It must be said – I am NOT A FAN of standard green teas. Having recently found out I was brewing them too hot (boiling water – URGH!), I have revisited a number of them. While this does reduce the bitterness, I was disappointed that they still taste like, well grass. Not that I have eaten grass, but they taste like it smells (or rather what cut grass smells like after it starts to dry out, something Aussies really know about because of the recent droughts). And because green tea has been advocated for good health, I REALLY wanted to like it…
Well, after much searching I may have found my go-to green tea.
The advantage is this one is designed to drink hot or cold! On that basis I bought two 20 infuser boxes on a twofer deal, so thank goodness I like it…
Admittedly I have only tried it cold so far, but the matcha/green tea combo means the grassy taste of the green tea comes through but doesn’t dominate. There’s that lovely earthy umami taste the matcha adds.
I added the teabag to my water bottle & left it in, as the taste wasn’t that strong even after 3 mins. I imaging if you leave it in indefinitely the typical green tea bitterness will start to dominate, so maybe about 5 mins max, or if you’re a fast water drinker, just finish the bottle!
I’ll have to try it hot next – they recommend the very short steeping time of 30 secs (time for 3-4 dunks) so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.
NOTE – I dropped a bag in to cold infuse before heading to work (about 15 mins drive). Then got distracted by said work, so at least 20-30 mins before my first sip and yes, BITTER. So about 5-10 mins maximum seems to be the optimum time.
Flavors: Earth, Grass, Umami
This one is good brewed at room temp but it will take some trial and error to find the perfect timing and it is much less time than Chinese loose leaf green teas which I cold brew overnight. The 30s recommendation for this tea did nothing for me.