How to brew Japanese tea?

HOW TO BREW TEA - BASIC INSTRUCTIONS:

Brewing a perfect cup of Japanese tea is not so difficult. You just need to follow some basic steps and be familiar with some principles. 

1

  1. Bring the water to boil. It is not recommended to use a boiling water for brewing. It should be boiled and then cooled to desired temperature.

2

  1. Pour the hot water into teapot and then fill each cup to preheat the tea ware beforehand. This will make it easier to cool the water and keep it at the desired temperature level. Warming the tea ware will also minimalize the difference between the temperature of the teapot and the tea leaves. Remember that there are certain guidelines regarding the water temperature for each tea. Some of the tea (Gyokuro, high quality Sencha, Matcha) requires lower temperature, and some (Genmaicha, Hojicha) higher. Please check in the table below.

3

  1. Pour the lea leaves into the warm tea pot. For better experience it is recommended to use the right tea ware, for example shiboridashi for Gyokuro, kyusu for Gyokuro and high grade Sencha. 

4

Transfer the water cooled to the desired temperature from the cups into the tea pot.

5

Cover the tea pot and steep. The steeping time

6

Pour the tea evenly into each cup but do not fill it up at once. Instead, fill each cup half and then add some more tea until the last drop. This will allow to evenly distribute all the tea components.
Never leave the tea leaves in the water for too long! In the warm water the catechins break down and the protein

level increases – this can cause stomach aches and the tea will have more bitterness.  

Because we use high grade teas, the same tea leaves can be brewed three times (increase the water temperature by 5 degrees each time).

HOW TO BREW JAPANESE TEA

how to brew japanese tea

There are four parameters, which have the greatest influence on the final taste of the tea: amount of tea leaves, amount of water, water temperature and steeping time. Changing the above parameters, changes the amount of chemical components of the infusion and the final taste.

How to brew tea

 

Be aware that these are just guidelines and you are welcome to experiment.

Tea growers give recommendation on how to brew their tea and what parameters to use to get the taste they believe is best for their tea. However, the taste and its description based on sensations and personal experience are subjective.

Let’s take a cup of Sencha. One person may find its taste strong and astringent, while other will find more sweet and mellow taste.