Tea MasterHow to brew green tea
Brew loose leaf green tea at 80–84 °C (176–183 °F), never boiling. In a mug or teapot use about 1 g of leaf per 100 ml and steep for 2–3 minutes; in a gaiwan use 5 g per 100 ml and steep for 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 and 180 seconds. Longjing likes 80 °C, Japanese sencha 75 °C for just 30–60 seconds. Bitter green tea almost always means the water was too hot, the steep too long or there was too much leaf.
Green tea brewing chart
| Tea | Water | Mug: leaf per 100 ml, time | Gaiwan: leaf per 100 ml, steeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese green tea (general) | 82 °C (180 °F) | 1 g, 2–3 min | 5 g: 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180 s |
| Longjing (Dragon Well) | 80 °C (176 °F) | 1.2 g, 1–2 min | 2 g: 20, 20, 30, 40, 60 s |
| Bi Luo Chun | 82 °C (180 °F) | 1.2 g, 1–2 min | 2 g: 15, 20, 30, 45, 60 s |
| Huangshan Mao Feng | 84 °C (183 °F) | 1.2 g, 2–3 min | 2 g: 20, 25, 35, 50, 70 s |
| Gunpowder | 84 °C (183 °F) | 1.2 g, 2–3 min | 2 g: 20, 30, 45, 60 s |
| Sencha | 75 °C (167 °F) | 2.5 g, 30–60 s | 3.3 g: 60, 30, 45 s |
| Gyokuro | 55 °C (131 °F) | 3.3 g, 2 min | 7 g: 120, 30, 60 s |
| Hojicha (roasted) | 90 °C (194 °F) | 2 g, 30–60 s | 3.5 g: 15, 30, 45 s |
| Genmaicha (with rice) | 85 °C (185 °F) | 2 g, 1 min | 3.5 g: 30, 45, 60 s |
A 250 ml (8 oz) mug of Chinese green tea is about 2.5 g of leaf, roughly one heaped teaspoon of wiry leaf. Green tea is not rinsed: the first steep is the one to drink.
How to brew green tea in a mug or teapot
- Heat water to 80–84 °C (176–183 °F). No thermometer: mix 3–4 parts boiling water with 1 part cold, or let boiled water rest about 5 minutes in an open jug.
- Weigh 1–1.2 g of leaf per 100 ml of water.
- Use an infuser basket or a teapot with a strainer, so the leaves have room to open.
- Pour the water over the leaves and steep for 2–3 minutes, 1–2 minutes for Longjing and Bi Luo Chun.
- Remove the leaves completely. Tea left on the leaves turns bitter within minutes.
- Re-steep the same leaves 2–3 times, adding 30–60 seconds each time.
For delicate buds such as Bi Luo Chun, pour the water first, then drop the leaves on top so they are not scalded.
How to brew green tea gongfu style in a gaiwan
- Warm a 100–150 ml gaiwan or glass with hot water and pour it out.
- Add the leaf: 5 g per 100 ml for everyday green tea, 2 g for fine Longjing, Bi Luo Chun or Mao Feng.
- Pour 82 °C water down the side of the vessel, not straight onto the leaves.
- Steep for 30 seconds, then pour off every drop into a pitcher or cups.
- Continue with 45, 60, 90, 120 and 180 seconds. Leave the lid off or tilted between steeps so the leaves do not stew in the heat.
A glass or a porcelain gaiwan suits green tea best because it cools quickly. See how to use a gaiwan.
Why green tea turns bitter, and how to fix it
- Boiling water. The biggest cause. Drop to 80–82 °C, or 75 °C for Japanese tea. See the water temperature chart.
- Steeping too long. Most green tea is done in 2–3 minutes in a mug, sencha in under a minute.
- Too much leaf for the time. Gongfu amounts with mug times give a harsh, dark brew.
- Leaves left in the pot. Pour off all the tea when the time is up.
- Old or stale tea. Green tea loses its fresh, sweet character within months of opening. Keep it airtight, dark and cool, and buy small amounts.
If it is bitter, fix one thing at a time: temperature first, then time, then leaf.
Japanese green tea: sencha and gyokuro
Japanese green teas are steamed rather than pan-fired, and they give up flavour fast. Sencha needs 75 °C (167 °F) and only 30–60 seconds in a mug. Gyokuro, which is shaded before picking, goes even cooler, 55 °C (131 °F), for a savoury, brothy cup.
The steep order is unusual: the first steep is the longest (60 s for sencha, 120 s for gyokuro) because the leaves need to open, the second is short (30 s), and the third a bit longer. A small side-handled kyusu teapot with a fine filter is the traditional tool. Step-by-step recipes for sencha, gyokuro and hojicha are in how to brew Japanese tea. For powdered green tea, see how to make matcha.
Green tea bags, iced and cold brew
- Tea bags: water around 80 °C (176 °F), 1–2 minutes. Broken leaf extracts fast, so bags turn bitter sooner than loose leaf.
- Hot-brewed iced tea: double the leaf, steep for the normal time, then pour over a full glass of ice.
- Cold brew: 1.1 g per 100 ml of Longjing, Bi Luo Chun or Mao Feng in cold water in the fridge for 5–6 hours, or 1.3 g of sencha for 4 hours. Cold water extracts very little bitterness, so it is the easiest way to a smooth, sweet green tea. See cold brew tea.
