100% right, but maybe I can explain it a little better for my particular situation. For instance, it doesn't matter how amazing the Gyokuro tastes to me, I'll have to try and get someone to buy me that for X-mas. I would have been better off trying a variety of samples that represented teas in a $15 or less price range, so I could find my favorite out of what I can afford to drink on a daily basis.isn't that what buying samples is about? trying a bunch if different teas w/o the financial or quantity commitment of a full container so you're more willing to try different things rather than assume what you may or may not like?
It's not like it's a total waste to have tried stuff that looked interesting, but I think it would have been smarter for me to get an initial tea supply going before I started trying out samples for the sake of expanding my horizons.
Hopefully that makes sense....or you can just assume I'm as crazy as I sound. It wouldn't be an incorrect assumption.
Oct 2nd, '07, 12:21
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studio271
I've had better luck with reducing the amount of tea, as far as making a less bitter brew goes.FataliTEA wrote:Remember that Sencha (as well as most other teas) is not supposed to be bitter. To brew it right, the water temp should be around 175°. Then the steeping time should be no more than 1:30 for the first steeping. If after following this procedure, the tea still turns out bitter, then try reducing temp and time.
For instance: I've experimented with my Adagio Sencha Overture and found that, for me, the magic spot is between 3.0g and 3.5g in a 150mL gaiwan at 150-160F, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, and double time anything beyond three brews (which I rarely bother with).
-Drew
studio271 wrote:
I've had better luck with reducing the amount of tea, as far as making a less bitter brew goes.
-Drew
While true that reducing leaf amount will bring down the bitter flavor, it will also bring down all the other flavors in the tea. Kind of an apples/oranges thing, experiment and find what you like the best.
Using way too much leaf is one thing that causes bitterness, so if you think it might be too much, then it very well could be.