Read This And learn How to make green tea and 5 Health Benefits of Green tea supplement.
[sc:Adsense ]
How to Make Green Tea?
If you don’t prepare it the right way, you will damage its health benefits.
There are actually only three categories of teas: green, oolong, and black. Each of these is the product of a leaf called Camellia Sinensis. The difference between them comes from the duration of the fermentation: ‘black’ is fully fermented, ‘oolong’ is partially fermented, and ‘green’ is not fermented at all, only steamed.
Ceylon and Darjeeling refer to the region in which they are grown.
Japanese Green Tea Benefits
Looking at the Japanese people, who tend to look much younger comparing to their western age group (usually ten years younger), certainly says something in favor of the traditional Japanese diet.
Drinking Green tea is a very basic part of it.
Personally, I was convinced to drop coffee years ago. I drink Macha instead.
Many people think it’s very complicated or time consuming. But making a cup of tea takes 2 minutes or less. And the health benefits?
Plenty !!
Matcha is finely-powdered green tea. Matcha leaves grow in the shade.
Then they are stone ground until they become a bright green, talc-like powder.
Matcha is generally more expensive compared to other leaves.
I prefer Matcha because its the tastiest, but don’t take my word for it – try a few types before deciding what to buy.
A Bamboo whisk is used for whisking Matcha.
It is not an expensive product, and with proper treatment it will last a long time.
Here’s How To Make Green Tea
- Put between 0.5 – 1 spoon of Matcha powder in a Japanese cup (depends if you like it strong. I put 0.5 spoon per cup). I use a wooden spoon which costs next to nothing in one of the ‘100 Yen shops’ in Tokyo.
- It’s better to use spring water or filtered water.
- Pour hot (not boiling) water. Green tea is different from black teas. It needs water temperature of 180° to 185° (80 °C to 85 °C).
- Some people use a cheap thermometer for this purpose, but frankly I just boil the water and then let it cool down to more or less the right temperature.
- Whisk the Matcha powder using the bamboo whisk. Make sure all the lumps are gone.
Here’s How To Brew Green Tea From The Leaves
- Put the leaves in an empty Japanese pot.
- The amount depends on how many cups you want to prepare. One teaspoon (5 ml) of leaves per one cup of water is a good measure.
- Pour hot (not boiling) water over the leaves. The best water temperature is around 80 degrees Celsius.
- Cover the lid and wait for a while before serving. The ideal brewing time is between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. The longer it brews the more bitter it will become.
How Healthy Is Green Tea
Green tea vitamins have been examined in many scientific and medical studies. The results?
There is evidence that regular drinking of it lowers chances of heart disease and cancer.
A connection between Green tea and weight loss has been found in many studies too.
Much of the evidence that it is anti-carcinogenic is based on studies among populations in Japan and in China, where people drink it many times a day.
These studies showed lower rates of many types of cancer.
Recently there have been controlled studies.
These studies found that Green Tea contains the highest levels of polyphenols comparing to other kinds of tea – that’s the antioxidant that provides the anti-cancer qualities.
Green tea has also been found to have anti-bacterial qualities.
Based on these studies – the suggested daily dose is two cups of per day.
Sorry folks – Decaf Japanese green tea does not show the same health benefits.
The quality of the tea is a very important factor. A lot of products aren’t really good quality. It all depends on the parts of the plant used, and how they are processed. Buy from a known brand, preferably made in Japan.
Read the labels carefully.
How To Drink Green Tea
How to make Green Tea health benefits a part of everyday life?
Iced green tea is a favorite of mine. It’s very easy to make – here’s how to make the summer version –
Prepare it from Matcha or leaves, and let it cool down with the help of some crushed ice cubes. Don’t forget to add in the sugar while it’s hot (it tastes great without any sugar too).
Vanilla soy milk also tastes wonderful in hot or cold Green tea.
You can find it in a variety of foods – Green tea ice cream, Japanese Desserts and even in Japanese cakes.
For More information on How to make Green Tea, Traditional Japanese Foods, Breakfast in Tokyo And Japanese table Manners.
Continue Reading:
Japan Food
The Japanese Tea Ceremony
Food in Tokyo
About Japanese tea sets
Return from How To Make Green Tea to Tokyo Attractions
[sc:Adsense ]
