Nowadays, only the deaf and blind don’t know about a healthy lifestyle. Many people strive to support their body with healthy foods. One of them is green tea. Today we’ll talk about how to brew and drink it correctly.
The benefits of green tea
The benefits of green tea are enormous. It contains many vitamins and microelements and is a natural antioxidant. This means that with regular use we can improve our complexion and maintain the beauty of our skin.
Green tea is also used in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. It strengthens blood vessels and maintains their elasticity.
Can be used as an antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial agent.
Green tea is believed to reduce the activity of cancer cells.
To obtain a healing effect, you need to drink it without sugar, you can sweeten it with honey.
Are there any contraindications to the use of green tea or is everything so rosy?
Contraindications
It's really all about moderation. In large doses, the medicine becomes poison.
Polyphenols, which protect us from cancer and strengthen blood vessels, depress the liver in large quantities.
And excess amounts can even lead to “tea intoxication.” It manifests itself in the form of headache, nausea, dizziness.
On average, you can safely drink 4-6 cups of medium-strength tea a day without harm to your health.
But if you think that by brewing a bag with boiling water from the tap, you will get a healing effect, then you are very mistaken. Green tea needs to be brewed properly.
How to brew green tea correctly?
What is green tea? These are the youngest leaves (4-5 upper leaves of the branch), which are quickly dried in the shade. Therefore, they retain as much as possible all the beneficial properties of the tea bush. And to get them you need not just pour boiling water over the leaves, but do it correctly. First, you need the right water.
Water
For healthy, tasty and “proper” green tea, you need soft water. Just tap water with impurities and additives will not work. You can buy soft bottled water in the store or purify it at home using special filters.
Another way to soften water is to freeze it. Fill a plastic bottle with water and put it in the freezer. When it freezes about 2 cm around the edges, take it out - the unfrozen water needs to be drained and the ice to melt. This will be soft water.
Kettle
For proper tea, the teapot must be well heated. Warm it up with boiling water for a few seconds. A cold kettle takes heat away from the tea and prevents the beneficial substances from being released during the first brew.
A clay teapot is considered ideal for brewing green tea. Clay allows the sheet to “breathe”, retains heat well and is chemically neutral.
In the absence of such a kettle, you can use porcelain, earthenware or glass. But they will no longer allow the sheet to “breathe.”
Do not brew green tea in metal or plastic containers!
Boiling water
It is important to find the right temperature for brewing green tea. Suitable would be from 60 to 90 degrees.
First you need to bring the water to a boil, but do not boil - it should be 95°C. How to determine - we carefully monitor the water, when it makes noise, air bubbles rise up - this is the temperature we need. Remove from heat and let the kettle sit and cool slightly.
Brewing temperature that is too high will spoil the taste and destroy nutrients.
Brew
Finally we got to making tea! The right water, kettle and boiling water are ready.
- Using a clean, dry spoon, pour the tea leaves into the teapot, fill with hot water and immediately drain. Rinse the leaves.
- Now pour the required amount of water into the kettle - usually pour an incomplete glass of water onto a teaspoon of dry tea leaves.
- Close the lid and let the tea brew. Typical time is from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. It is not recommended to leave green tea longer, as it may become bitter and cannot be brewed a second time. When brewing again, the time increases.
- Now you can pour into cups. If you were preparing a drink for several people, then you need to pour it in a circle. So that everyone gets a uniformly rich tea.
- Have a pleasant and healthy tea party!
- Green tea can be brewed many times. Moreover, with each new brew it is filled with new useful substances. Usually the tea leaves are reused 4-5 times.
- Don't expect the tea to be a certain color. They are different for all varieties - from very light to golden and amber.
- You can't drink cold green tea. It no longer contains useful substances, essential oils evaporate, vitamins disappear.
- Use airtight containers to store dry tea. Paper bags and cardboard boxes easily transmit odors. And tea quickly absorbs them.
- To enhance the benefits and taste of tea, add a little honey. at the same time, the amount of soluble glycosides increases, which help improve immunity and resist colds.
