| There are many kinds of loose leaf Japanese green | | | | and tea cups you can reduce the temperature to |
| teas produced in Japan. If you go to a specialty tea | | | | about 70-80 degrees C (165-176 degrees F). Once |
| store in Japan, you would be amazed at the range | | | | the water has cooled, add the desired amount of |
| available to sample. It can be quite daunting for the | | | | leaves to the teapot, followed by the water. Brew |
| amateur tea-drinker. Having lived in Japan for 4 years, | | | | sencha green tea for 2 minutes. |
| I have found that sencha and gyokuro green tea are | | | | Gyokuro Green Tea |
| both popular and can be enjoyed by following the | | | | Gyokuro green tea is the highest grade of green tea |
| tips below. | | | | in Japan. It is usually drunk from small tea cups and it |
| Sencha Green Tea | | | | is usually sold in smaller quantities than most other |
| The most widely drunk green tea in Japan is sencha | | | | green teas. Gyokuro leaves are a rich, dark green |
| green tea. Japanese people drink several cups a day | | | | because the bushes are covered with reed screen |
| with a meal or between meals. Sencha green tea is | | | | two or three weeks prior to picking. This protects |
| made by a process of steaming, drying and rolling of | | | | the leaves from direct sunlight, and helps to produce |
| the leaves. The steaming process halts the oxidation | | | | a subtler and mellow flavour than sencha green tea. |
| of the leaves and maintains the high level of | | | | When sencha leaves are picked, they are steamed |
| polyphenols in the tea. This process differentiates it | | | | and then dried. The leaf stems and veins are |
| from black tea, where the leaves are left out in the | | | | removed in the drying process. And unlike other |
| sun to oxidize-turning the leaves from green to | | | | green teas, the leaves are not rolled. |
| brown. | | | | Gyokuro green tea has a mild and delicate flavour. |
| The taste and flavour of loose leaf sencha will vary | | | | There should be little taste of astringency when |
| depending on the grade of sencha. Premium sencha | | | | drinking gyokuro green tea. When you brew gyokuro |
| green tea has a mild, slightly sweet flavour. Lower | | | | you should use 2 heaped teaspoons per 240ml (8oz.) |
| grade tea produced from later pickings of the tea | | | | cup of water. Heat the teapot and tea cups as |
| bush, will tend to be more astringent than premium | | | | explained above (with sencha green tea), and let the |
| grade green tea, produced from the first picking. The | | | | water cool slightly longer to about 50-60 degrees |
| brewing of loose leaf green tea is important as water | | | | C(122-140 degrees F). You should steep the tea for |
| that is too hot, or over-brewing the tea leaves, will | | | | 2-3 minutes. |
| produce more astringent green tea. | | | | Brewing loose leaf green tea is that simple. Try to |
| When brewing green tea you should allow 1 heaped | | | | use purified water, as using tap water will affect the |
| teaspoon (5g) per 240ml (8oz.) cup of water. You | | | | taste. Also take care not to use water too hot and |
| should pour the desired amount of water into the | | | | to over-brew the tea. If you use these tips, you |
| teapot to first heat the teapot. After 30 seconds, | | | | should be able to make a delicious cup of tea. The |
| pour the water into a tea cup (so you are also | | | | other great thing about loose leaf green tea, is you |
| warming the tea cup). When brewing loose leaf | | | | can brew the tea 2-3 times. You can leave the tea |
| sencha you should not use freshly boiled water, as | | | | leaves to steep a little longer with each brewing. |
| this will scorch the tea leaves. By heating the teapot | | | | |