How To Make Green Tea – Easy Methods, Recipes and Brewing Tips

Green tea is the elixir of beverages. It is a treasure trove with the highest number of listed health benefits in a single cup. Every person who has ever been concerned with health and fitness will surely vouch for a cup of green tea. What is it about this preparation that can turn age around, add a golden hue to your skin, and help fight that last pound of weight that you have put on? Read on to find out more about brewing, buying, and storing your favourite morning beverage.

What is Green Tea?

Green tea originated in the imperial lands of China. It is fabled to have been discovered accidentally when the leaves fell into a cup of hot water that was being drunk by Shennong, an emperor. By way of the travelling Chinese monks looking to spread Buddhism, the tea travelled around the world and soon became a favourite among people who wanted to feel refreshed or meditative.

Green tea, also known as Camellia sinensis is a tea that is non-fermented and very high in antioxidants. Green, Oolong, and black tea are all part of the same family, originating from the same plant. The difference is in the picking of the leaves -green tea leaves are the freshest, youngest leaves picked from the tip of the plant. They are then processed ever so slightly to keep them packed with antioxidants and to prevent oxidation.

What are the Different Types of Green Tea?

Green tea leaves that are sourced from authentic tea shops will help in the brewing of a robust and sweet tasting tea. Here are a few types of green tea:

1. Sencha

This is the most often drunk and most recognised of the green tea varieties. This is a Japanese tea that is readily available in most tea stores.

2. Shincha

This green tea is made from the earliest harvest of each season. It is a fully processed tea and remains aromatic and fresh.

3. Matcha

Matcha is popularly known as the sweetest green tea obtainable. It is traditionally served in Japanese ceremonies and is quite expensive. It is regarded as the king of teas.

4. Gyokuro

Gyokuro is a shade-grown tea from Japan that is low in acerbity. It has a rich flavour and is an expensive purchase.

5. Lung Ching

This Chinese green tea is produced in tiny quantities and is mighty expensive. The leaves are a bright green colour.

6. Jasmine Green Tea

Jasmine green is a green tea flavoured with jasmine flowers. It is fragrant, sweet, and high in catechins.

7. Pi Lo Chun

This Chinese green tea is sourced from the Dongting mountains. It has a fruity taste, floral scent, and distinct white hairs that distinguish it from other green teas.

What are the Health Benefits of Green Tea?

Green tea is abundant in antioxidants, with primarily catechins that are found as epigallocatechins, epicatechin, epigallocatechin-3 gallate, and epicatechin-3 gallate. Antioxidants sift away the harmful free radicals released during oxygenation. This helps in protecting one’s DNA from damage, unchecked cell proliferation, in improving immunity, and provides several other immunity-boosting functions. Some of them are listed below:

• It improves brain function by boosting vigilance, reaction time, memory, and improving one’s mood because of its caffeine content and the amino acid, L-theanine.
• It can reduce the risk of certain cancers like breast, prostate, and colo-rectal cancer by obstructing cancer signalling pathways.
• It boosts metabolism and increases one’s capacity to burn fat. This can be helpful in fighting obesity.
• It slows down brain cell ageing by protecting neurons and thereby reducing the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
• It improves one’s dental health by killing oral bacteria.
• It reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by working on the body’s insulin sensitivity.
• It lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing the LDL levels and improving the HDL levels in the body.
• The antioxidants in the tea prevent skin cells from ageing rapidly by binding the free radicals that case skin wrinkling, thus adding a glow to your skin.

Easy Methods To Make Green Tea At Home

Brewing green tea is a little different from brewing black tea or regular tea. The water for green tea should be no hotter than 90° Celsius, or it will taste bitter. Here are a few ways to brew good green tea:

1. Green Tea Using Leaves

Here is how to make green tea using leaves, in a few basic steps:

You Will Require

• Green tea leaves- 1 Teaspoon per cup
• Water
• Teacup
• Tea strainer
• Tea Pot

Procedure

• Take the proportionate amount of green tea leaves in a strainer and keep aside
• Use a teapot to heat the water to approximately 80° or 85°C.
• Switch off the heat when the water begins to boil.
• Place the strainer on top of the teacup.
• Pour the heated water and let it steep for up to 3 minutes.
• Taste the tea every 45 seconds to see if it is correct for you.
• Remove the strainer.
• Stir in a teaspoon of honey or another sweetener you wish.