Video on how to properly brew green tea
Tea appeared in Russia in the 17th century. It is believed that the first to introduce our compatriots to this oriental drink was Cossack Ivan Petlin, who was tasked with leading an expedition to China and compiling a detailed description of this state. In Petlin’s stories about life in the Celestial Empire, tea is also mentioned (this is how the Russian traveler interpreted the word “cha”, which is what this drink is called in China). Gradually, Russian emperors became addicted to tea, and eventually it spread throughout the country. Nowadays it is difficult to meet a person who would not like to drink a cup of tea.
In contact with
Of all the existing varieties, green tea is the richest in beneficial properties. It prevents cancer, promotes weight loss, reduces the harm that nicotine and fatty foods cause to the body, reduces the risk of heart disease, and so on.
Scientists and doctors still continue to conduct experiments, during which more and more new healing qualities of green tea are discovered. However, in order for it to have a beneficial effect on our health, it must be selected and brewed correctly.
Tea selection
The secret to the benefits of green tea lies in its processing. Unlike black tea, it undergoes the least prolonged oxidation - no more than two days. Thanks to this, all the natural properties of the tea leaf are preserved. So, let's figure it out how to choose the right green tea.
Based on its quality, tea is divided into several categories. The cheapest and, accordingly, the least tasty and healthy is tea crumbs - small sifted particles of leaves. It is used to make tea in bags, so this tea, despite its popularity and speed of brewing, will not bring you any benefit and is much inferior in taste to loose leaf tea. The next level of quality is loose leaf tea, which is made from large cut leaves. And finally, tea made from whole young leaves is considered the best and, accordingly, the most expensive; it is often called “gunpowder” (on packaging it is often written in English: ‘gunpowder’).
It should be remembered that tea does not last long.
After 9 months from the date of manufacture, it begins to gradually lose its properties, so when purchasing, you need to check the date on the packaging.
The most beneficial are tea leaves collected in the spring.
How to brew green tea correctly
Water.
In addition to good brewing, to obtain delicious tea you also need high-quality water. Spring water is best, but city residents rarely have access to such pleasure. You can purchase water in cans or bottles, and it is advisable not to skimp, since the chemical composition of many popular brands, such as Bon Aqua or Aqua Mineral, is harmful. Of those manufacturers that are found in Russian stores, it is best to buy “Volvic” or “Evian”, which are mined in the Alpine mountains. Tap water is also suitable, but it must be filtered.
Temperature
To learn how to brew Chinese green tea, you need to know that one of the most important secrets is the correct water temperature. Overboiled water kills beneficial properties and can give an unpleasant bitter taste; If the temperature is not high enough, the tea simply will not brew. It is better to boil water for tea not in an electric kettle, but in an open container on the stove - this will make it easier to keep track of it. There is no need to bring water to a boil (that is, to 100 degrees).– just wait until small white bubbles begin to float to the surface. This stage is called the “white key”. After this, the water should be allowed to cool slightly - to approximately 80-85 degrees (of course, there is no need to measure the exact temperature).
Dishes
The teapot should not be made of plastic or metal. The most suitable material is clay, it holds heat well and does not contain harmful impurities. Porcelain and glass are also suitable. Before brewing, the kettle must be rinsed with boiling water - heated dishes will not take away heat from the drink.
Proportions
The required proportions are usually indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging. If there is no such data, then on average One teaspoon of tea leaves is required for one cup of water. You need to prepare as much tea as you can drink immediately, since it will no longer be beneficial when it cools down.
How long to brew green tea
Brewing time depends on the type of tea. Elite tea from young leaves can be brewed in just 30 seconds. Large leaf varieties usually need to be kept covered for 1.5-3 minutes. You should not brew it longer, as the tea will become bitter. Again, the exact time is often written on the packaging. Tea can be brewed again about 3-5 times, and each new portion will taste slightly different from the previous one.
If you need to pour tea into several cups, then fill them in a “circle”, gradually pouring a small amount into each cup so that everyone gets the same consistency.
Recipes
With ginger
Ginger root added to tea enhances its benefits and helps get rid of excess weight. For 1 liter of water you will need about 3 centimeters of ginger root and half a lemon. For taste, you can add a pinch of cinnamon, as well as 2-3 pcs. cloves or cardamom.
