How do I boil green tea?
How do you boil green tea? Easy answer: don't!
Never, ever boil green tea. Boil the water, not the tea itself. If you boil the tea in the water, you are effectively cooking the tea, which has all sorts of negative and unpleasant effects – most notably extracting extremely bitter flavors and completely spoiling the taste.
Unfortunately, there's quite a lot of contradictory advice out there from various sources on the subject of preparing green tea, so it can be really difficult to figure out the correct way to do it. There are so many different varieties and brands in existence, too, that what might work well in one case might not work at all in another! However, to start with the basics: don't boil the tea. Add the tea after the water has boiled – and to take that a step further, this means that the water shouldn't still be boiling when you combine it with the tea leaves. Ideally, it should be just below boiling temperature: any hotter, and you risk setting off a chain of heat-induced chemical reactions that will spoil the drink and bring out some unpleasant bitter flavors.
There are many, many theories on the exact temperature that the water should be at before adding the green tea. Some say that you should remove water from the heat source when tiny bubbles and a little steam start to appear. Others think that you should boil the water and then let it sit for one minute before pouring it over your tea leaves. Others advise leaving it for up to ten minutes! Another method is to add cold water to boiled water – but then, of course, the arguments start as to what the ratio of cold to hot water should be.
Basically, it's a matter of trial and error until you find a method that works for you. Or, more simply, to buy a brand of tea that comes with specifically tailored instructions for its preparation – following these to the letter should guarantee you a perfect brew. There are also some nifty gadgets for determining the correct water temperature, from special tea thermometers to uniquely designed kettles that promise to bring water to very specific temperatures according to the type of green tea you're preparing.
A note of caution is also necessary with regard to the quality of the water that you use, which has a very real effect on the quality of the green tea that it produces. Tap water is generally a big no-no, particularly if you live in a “hard water” area, as the high mineral levels contained in this water will affect the flavor of your tea. If possible, you should only use spring water, filtered water, or bottled water when you're making green tea. The water should be cold to start with, and shouldn't be distilled or stagnant. And finally, bear in mind that water can carry and transfer tastes from what you're cooking with – so don't use metal pots or kettles, and make sure that your boiling vessel as well as your teacups have been thoroughly rinsed to ensure that there's no lingering taste or residue from washing up liquid or previous drinks.
Useful Links:
http://www.teamuse.com/article_050101.html
http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/brewing.htm
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