2. Brewing Green Tea With Powder

Green tea powder is readily available in the market and is an excellent choice for brewing tea. Here is a method for making green tea with powder:

You Will Require

• 1.5 teaspoons of green tea powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 spoon of honey

Procedure

• Add a cup of water to a glass or steel bowl and heat.
• Turn off the heat before the boiling point and let it cool.
• Add the tea powder and steep for 3 minutes.
• When the colour changes to brown, pour it through the strainer.
• Mix in honey and transfer to a cup.

3. Green Tea With Tea Bags

Here is how to prepare green tea using tea bags:

You Will Require

• Tea bag
• Hot water
• 1 cup
• A lid for the cup
• A pot

Procedure

• Heat the water to 85 degrees Celsius.
• Put the tea bag into the cup.
• Pour the hot water over the bag and cover the cup. Steep it for 3 minutes.
• After steeping, remove the lid and take out the tea bag.
• Stir and enjoy.

How To Brew Green Tea Properly – Simple Tips

1. Tea To Water Ratio is Important

A 3:5 tea to water ration is essential to brewing a good green tea.

2. Be Aware of The Water Quality

Use good quality water, preferably filtered, to get the sweet taste of a good brew. Do not use distilled water, though.

3. Water Temperature is Key

The temperature of the water is crucial to preparing green tea. Water at boiling point reduces the antioxidant properties of green tea. Maintain a temperature of 85°C or 170°F.

4. Brewing Vessel

Use a small vessel of about 100-200 ml to brew a single serving. Ethnic Chinese or Japanese vessels known as Shiboridashi or Gaiwan can be used.

5. Steep Time

3 minutes of steeping is ideal. The tea turns bitter if it is steeped for longer.

6. Straining The Tea

Use a good infuser or strainer to strain your tea into a teacup.

Healthy and Nutritional Green Tea Recipes

Green tea can be brewed with many different additives to increase the taste and health benefits. Listed below are a few recipes:

1. Cinnamon Green Tea

You Would Require

• An inch of Ceylon cinnamon
• A teaspoon of green tea leaves
• A cup of water

Procedure

• Add the water to a pot.
• Put in the cinnamon stick and boil the water for approximately 10 minutes.
• Let it cool to 85 degrees C.
• Add a spoon of green tea leaves to the pot and steep it for 3 minutes.
• Strain the tea to enjoy

2. Lemongrass Green Tea

You Would Require

• 2 teaspoons of chopped lemongrass
• 1 teaspoon of green tea
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of honey

Procedure

• Add the water to a pot.
• Put in the lemongrass and boil for 5 minutes.
• Remove the pot and cool to 85 degrees C.
• Add the green tea and steep it for 3 minutes.
• Strain the tea and add honey
• Stir well and enjoy.

3. Lemon Green Tea

You Would Require

• ½ a lemon
• 1 teaspoon of green tea leaves
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of honey

Procedure

• Add the water to a pot.
• Heat until the water is 80-85 degrees C.
• Add the leaves and let it stand for approximately 3 minutes.
• Strain the tea into your cup.
• Squeeze a dash of lemon into the cup.
• Add honey and stir well before drinking.

4. Green Tea With Honey

You Would Require

• 1 teaspoon green tea leaves
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon honey

Procedure

• Add the water to a pot.
• Heat until the water is 80-85 degrees C.
• Add the leave and steep it for approximately 3 minutes.
• Strain the tea into your cup.
• Add honey and stir well before drinking.

5. Puffed Wild Rice Tea

You Would Require

• 1 teaspoon green tea leaves
• 1 teaspoon of puffed wild rice
• Rosehips
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon honey

Procedure

• Add the water to a pot.
• Add the wild rice and bring to a boil.
• Take it off the flame and cool until the water is 80-85 degrees C.
• Add the leaves and the rosehips and let it stand for approximately 2 minutes.
• Strain the tea into your cup.
• Add honey and stir well before drinking.