Preparation
The recipe for green tea with ginger is really simple. Brew the tea and let it steep for a while (about 5 minutes). At this time, cut the ginger into thin, almost transparent strips. Strain the infused tea and pour into a small saucepan. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into it and add the lemon itself without peeling. Add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. After this, the tea is boiled over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Strain the resulting drink again before drinking.
Instead of spices, you can add mint, lemon balm and a spoonful of honey to your tea.
Read and leave reviews about green tea with ginger in the comments!
With cinnamon and apples
Take an apple (one large or two small). If you have the opportunity to use an apple from your own orchard, you don't have to peel it because the skin contains beneficial elements. It would be better to peel store-bought apples first. so that the chemicals used to treat them do not get into the tea. Core the apple and cut it into cubes. Brew green tea and let it brew. Place apples, a teaspoon of cinnamon and a few slices of lemon into the teapot. Pour in the strained tea and keep covered for 10-15 minutes (to better retain heat, you can wrap the kettle in a towel). Pour into cups through a strainer.
With currant leaves
Place several currant leaves (4-6 pcs.) into a heated kettle along with the tea leaves. Both fresh and dried leaves can be used. Pour boiled water (still 80-85 degrees), close the lid and leave for 5 minutes.
With gooseberries
For this recipe you will need berries (1 teaspoon per glass of water) and a few gooseberry leaves. Prick the berries, add sugar and wait for them to release juice. Place the leaves in the teapot along with the tea leaves and pour boiling water over them. Before pouring the tea, add some berries to each cup.
A very interesting video on how to brew green tea correctly:
Bon appetit!
A pleasant drink that many prefer to other types of tea. It is healthy and can be used to quench your thirst on a hot afternoon. This type of tea is part of Chinese and Japanese culture and philosophy. In China and Japan, special attention is paid to the process of preparing green tea. It has also become quite popular in Russia, but do we know how to brew green tea while maintaining all its beneficial properties?
There are a great many varieties of green tea, each variety has its own aroma and delicate taste, which are determined by the location of the plantation, the secrets of collecting and processing raw materials, and the characteristics of brewing. The rules state that some varieties can be brewed up to 5-7 times, and each time the drink will reveal new notes.
Green tea is produced and sold in the form of large-leaf, small-leaf, powder, slab and bagged product. Powdered tea is intended for Japanese tea, and is widely used in Nepal, Tibet, and also for preparing exotic tea drinks. Bagged tea does not differ in quality, since the smallest particles of leaves (tea dust) are used for its preparation. Such tea cannot be used to enjoy a drink, but you can quickly prepare simple green tea from it; it cannot be used again.
The best producers of green tea remain China and Japan. You should pay attention to the color of the leaves; they should retain their greenish tint. Elite Chinese varieties have a pistachio color. If the leaves have darkened, they are overdried, and this will affect the taste of the tea.
It is necessary to know when the tea leaves were collected. Tea is fresh within a year after picking. It is worth noting the following characteristics of tea: tea collected in the spring has a sweetish taste, while summer tea has a slightly bitter taste. Tea should not turn into dust if you rub the tea leaves between your fingers. It should not contain more than 5% debris from broken branches and cuttings.
The marking on a pack of tea indicates the quality of the tea; you just need to be able to read it correctly. The highest quality is indicated by the word “extra”, followed by numbers from 1 to 7.
In order for the drink to turn out correctly, aromatic, with a beautiful shade, it is worth knowing how to use green tea in a teapot.
- Tea must be of high quality and fresh.
- Fresh tea leaves should not be kept in hot water for more than 30 seconds. Otherwise, you will end up with a bitter drink.
- You should avoid boiling water; green tea does not like the element of fire, as the Chinese believe.
- It is not recommended to drink green tea very chilled, although it is a wonderful refreshing drink. In this form, all the nutrients and essential oils from the tea evaporate, and it has no benefit other than quenching thirst.
- If you need to take a tea drink with you, you need to pour freshly brewed and strained green tea into a thermos.
