How To Brew Green Tea: Green Tea Fundamentals Pt 4

This article concludes our green tea series, with in-depth instructions on how to brew green tea. Click the links below to view our previous articles!

The endless variations in green tea arise from four fundamental elements:

1. Region and Plant Variety
2. Harvest Season
3. Processing Method
4. Brewing Method

Brewing Green Tea: Core Concepts

The first important point regarding how to brew green tea is that there are many great methods. We can’t possibly describe all of them in this article.

Instead, like our article on how to brew oolong tea, the instructions below provide a starting point. Ultimately, each tea drinker gains experience over time, which allows them to brew their tea by eye and by feel.

The 3 main considerations when brewing a cup of green tea are water, the tea leaf, and teaware.

1. Water

Water is the mother of tea, and teaware is the father. Both are needed to make a good cup of tea.

Tea scholars such as Lu Yu, the 8th century author of The Classic of Tea, traveled far and wide to judge and rank various water sources. The number one source of water for tea is fresh spring water, freely flowing. Clean river water is second best. Stagnant water (such as well water) is to be avoided.

These days many tea drinkers will be sourcing their water from a tap or a bottle, not from a spring or stream. Tap water differs depending on the city or town where you live, so it’s worth considering your water quality.

Hard water or too much chlorine and fluoride will affect your brewing results. Try drinking some plain water. Does it taste fresh and sweet? Or does it have a harsh, metallic note?

If your cup of tea starts out looking bright and beautiful, but five or ten minutes later turns dark or cloudy, that is a sign of hard water.

If your water is hard or has an undesirable flavor, you can try a water filter, or bottled spring water.

Water Temperature for Green Tea

The water temperature used for green tea is another matter of personal preference, and varies between tea drinkers. We recommend 180-185°F (82-85°C) for brewing all types of green tea.

2. Tea Leaves

Tea quality is very important, as we’ve discussed in the previous Green Tea Fundamentals articles. Just make sure that your green tea is fresh.

3. Teaware for Brewing Green Tea

At CC Fine Tea, we recommend heat-safe glass teaware for steeping green tea. Glass allows you to watch the beautiful tea leaves dancing in the water. It also cools quickly, instead of holding heat like thicker clay teaware. Be sure to use tempered glass that won’t shatter due to temperature changes.

Porcelain is another great choice for brewing green tea. The surface of porcelain is catches tea fragrance, and the white color makes it easy to enjoy the color of the tea liquid.

Yixing clay is not recommended for green tea, although it does work in a pinch. The porous surface of Yixing absorbs tea fragrance, making it difficult to smell easily. The dark color makes it hard to see the color of the tea.

How to Brew Green Tea: 3 Ways

Tea Leaf	Water Quantity	Time	Water Temp
2g (about 0.5 Tbsp)	6-8oz	About 2m	180-185°F

These instructions apply to all types of green tea. Surprisingly, despite using the same ratio of water and leaf, temperature, and timing, the three methods below still create distinctly different cups of tea!

Tools for Brewing

To get started, you need only a tall, heat-safe glass tumbler. This way of steeping green tea is popular in China.

You can drink the tea directly from the cup without straining. Don’t worry if a tea leaf or two ends up in your mouth; good quality tea is healthy to eat. Or if you want to share with a friend, pour the tea through a strainer into a sharing pitcher, before serving in separate cups.

Style 1: Leaf on the Bottom

This method is sometimes called “grandpa style.”

Recommended for: hot air fired green tea, Mountain Green Tips

Results: Sharp and nutty

Leaf on the Bottom Instructions

1. Place the tea leaves in the bottom of the cup.
2. Pour water over the leaves until the cup is 70% full. Gently but quickly swirl the cup, making the leaves dance to release flavor and fragrance.
3. Appreciate the fragrance.
4. After a couple of minutes when the tea is strong enough, enjoy!

The tea can be re-steeped two or three times. Each time the tea has been drunk down to ¼ or ⅓ full, add more water to start the next steep. This helps combine each new steep with the last.

Style 2: Leaf in the Middle

Recommended for: pan fired green tea, Dragon Well

This method is like a water and tea leaf sandwich, and can be considered a happy medium between the other two brewing styles. Leaf in the Middle results in a more balanced, smooth, and floral cup.

Leaf in the Middle Instructions

1. Pour water into the empty cup until it is ¼ full.
2. Add the tea leaves on top of the water, and gently but quickly swirl the cup for about 10 seconds, making the leaves dance to release flavor and fragrance.
3. Enjoy the fragrance! Then add more water, until the cup is about 80% full. Watch the leaves float to the top of the water like graceful ballerinas.
4. After a minute or two when the tea is strong enough, enjoy!

The cup can be refilled two or three times for additional brews.

Style 3: Leaf on the Top

Recommended for: tender young leaves and buds, early spring green tea. If your water is too hot, above 190°F, this is a great way to make sure your green tea still tastes good.

This time, we will add the tea leaves last. The Leaf on Top brewing method is the most gentle, making it a good choice for sensitive green teas. The flavor from this method is light and smooth, like a shy friend who is quiet but sweet.

Leaf on the Top Instructions

1. Pour water into the empty cup until it is 70% full.
2. Add the tea leaves on top of the water, and gently but quickly swirl the cup for about 10 seconds, making the leaves dance to release flavor and fragrance. This method may require more swirling to fully wet the leaves.
3. Enjoy the fragrance! Watch the leaves float to the top.
4. After 2-3 minutes, when the tea leaves stand upright like ballerinas on pointe, enjoy!

The cup can be refilled two or three times for additional brews.

We hope you will give these three methods a try! Which green tea brewing style is your favorite? Do you feel confident in your knowledge of how to brew green tea? Let us know how it goes by tagging us in an Instagram or Facebook post.

Thank you for reading, and happy sipping!

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