Green Tea Tips

Lately I’ve been on a green tea kick. I figured out an easy way to get the water to just the right temperature – I like to drink out of my tall mugs (they say “Life is Good” on them – very appropriate for a soothing mug of tea) and I measured the water that will fill one – about 1 3/4 cups. So now I know to put 3/4 cup of cold tap water in my mug, and then fill the rest of the way up with freshly boiled water. Stir to even out the temp and add the tea bag.

Apparently it’s a little-known fact (in the US) that green tea must not be steeped in boiling hot water. People say to me that they don’t like green tea and I wonder if it’s because they’ve never had it properly brewed. If it’s brown and bitter, the tea leaves have been scalded and ruined. Green tea really is supposed to be green, and taste like warm sun on clean grass.

When I was in Kyoto, Japan in 2003 with my dad, tagging along on his business trip, I was treated to many fine meals and tourist attractions by the company president and his family. One time we went to a tea parlor, for tea-tasting. (I think this would be the equivalent of taking a foreign guest to a fine winery in Napa for wine-tasting.) It was all mysterious dark wood inside, and we drank our teas out of tiny white ceramic cups. It was lovely.

Obviously, loose-leaf sencha from Japan is the best, but I like Tazo China Green Tips. You can order this at Starbucks, but be sure to ask for the tea bag separately, and wait for the water to cool down so that it’s sippable before you dunk the tea bag in.