- Experts do not recommend adding sugar to green tea. It destroys the valuable substances found in tea.
- Bowls or cups, before pouring tea into them, are rinsed with boiling water and wiped. Tea in a heated container will cool down more slowly.
Classic brewing method
For regular tea drinking, classic brewing techniques are suitable. They do not require the use of special utensils or special accessories. For 150 grams of water, one teaspoon of raw material is enough. It is important to know that high-quality green tea requires low temperatures (up to 70°C). The lower the quality of the tea, the higher the water temperature should be, but not higher than 85°C.
You should not brew tea for too long; keeping the tea leaves in hot water for a long time makes the drink astringent and bitter. In this case, the aromatic and taste characteristics are lost. How long to brew green tea? The minimum brewing time is thirty seconds, the time should increase with each re-brewing.
The container in which the tea will be brewed is heated; for this, the water must be brought to a certain temperature. A certain amount of dry tea leaves is poured into the kettle and filled with hot water. After a few minutes, the drink can be poured into a bowl or cup and drunk.
Regular consumption of green tea increases mental and physical activity, prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases, and improves immunity.
Other brewing methods
- You can use step-by-step brewing of green tea. In this case, take 0.5 teaspoon of dry green tea leaves per glass of water. Water should not be higher than 70°C. First, the leaves are filled with water to fill 1/3 of the kettle, you need to wait for one minute, then add water to half the kettle, hold again for a couple of minutes and add water to 3/4 of the volume. After two minutes, you will need to pour half of the water out of the kettle and add hot water to the rest.
- Pour hot water over loose leaf green tea and leave for a couple of minutes. Then the leaves are transferred to the teapot. Fill it halfway with hot water, leave for two to three minutes, then add water to the top and the tea continues to brew for five minutes.
Japanese tea ceremony
In Japan, much attention is paid to the art of brewing tea. This is a ritual; a special place with a garden and special buildings is used for the tea ceremony. The utensils for tea drinking make up a real artistic ensemble. Tea is stored in a special box. Water for making tea is heated in a cast iron boiler. The brewing process takes place in complete silence.
The Japanese use powdered green tea; it is poured into a deep ceramic container and filled with a small amount of boiling water. A bamboo stirrer turns it into a homogeneous mass. The process continues until a matte foam appears. Gradually add boiling water until the drink reaches the desired consistency.
All guests present are offered a cup of drink according to their seniority. Then the brewed concentrated composition is used to prepare light tea for everyone in a personal container. You can start a conversation and drink aromatic tea, enjoying the process.
Tea ceremony in China
Tea occupies a special place in the daily life of the Chinese. Not a single friendly meeting or official event is complete without tea. The Chinese use various methods of brewing tea. It all depends on the family’s wealth, circumstances, type of tea and other factors. Great importance is given to dishes. Large teapots made of earthenware, clay or porcelain, as well as portioned cups with lids, are considered traditional.
Large kettles are used for large companies. The kettle has a special cup into which the tea leaves are poured. The glass is placed in the teapot. Heated water warms up the tea leaves, they gradually open, giving off the aroma and taste of the drink. High-quality teas can be brewed repeatedly. How long does the ceremony last? The entire process can take from one to two hours. The Chinese are meticulous about all stages of preparation, heating dishes, brewing tea, and drinking it.
Green tea, when prepared correctly, produces a beautiful, rich color. You can smell fruity, herbal and floral notes in its aroma. Each variety of green tea will constantly reveal itself in a new way, surprising and delighting with its taste. And the beneficial properties of this healing drink will help you cope with many diseases with regular consumption of tea. Knowing everything about green tea and how to properly brew this elixir of youth, you can delight yourself with a small tea ceremony every day.
Green tea is a unique natural medicinal drink, but if used incorrectly, it can cause harm to health instead of benefit.
Chemical composition and benefits of green tea
The usefulness of green tea is due to the presence in it of almost 500 micro- and macroelements and about 450 types of organic compounds.
While not replacing food, green tea at the same time helps the body tolerate its lack or absence for a long time. That is why it is the main drink for sailors, hunters, fishermen, geologists and travelers.
