Thursday, June 11, 2009

How to Make Perfect Green Tea

Green tea has many health benefits and these are well documented. From helping to lose weight, to helping to fight cancer, and from helping to prevent arthritis to helping to prevent heart attacks. It's no surprise then that people are drinking green teas for health reasons, as well as for the taste and enjoyment of the tea.

If you've tried green tea and didn't like it, then it might be because the tea wasn't made properly. The usual complaint is that that it's too bitter. This can be due to the fact that the water used to make the tea was too hot. If the tea was made with water at the right temperature, then it might have been left to brew for too long, which also affects the taste.

So, what do you need to make the perfect cup of green tea every time?
Presumably you already have a kettle and a cup, so the only items you'll need are:

1. Green Tea

Choosing the right tea will make a difference. You might already know which teas you like, or may have never tried it before. Green Tea can be purchased from many places, and once you've found an online store that sells many different teas, you can try other teas too. It's worth getting a good quality tea, especially if you are drinking it for the health benefits.

Depending on the supplier's recommendations, you can assume that you'll use around teaspoon of tea per cup of water.

2. Teapot

A glass or steel teapot is ideal for making green tea in. This will give the tea and water plenty of room to infuse. Alternatively you might want to use a coffee cafétière if you are just making one cup of tea.



3. Thermometer

You'll need a thermometer to make sure that the water you use is at the right temperature for green tea. It needs to be around 80-85ºC, so not boiling. If boiling water is used, then the tea will be burnt, and so taste bitter, and not nice to drink.

4. Timer

A timer is used so that you can make sure that the tea is brewed for the right length of time. You could use a kitchen timer or a stopwatch. Around 2 - 2½ minutes is all it takes to steep green tea. If it is left for longer then it won't taste as it should do.

5. Tea Strainer

A tea strainer is used so that the tea leaves are kept out of the cup when you pour the tea into a cup. You might prefer to use a metal ball that goes in the tea pot, to infuse the tea. This means that the tea is kept in one place so that you don't need to use a strainer.

Alternatively, if you want to take all the hassle out of making green tea, you could use a Tea Machine. All you need to do is to tell it what sort of tea you are using, and the tea machine does the rest, so that you have the perfect cup of tea every time. You don't need to worry about water temperatures or steeping times. If you drink a lot of green tea, or drink different teas, then this machine could prove to be invaluable, so that every cup of tea you make will taste just like it should do.

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