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Home｜ Five tips for brewing delicious green tea! -Japanese tea culture-

Everyone’s Tea-style
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Five tips for brewing delicious green tea!

-Japanese tea culture-



 In Japan, green tea is very popular. It is drunk regularly everyday at suppers or tea times. Most people have a tea set on their kitchen counter or dining table. You can even find large selections of bottled green tea at convenience stores or grocery stores. Green tea is a part of Japanese life. Brewing green tea at home is easy. We introduce easy brewing recipes on the “Brewing green tea” page. If you want to get a quick idea of green tea brewing, please refer to it. Here, we will give you some tips and knowledge to brew delicious green tea.

The five most important elements for delicious green tea are:
1. Water
2. Temperature of water
3. Amount of tea leaves
4. Brewing time
5. Method of pouring

1. Water
Soft water is good for Japanese tea. When you use tap water, boil well (over two minutes) to take away the chlorine smell.

As different bottles of water taste different, the taste of tea will be affected by differences of water. Good water for Japanese tea is 40-90 degrees of water hardness, slightly acidic, and contains few organic substances, and little iron and manganese. The water hardness and the pH of water affects brewed tea color. Japanese tap water is about 50-60 degrees of water hardness, which is good for Japanese tea, but it contains chlorine. Many people do not like tea brewed with chlorinated water. To take away the chlorine smell, leave tap water over-night, and boil it for about two minutes before use. The material of the kettle also makes some difference. Iron is the best for the kettle.
It has been said that soft water is good for Japanese tea. However, it is not always the case. Some hard water can make good tea. You can brew a nice green tea with the popular bottled water “Evian”, which is hard water. “Evian” can bring a pretty brewed tea color and simple, pleasant taste.


2. Temperature of water
70-90 degree Celsius (158-194 degrees F) water is good for Sencha (most common green tea).
Hojicha: 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees F)
Gyokuro: 40-60 degrees Celsius (104-140 degrees F)


The harmony of bitterness and delicious flavor creates the taste of green tea. It has a close tie to the brewing water temperature. The best water temperature depends on your preference. If you would like refreshing taste, use hot water, about 90 degrees Celsius. The bitterness and rich aroma will refresh you in the morning. Or, if you prefer mild green tea, brew it with lower temperature (about 70 degrees Celsius) water. This mild, delicious green tea is perfect for when you want to relax. This is because tannin (bitterness) and theanine (delicious flavor) have different properties. The hotter the brewing water gets, the more tannin (bitterness) comes out. On the other hand, theanine (delicious flavor) is extracted evenly in any temperature of water.
To lower the temperature, simply pour water into the cups and then back into the pot.

3. Amount of tea leaves
One scoop (about 2-3g) of tea leaves makes one serving.

To make one cup (about 100ml) of tea use 3g of tea leaves. Add 2g of leaves for each additional cup you want make. Use plenty of tealeaves for brewing.


On the left is what 3g of tea leaves looks like.
On the right there are 2g.



4. Brewing time
Just leave the teapot for 1 minute. Do not move the teapot.
Hojicha: 30 seconds
Gyokuro: 2 minutes

When you brew green tea, you put tea leaves and hot water in a teapot and leave it a while to wait for the flavor to come out naturally. Basically, tea leaves are rolled up in tea processing. It takes time for the tea leaves to open during the brewing. Tannin (bitterness) comes out over time continuously. However, theanine (delicious flavor) comes out for a limited time and then stops. The time is about 45 seconds to 1 minute for Sencha (most common green tea) and 2 minutes for Gyokuro (premium green tea). You can tell the right time by brewed tea color. However, we recommend you use a timer to find your favorite taste until you know the right color.

5. The way of pouring
Serve the tea by pouring small amounts into each cup in turns. Repeat until the last drop.

Serve the tea by pouring small amounts into each cup in turns. Repeat until each cup is full. This will make each cup have an even consistency. When you are making only one serving of tea, try the same style of pouring. Pour a small amount, then stop pouring and hold the teapot in the beginning (horizontal) position. This movement will agitate the tea in the pot and control the density. Then resume pouring a little and then return the teapot to the beginning position. Repeat it a couple times to pour all the tea in the pot. This brings a rich tea color. If you pour the tea in one movement, the tea color will be lighter.
Pouring all the tea in the pot is important. This is because the last drop has the rich flavor, and remaining water in the pot is bad for next brewing. If hot water remains in the pot, tannin (bitterness) will keep coming out and the next brewed tea tastes bad.




For the second and third brewing you can enjoy a different taste from first brewing. Most of the delicious flavor comes out in the first brewing. You can enjoy bitterness from the second brewing. For the second brewing, brew with hotter water and shorter brewing time than first brewing.


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