Green Tea 101

I love, love, love green tea. Lucky for me and other tea lovers, research shows us that green tea may be protective against some types of cancer, improve brain health, help prevent diabetes, and increase your lifespan.

Over the years of supporting folks in the 21 Days the Better Health Program (green tea is the only beverage other than water and herbal teas during the program), I have discovered that often when someone says “I don’t like green tea,” it is usually because no one ever explained to them how to prepare green tea. I have made many folks into green tea converts by imparting a few simple green tea “rules of the road”.

Source: Lots of mainstream tea companies use cheap green tea - sometimes literally the dustings left after packaging up the good stuff to be sold at higher prices. Tea is one of those items where you get what you pay for. Purchase your tea from companies that specialize in green tea. I have purchased my tea from Strand Tea for the past 20 years. They only sell in bulk (no tea bags), and their teas are top quality at reasonable prices. They source from small farmers, often organic. I highly recommend Strand Tea. You can buy small quantities of several different teas initially and experiment to see which are your favorites. Mine are Tai Mu San, Cloud in Mist, and Genmaicha.

That said, there are lots of other companies that offer quality green tea in tea bags if you prefer. Because I’ve been brand loyal for so long, I don’t have a list to offer, except to say that Numi Tea is good quality (and Bay Area local!). If you have a brand of green tea that you love, please let me know so we can add it to our resource lists.

Water temperature: Don’t use boiling water on your green tea!! This will make it bitter and cause you to think “I don’t like green tea.” Green tea tastes best when steeped at about 175 degrees (water boils at 212). How to know? If you get into drinking green tea, you’ll want to get an electric kettle that allows you to set different temperatures. But with a regular kettle, bring the water to a boil, turn it off, and set a timer for 5 minutes before pouring the water over your tea leaves or tea bag.

Steeping time: Steeping time for green tea is typically 2-3 minutes. Oversteeping is another common mistake that leads to bitterness and the idea that you don’t like green tea.

Slow Down: We live in fast times. Tea is an opportunity to slow down, even for just five minutes. A great book to accompany tea drinking is Paul Rep’s Zen Telegrams. My favorite: Drinking a bowl of green tea I stopped the war.

With a little bit of experimentation, likely you can find a green tea (or two or three!) that brings you both taste and soul satisfaction. Please let me know if you have any questions or want to share your favorite tea tips