When compiling my New Year's Resolutions this year, one shone through: drink
more
green tea.
It's something that I always try to do, not only for the seemingly eternal
spring of health benefits that this tea is proving to provide, but also for the
wide variety of flavor that can be experienced. Unfortunately, though, the
exhausting "on the go" lifestyle that a tea guru leads is not efficacious to the
amount of time and equipment that is needed to get green tea to steep correctly.
Throughout my tea life, I've heard a lot of strange stories about the ridiculous
lengths that tea lovers have go through to make green tea. In this episode of
TeaMuse, I will recount a few of the many usual methods for preparing the water
for green tea.
During my formative years at Tea School, I was told to wait until the kettle's
whistle just begins to rumble or, if it wasn't a whistler, when tiny bubbles
begin to appear in the water. Through the years, I found that not only was this
method inaccurate, but it also required a great deal of attention. Every time I
wanted a cup, I'd have to hover over the stove, waiting for the tea (to appear)
to reach the desired temperature.
As my education developed, I discovered yet another method for preparing water
for green tea. It involved less effort, but was also much less precise: allow
the water to boil, then let it cool enough not produce bitter tea. Simple
enough-- that is, if your have the innate ability to guess the temperature of
water. The amount of time that the boiling water should cool seems to change
depending on the source that gave you the advice. For example, one tea company
I know recommends first boiling the water, then letting it sit for a minute.
Another tea site advocates ten minutes. There a myriad of suggestions in
between, each seemingly as erroneous as the next.
A variation of this method that has been suggested states that you should add
cold water to the boiling water. Once again, the ratio of cold-boiling varies
according to the advisor... Not to mention that this is the perfect way to crack
your favorite teacup!
But the most outlandish hot water producing method for green tea that I've ever
encountered comes from China. It involves boiling water, seven tea cups and
fried rice. Pour the boiling water into the first cup, and let it rest. After a
few seconds, transfer it into the second cup, let rest, then transfer again.
Continue until you reach the seventh cup. With a stroke of luck, you'll have
water appropriate for green tea. While this will result in nicely warmed
teacups, it will also probably produce a puddle of spilt water and burnt hands.
(The fried rice, of course, is for a snack- as you can tell, it's not the
quickest and most efficient means of producing green tea water, so you may
develop an appetite in the mean time.)
utiliTEA Kettle
There are all kinds of miscellaneous gadgets that can be used to facilitate the
measurement of the water to suit it for green tea leaves. For example, in some
specialty stores, you may find a digital "green tea thermometer" that will beep
when it reaches 180 degrees. However, the water temperature varies too greatly
depending on the area of the cup which is measured-not to mention the fact that
mine broke within a week of purchase. A higher-tech, laser-beam thermometer
proved equally disadvantageous, in that it is unclear exactly what it was
measuring (whether it was reading the temperature of the water or the mug).
Obviously, I wouldn't write an article about the problems with water preparation
unless I had a noteworthy solution. Years in the making, the answer comes in the
form of a variable temperature electric kettle, called utiliTEA. In the past,
electric kettles sold by tea companies in the US only had the capability of
producing boiling water. Not adapting to the growing popularity of green tea in
the US, these tea companies created a chasm between tea trends and tea
technology. Until recently, electric water kettles for steeping green tea were
only available in Asia (were green is the most popular of teas). While these do
produce an exceptionally accurate water temperature, they are always excessively
overpriced and usually either boil water or heat it to 180 degrees-very few can
do both. On the other hand, the
utiliTEA kettle is versatile enough to heat to
virtually all temperatures between 140 degrees and boiling-and it's very
reasonably priced.
I received my utiliTEA from Adagio Teas as a Christmas gift -- and have been
using it ever since. That bitter taste in my mouth from all those other
heating schemes and contraptions is gone forever. Making water for green tea
has never been easier or more accurate. Spread the word.
Wishing all green tea lovers a happy, healthy and delicious 2005.
