Brewing Green Tea

greentea kanji for cha

How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Green Tea

For a 1 page condensed version of these instructions please click here.

Important Notice: If you purchased one of our clay teapots do not put it on a gas or electric stove to heat water or tea. Heat the water in a stainless steel tea kettle or pot. Add tea leaves to your clay pot. After the water has cooled slightly add the hot water to your Japanese teapot.

HOW MUCH TO USE
Gyokuro and Sencha:
Use 1 teaspoon of tea for every 8-12 ounces of water.

Only brew the amount of tea you will consume immediately. If you brew 20 ounces of green tea and pour a 10-ounce cup, come back 20 minutes later and pour a second cup, the second cup will be bitter. This is why we only sell small and midsize teapots.

A Japanese teapot is recommended for practical and aesthetic purposes.

Water temperature and brewing time:

Sencha:
After you have brought the kettle to a boil allow the water to cool for about 3 minutes. The water should be hot, but not boiling, about 79 to 87 degrees Centigrade (175-190 degrees Fahrenheit). Steep for 1-2 minutes.

Fresh Harvest Shincha:
The same water temperature as sencha (hot, not boiling) but there is a shorter brewing time. Brew for approximately one minute.

Gyokuro:
After you have brought the kettle to a boil allow the water to cool for about 5 minutes. A slightly lower temperature of 70 to 80 degrees Centigrade (160-175 degrees Fahrenheit) is best. Steep for 2-3 minutes.

Netto Gyokuro can accommodate higher temperatures close to boiling. It's Ok to use hotter water with Netto Gyokuro.

*These are general instructions for brewing gyokuro. For detailed instructions, including brewing our new Kanro Gyokuro please click here.

Matcha-
Pour hot (but not boiling hot) water over the leaves. Use 1/2 level teaspoon of tea for 1 cup (8 ounces) of water for medium tea. 1 level teaspoon for 8 ounces of water for strong tea. Whip the leaves vigorously with a bamboo whisk.

We recommend that you please click here for more detailed information on matcha preparation and our new matcha sets.

Infusion
After you have emptied the teapot completely for the first serving, the wet leaves will not continue to steep. You can infuse the leaves again.

Sencha can be infused 2 or 3 times.

For gyokuro we recommend no more than two infusions.

Important Note. If you make a second or third infusion, pour hot water in the teapot and then immediately pour the tea.

Do not wait 2 minutes for it to brew again because the leaves have already been opened during the first infusion. If you wait 2 minutes to brew the second infusion the tea will become bitter.

If the leaves sit for more than 2 hours, discard them and brew a fresh pot.

Genmai cha and Hoji cha

Genmai cha:
Use the same ratio of tea to water as sencha. Steep for 1 minute. Water temperature is the same as for sencha.

Hoji cha:
Use the same ratio of tea to water as sencha. Pour boiling hot water over the leaves and brew for 40 seconds to one minute.

Teabags:

Gyokuro, Sencha, and Hoji cha teabags:
Place the bag in a large cup and fill the cup with hot (but not boiling) water. Gyokuro and Sencha teabags should steep for 2 minutes. Hoji cha should steep for 1 to 2 minutes.

Important -- For green tea bags- do not move the tea bag while it is steeping. If you would like extra strong tea move the tea bag back and forth after it has steeped for 2 minutes.

For iced tea brewing instructions click here: Iced Green Tea

Keep your teas fresh with our stylish airtight tea tins.

Each is made of high quality steel and has a special lid to give you vacuum-sealed freshness. Click here- storing teas for optimum freshness to view these tins and get more information.

Click on the teapot to go
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