Are you sure that you always use the
correct amount of tea leaves? Doesn’t
your tea sometimes get too strong or too weak?
Today, I will give you some tips in solving this dilemma.
Tip
No. 1
Use the same tea spoon always. It develops your visual estimate of the
amount of tea leaves on the spoon. This is a regular
size teaspoon. The American quarter coin
just acts as an additional basis.
Tip No. 2
Try to scoop 2 grams of tea leaves. It is the basic amount for one serving for the most of Japanese green tea. This is how 2g of gyokuro looks like. It is slightly more than the level teaspoon. This will work the same with sencha and kabusecha.
The scale isn't really needed every time.
Just as long as you manage to scoop the approximate amount of tea leaves with
your teaspoon, the size of the teapot nor the number of servings won't really
matter anymore. The most important key
here to serve a great cup of tea is to practice measuring 2 grams of tea into
your regular teaspoon.
Given the fact that some types of tea
require more or less than the usual amount (2 grams), acquisition of the basic
knowledge will help you figure out. Here
is how 1g (Left) and 3g (Right) of tea look like. The middle one is 2g. One gram will be slightly less than the level
teaspoon. And three grams will be a heap
of scoop.
Tip
No. 3
One more thing that I want you to know is
that it can differ by the size of tea leaves.
What I have shown above is for the common sized tea leaves, such as sencha, gyokuro and kabusecha. When it comes to the tea with smaller pieces
like deep-steamed sencha and konacha, it will look less. On the other hand, the lager tea leaves have
more volume, which are bancha and hojicha.
Here is one example. These three types
of tea leaves are all measured 2g. (From
Left to Right: deep-steamed sencha, gyokuro,
bancha) You need to consider the size of leaves when measuring.
Posts
I think most Americans make green tea with water that is at the boiling point, and their tea is made too strong or too bitter because of it. They just don't know that water that hot ruins green tea. Personally, I make a lot of green tea in a large pot in the morning - I drink some, and save the rest to reheat during the day. When I boil a lot of water, I then add a small amount of cool water to the hot water first, to cool it just slightly below the boiling point. I don't seem to ever have tea that is bitter this way. Americans are used to making coffee with boiling water and black tea with boiling water, and so they don't seem to believe me when I tell them that it is the water temperature that is ruining their green tea.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog is very useful for Westerners, and interesting too.
I agree with you. The water temperature has a lot to do with the taste of tea. As you mentioned, high temperature water makes the tea bitter. I am surprised to know that many Americans prepare their tea with boiling water. I thought I need to make an effort to tell more about Japanese green tea to the people overseas through this blog. Thank you!
DeleteIf you want maximum catechins extracted then you need boiling water.
DeleteExcellent article, I particularly like the visual examples. Sometimes it's the simplest things--as you showed with the examples--that can improve our tea drinking immensely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog, David-san. The amount of tea leaves will affect a lot to the taste of brewed tea. I’m glad that the pictures helped to you. Enjoy your tea!
DeleteThis is a regular size teaspoon. The American quarter coin just acts as an additional basis.powder green tea melbourne
ReplyDeleteI love this tea, it's so unique! I never see it in shops though where I am. Matchado
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
ReplyDeletetypes of tea
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