It definitely will. After a couple years of experimentation and testing I've found anything over ~200F is basically undrinkable. It took me so long to figure this out because there were a lot of confounders -- I drank a lot of tea over the holidays back home, and while my parents' town is on the same water source I swear their florination is different, in a way that changes the mouth feel of the tea. I also had a new faucet installed and the galvanization in the new fixture left a strange aftertaste that took some time to track down. It was so bad that I seriously wonder how people can drink things that come out of Kohler faucets. Finally, I had some new mugs that were also causing problems...turns out the were only fired once? I'm not really sure how to describe it but it was kind of like drinking tea out of a soda can. Anyway, I eventually controlled for all this stuff and about 190F is the sweet spot. It's kind of embarrassing how much of an odyssey this all turned out to be, What works for other HNers?
Will boiling water ruin green tea?
101–110 of 219 posts
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#102> A common myth regarding green tea is that it shouldn’t be prepared with boiling water. This is absolutely false[...] Seems to contradict the rest of the article... > So the best way to prepare gyokuro, a green tea with a high amino acid content, is with lukewarm or even cold water. > Sencha can be prepared with hot water for best results. Using boiling water would make it too bitter and astringent. > Lower grade te…
Re-read the article. Different teas require different preparations for "best results". Some teas work better with boiling water, others with lower temperature water.
What I took from the article was that there appears to be a rule (I am imagining because I'm not a green tea expert) that green tea should never be prepared using boiling water when in fact, as the writer states, is false. As in "it depends".
And near the end of the article they state:
"However, you should prepare tea in the way that works best for you. If you want to boil your sencha because you want it to be very bitter and astringent, by all means go ahead."
I don't see any contradictions.
It's like coffee, different beans, different roasting of those beans, different grinding of those beans will mean there is no one true way to get the best extraction, and your preferred extraction might differ from another's extraction method.
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#103I've been making my mint tea with only-almost-boiling water since forever. Just tastes better, even if it may not technically count as “green tea”.
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#104There's a lot of factors to it. The way the leaves are processed, the quality/freshness of the leaves, ratio of leaf to water, steeping time. I think in general it's safest to brew green teas at 175f. But I'm doing quick gongfu brewing sessions with a late-march sichuan green tea, and it tastes great at 205f. Less intense at the usual 175f, but picks up more subtle flavors.
I appreciate the connoisseur vernacular
Related: ProZD's skit "before and after you discover the subreddit for a hobby"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZK8Z8hulFg
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#105It definitely will. After a couple years of experimentation and testing I've found anything over ~200F is basically undrinkable. It took me so long to figure this out because there were a lot of confounders -- I drank a lot of tea over the holidays back home, and while my parents' town is on the same water source I swear their florination is different, in a way that changes the mouth feel of the tea. I also had a new…
I got into green tea around 2014 (my how time flies) and I've had a lot of experiences.
Depending on how sensitive you are everything can change the taste, but IMO the big three are:
- water (huge, huge differences)
- type of tea (cultivar, when/ where it was harvested, steam time)
- brew temp and time
I eventually settled on a system where I heat filtered water in a regular pot with a meat thermometer to the right temp (this is usually between 155-170F depending on the specific tea), pour over tea into a glass pot (through stainless steel basket), brew from 30-60 seconds (again depending on tea), serve. I also measure the water, and weigh the tea on a scale.
It might sound convoluted and compared with like, brewing a kettle and dumping over a bag it is. I mostly drink earl grey now, probably as a result. In the summers it's a lot easier, I just dump tea in a pitcher of water and put it in the fridge overnight.
Also, I wholeheartedly recommend o-cha.com for tea and peripherals.
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#106> A common myth regarding green tea is that it shouldn’t be prepared with boiling water. This is absolutely false[...] Seems to contradict the rest of the article... > So the best way to prepare gyokuro, a green tea with a high amino acid content, is with lukewarm or even cold water. > Sencha can be prepared with hot water for best results. Using boiling water would make it too bitter and astringent. > Lower grade te…
Re-read the article. Different teas require different preparations for "best results". Some teas work better with boiling water, others with lower temperature water. What I took from the article was that there appears to be a rule (I am imagining because I'm not a green tea expert) that green tea should never be prepared using boiling water when in fact, as the writer states, is false. As in "it depends". And near th…
but houjicha isn't even considered green tea in Japan. it's brown...
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
That seems paranoid considering that I have never heard anyone getting food poisoning from tea, no matter how it was brewed. edit: Reading the linked article, it seems mostly concerned about contaminants and not germs. Intuitively thinking, I'd imagine higher temps would end up extracting more of those from leaves to the drink than lower temps?
Yeah it seems so dried out you wouldn't have too much to worry about. As for boiling tea for sanitation, I took a wilderness first responder class and they taught us that you could bring water to a boil at any altitude a human can breath at (without holding it at a boil for 15 minutes as some claim) and it's considered sterilized. In Cusco, that would be around 191F/89C (humans can breathe quite a bit higher up than…
Many bacteria have mechanisms for surviving dry periods, ex: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00294-019-01036-z
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#108It definitely will. After a couple years of experimentation and testing I've found anything over ~200F is basically undrinkable. It took me so long to figure this out because there were a lot of confounders -- I drank a lot of tea over the holidays back home, and while my parents' town is on the same water source I swear their florination is different, in a way that changes the mouth feel of the tea. I also had a new…
Have you considered writing a blog or posting your thoughts about your experience and journey in finding the “perfect” tea brew? I’m sure your thoughts would save many amateurs a lot of frustrations. I, myself, am intrigued how nuanced the process is
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
I appreciate the connoisseur vernacular
Becoming a tea snob helped me stay away from alcohol during quarantine :/
How do you get to sleep? I’ve tried tea at various times as a substitute for an evening alcoholic beverage but the caffeine hinders my sleep. I already drink too much coffee before 10am, so adding more caffeine later in the evening has been a problem when I’ve tried it.
Re: Will boiling water ruin green tea?
#110It definitely will. After a couple years of experimentation and testing I've found anything over ~200F is basically undrinkable. It took me so long to figure this out because there were a lot of confounders -- I drank a lot of tea over the holidays back home, and while my parents' town is on the same water source I swear their florination is different, in a way that changes the mouth feel of the tea. I also had a new…
200F = 93.3C, 190F = 87.8C. Really, we're talking about boiling, why would one even consider using Fahrenheit?