Green tea is an excellent absorbent. By binding toxic and poisonous substances, it cleanses the gastrointestinal tract, facilitating the digestion process.
A cup of this unique drink after a meal consisting of heavy, meaty and fatty dishes will be a real salvation for the body.
Green tea strengthens the walls of blood vessels, dilates them, preventing their spasms and, thereby, improves blood circulation, saturating every cell of the body with oxygen and normalizes blood pressure.
Storing Green Tea Leaves
Green tea leaves must be isolated from strong-smelling foods: coffee, citrus fruits, garlic, meat, seasonings, spices and others.
Due to the fact that green tea quickly absorbs absolutely all odors, containers for storing it should be glass, porcelain or wood with a tight-fitting lid.
Green tea leaves do not like moisture and direct sunlight.
Proper preparation of green tea
A teapot made of clay, porcelain or glass, but in no case metal or plastic, must be warmed up by rinsing it several times with hot water before putting dry tea leaves into it.
Pour tea into a teapot at the rate of 1 teaspoon of leaves per 1 cup of green tea.
Do not mix green tea with alcohol or medications. In the first case, the body will receive an excessive load on the kidneys, and in the second, green tea will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the medications taken, simply by absorbing them.
To conclude the topic, one more piece of advice: do not buy green tea packaged in disposable bags, since green tea leaves, when crushed, oxidize in air and lose most of their beneficial properties.
And fresh tea leaves are almost never used to make ground and bagged green tea.
Bon appetit and always be healthy!
Brewing tea correctly is a difficult art. Without knowing the secrets, you can spoil the most delicious and rich variety.
Tea is rightfully considered the most delicious, aromatic and healthy drink. And the British, without any right to do so 🙂, consider him their national treasure. In the sense that there are no tea plantations in the country of Foggy Albion, but there are more connoisseurs and connoisseurs than there are leaves on the bushes of a large tea “deposit”.
It just so happens that they are great masters at brewing. Below are tips from English chefs on how to brew tea correctly so that it meets the strictest expectations. (Source: Family Circle)
What kind of water should you use to make your tea tasty?
The ideal option for these purposes is mountain spring and spring water. It is clear that in urban life there is no need to talk about spring water, but even the most ordinary tap water can be significantly improved by filtering or simply standing in an open container for several hours.
Hard water with a value higher than 8 mg equivalents per liter should not be used - it is not suitable for properly brewing tea. Of course, not every household has a device for determining this very hardness, but just in case we will assume that it is more than moderate in hardness.
Hard water is not suitable for properly brewing tea. It must first be softened.
In order to soften the water, you need to add a pinch of sugar, salt or baking soda. Or you can use a more complex method, which consists in condensing the steam that comes out of the spout of a boiling kettle. The water obtained as a result of such manipulations will not only be soft and clean, but ideal, and ideally suited for proper brewing of tea.
Under no circumstances should you use a metal kettle. The best option is a porcelain vessel. By the way, the Chinese pay great attention to the types of clay - it must be special, “breathable” and imbued with the power of the place where it comes from. But we are unlikely to understand this Chinese magic, so we will limit ourselves to using a good, not too cheap porcelain teapot. It warms up better compared to earthenware, and is softer in texture compared to glass.
A little about the temperature of proper tea brewing
When you read culinary advice on how to properly brew tea, one general recommendation catches your attention - bring the water to a boil with a “white key”. What it is?“White Key” is a condition when the water is filled with a mass of bubbles rising from the bottom. This moment should be “caught” accurately. If you keep water on fire, then when it gets on the tea leaf, it will decompose all its constituent elements, destroy the bouquet and chemical composition of the tea. On top of that, boiling water for a long time will become harmful to the human body. If you don’t wait, the tea simply won’t brew.
When brewing tea, “catch” the moment of boiling water with a “white key”. This is one of the main secrets of properly brewing tea.
Brewing tea correctly is an art not only to please the taste, it is also intended to achieve the optimal combination , activation of all the healing that is included in it.