When you sweeten your brew with a teaspoon of mango or ginger, mild teas like the green gunpowder transform into stimulating afternoon drinks or even delicate, fruit flavoured iced teas. Adding a hint of honey or sugar after steeping it will help accentuate the fruitiness of your tea.

How to Make the Perfect Green Tea for Weight Loss?

Green tea is known to work wonders for improving metabolism and burning fat. The following points are important to keep in mind if you want your green tea to help you lose weight:

• Do not buy bottled green tea because of the lower nutrition content. The bottled versions are also known to be sugary and with lesser antioxidants.
• Dry heated tea from China may contain lead according to research. It may be better to try the steam treated Japanese green teas.
• Use a squeeze of lemon with your green tea for the full effects of the catechins as they work better in a less acidic pH created by the lemon.
• Say no to sugar and add a drizzle of honey to your morning cup.
• If your tea has been sitting and gone cold, heat it for a minute in a microwave for improved catechin availability.
• Do not mix in milk as it binds with the flavonoids in tea and reduces absorption.

How to Buy and Store Green Tea for Best Results?

• Make sure to buy your green tea whole leaf.
• Check the labels are make sure you know the origin of your green tea.
• The leaves of the green tea should remain green even after brewing.
• Choose loose green tea over tea bags.
• After brewing green tea for a while, the leaves should turn brown or black.
• Make sure to buy your tea from a trusted seller or brand.
• Store the green tea in an airtight container.
• Protect the container from direct light.
• Before putting the tea in a container, store it in resealable bags.
• Put the bags into airtight containers.

FAQs

Green tea should be handled well if you want to maintain the quality for a longer time. Some frequently asked questions have been answered below so that you can make a fragrant, delicious, and healthy cups of the green elixir for yourself.

1. Are Green Tea Bags Better Than Leaves?

If you are a green tea purist, then you would certainly prefer loose leaves to brew your tea. The bags are manufactured with preservatives and other chemicals to improve the shelf life. The material used for the bags is also something that you should give a thought to if you decide to stick to tea bags.

2. How Much Green Tea Should I Use Per Cup?

Ideally, you should use a 1:1 ratio to brew your tea. This means for every cup you would like, use 1 teaspoon of leaves. The leaves to water ratio should be 3:5 for a decent brew.

3. Is It Good to Make Green Tea with Milk?

Avoid using milk with your green tea. Whole milk is known to inhibit the antioxidant properties of green tea completely. Even skim milk can negate the increased blood vessel function that green tea brings with it.

4. Why do I Feel Nauseous After Drinking Green Tea?

Caffeine present in green tea can be the cause of nausea. It could also cause diarrhoea, anxiety, and insomnia if consumed excessively. To reduce the feeling of nausea, add a dash of lemon to your green tea.

5. How Many Cups of Green Tea Should I Drink in A Day?

3-4 cups of green tea a day can bring in unlimited health benefits. If you consume more tea than recommended, you may end up having diarrhoea, sleeplessness or nausea.

6. Can I Reuse Green Tea Leaves?

You can reuse green tea leaves up to 3 times. If you use tea bags, single use is advised because of the preservatives present in tea bags.

7. What is The Best Time To Drink Green Tea?

Start your day with a cup of this freshly brewed heaven. You can then have follow-up cups in an interval of 2- hours. It is best to have your green tea before your meals to aid digestion.

Some people do not like green tea at all, but this does not mean that they should be denied the benefits that come with it! People who do not enjoy the taste of green tea can start with flavoured green teas like apple flavoured green tea, cinnamon flavoured tea, marigold, saffron, or even rose flavoured green tea. Iced green tea is also a brilliant option for those who do not enjoy the taste. Whichever one you pick, remember our brewing tips and recipes, and have yourself an enjoyable cup of green tea!

Also Read: How to Set Productive Morning Routine for Healthy Life?