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Green Tea

Submitted by: Admin on 05/02/2009

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Green tea is a wonderful beverage with potential health benefits. But if you're not familiar with a few basic techniques, you can wind up with a tea that's grassy, bitter, or just too strong.

Ingredients

1. Determine how many cups of green tea you want to make. The original guideline for brewing is one teaspoon (5 ml) of green tea leaves (or pearls) per one cup of water. This will yield one cup of brewed tea.
2. Measure out the desired amount of green tea leaves (or pearls) and place them in your tea strainer or sieve.
3. Fill a non-reactive pot or pan (glass or stainless steel) with water and heat it to about 180 °F (80 °C). You can use a candy thermometer to watch the temperature, but if you don't have one, then keep an eye on the water so that it doesn't boil.
4. Place the filled tea strainer or sieve into an empty mug.
5. Pour the heated water into the mug, over the tea leaves.
6. Steep the tea leaves for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes but not any longer, or else your tea will become bitter.
7. Let your tea cool a few moments and enjoy your perfect cup of green tea.

Directions

TIPS:* Filtered water is especially recommended, especially if your tap water has a distinct taste or smell.
* You can shorten your preparation time by heating your water in your microwave.
* A glass coffee press (if you're making more than one cup) or a glass mug (if you're making one cup at a time) will allow the tea to cool quickly, minimizing bitterness.
* If you drink a lot of green tea, consider installing a hot-water dispenser on your kitchen sink. The temperature is perfect for green tea.
* To re-use your tea leaves (or pearls) just plunge the tea strainer into a cup of ice water immediately after the steeping process. Depending on the type of tea you're using, you should be able to get at least one additional use of your leaves or pearls.
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# The biggest mistake you can make with green tea is to steep it in water that's too hot. Green, white or silver teas are different from black teas in that they need water that's only about 180° to 185° (80 °C to 85 °C).
# The second biggest mistake is to steep for too long. Green tea shouldn't be steeped for more than 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. White or silver teas should be steeped for even shorter periods--a minute and a half is usually perfect.