It is for this that it is necessary to strictly adhere to the brewing rules, even the slightest deviation from which can lead to disruption of the favorable balance of substances in the infusion. Everything is important: including the time of drinking the drink. According to English experts, 20 minutes after brewing, tea will become unfit for drinking, since as a result of prolonged brewing, the solution will become saturated with substances harmful to human health.
How to brew tea correctly? Step-by-step instruction
Wash the teapot in advance to remove any old tea leaves and dry it. Fill the kettle with fresh water and boil it over low heat.
After groups of small bubbles appear in the water, causing it to become slightly cloudy, remove the kettle from the heat and wait until the water cools to 80-85 degrees.
Don't waste time and while the water is cooling, rinse the teapot 3-4 times with boiling water to warm it up.
Pour dry tea into a warmed and slightly damp teapot at the rate of one teaspoon of tea for one cup of water included in the teapot, plus another spoon for the teapot itself. The tea prepared in this way will be of medium strength.
Allow the dry tea in the teapot to swell for a few seconds.
Pour 2/3 or half of the cooled water that fits into the teapot. Close it with a lid and a napkin on top so that the holes in the lid and spout are closed.
Now let the tea brew. It is not recommended to brew loose-leaf black teas for more than 5 minutes, and small-grade black teas for more than 4 minutes. If all the above rules regarding the condition of the teapot, the softness of the water, its boiling with a “white key”, and pouring twice, the optimal infusion time will be 3.5-4 minutes. Exactly that much, and not a minute more.
Somewhere in the middle of this process, add water to the teapot, making sure that there is space between it and the lid. Cover the kettle again with the lid and napkin.
At the end of the infusion process, add water to the very top. This threefold filling helps the water cool more slowly.
The foam that appears during the infusion process is a sure sign that your actions are correct. You should not remove it, because many useful substances accumulate there, for example, essential oils. After completing the infusion process, stir the foam with a spoon in the kettle.
How to brew green tea correctly?
Almost the entire process is similar to brewing black tea. The difference concerns infusion time and pouring patterns. You can infuse green tea for no more than 8-10 minutes. You can fill it 3-4 times. During the first pour, pour water in a layer of 1 cm, after 3-4 minutes water is added to half the kettle, after another 2-3 minutes - to the top or three-quarters of the kettle, after 2 minutes - to the top.Important! Find out if a green drink is good for you - AND - especially important! If you are preparing to become a mother, can you drink green tea?
How to brew red and white tea?
To brew red and white teas, you can use two methods:
- Pour a double portion of red tea into a very hot dry kettle (see how to brew black tea correctly) and leave for no more than 2 minutes, then add 2-2.5 cm of water, after another minute or two, add water to half the teapot, and after another 2 minutes to the top (almost). Brewing time 4 minutes.
- Pour a triple portion of tea into a very heated dry infuser, fill it with water to the top and brew (hold) for 3 minutes, during which time pour boiling water over the outside of the kettle.
English connoisseurs of white tea believe that this divine drink of emperors and future babies should be brewed at a temperature of exactly 85 degrees Celsius, arguing that only in this case will it reveal all the magical power of its subtle, refined aroma.
How to brew yellow tea?
There is one important nuance in the correct brewing of yellow tea - a soft mode with a reduced infusion time. Yellow tea can be drunk immediately after the first pour (1-1.5 minutes), then brew it again (second pour - 3 minutes) and again (third pour - 4 minutes).
By adhering to all these simple principles, you can easily prepare tea that will not only delight you with its unique aroma and taste, but will also bring great benefits to your body.
The golden rule of tea drinking
Interestingly, tea can both excite and calm.
Remember three magic numbers: 2-5-6,they will help you drink tea correctly.
The calming effect of tea occurs 2 minutes after brewing, the stimulating effect - after 5 minutes, and just a tasty drink with a faint aroma - after 6 minutes (this is exactly how long it takes for essential oils to evaporate).
The balanced and beneficial properties of tea manifest themselves in full only 15 minutes after brewing; some medicinal (for example, antimicrobial) may manifest themselves after a while, but after 7-8 hours they finally turn into either a “special remedy” or a real poison!
With wishes for a pleasant and healthy tea party!
