So, you don’t like green tea?
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One of the most common remarks we hear from people (at first encounter - mind you - before they actually tried any tea!) has always been a surprising one for me.
“I don’t like green tea!” is often repeated like a mantra, suggesting some very strong feelings and possibly horrible experiences in the past.
I wonder, how often we have heard this sentence. The last time I’ve heard it was last Saturday when we catered some nice (green) tea at the wonderful Raggamuffin Children’s concert in the Great Hall of the Arts Centre here in Christchurch. A few people from the audience came to see us after the show to inquire what kind of tea we had offered since they enjoyed it very much. When we answered that it was a green tea (our Organic Yin Hao Osmanthus), the look on their face was almost incredulous. “I usually don’t like green tea at all”, came the skeptical comments as if they didn’t really believe it was green tea at all.
I remember well the awkward situations in the early days of our teahouse when people confronted us with their dislike of green tea but when a little bit of inquiry revealed that they probably would really enjoy some green tea. We overcame that feeling of insecurity pretty quickly after everyone who then drank the green tea we’ve served them was completely amazed by how much they liked it.
So what is it that makes people believe they have a strong dislike of green tea?
I believe the reasons can be found in one of the following explanations and most likely differ from person to person.
Country of origin
Green teas produced in different countries have very different flavours! Apart from different plant varietals & climatic and soil variables, the differences is processing have the strongest effect on the flavour of the tea in your cup. Green teas from Japan are steamed and generally have a savoury-sweet note about them which is often likened to seaweed.
Green teas from China, India & Sri Lanka - on the other hand - are either fried or baked, which results in a very different flavour. Chinese green teas vary from sweet, ethereal and floral to strong and vegetal. The green tea flavour that many people dislike is most often found in green teas from Sri Lanka and India. It’s no secret that I’m not too keen on those teas myself…
Quality of tea
Another important factor for the enjoyability of green tea (as with all teas) is the quality of the leaf itself. Most people have only ever tried green tea bags which usually contain a mixture of many different teas with a kind of averaged flavour. Single-origin whole leaf teas - on the other hand - showcase the unique flavour of the used leaf unadulterated and can produce the most amazing infusions. To make sure you’re getting a decent quality tea, ask your trusted tea vendor for advice!
Water temperature
This is definitely the most important influence on people’s bad experiences with green tea. Green tea is very heat-sensitive and should never be steeped with boiling water (very few exceptions exist but are too rare to be included in a general overview like this). Green tea, prepared with boiling water, almost inevitably turns into an atrociously bitter brew. I wouldn’t like green tea, either, if that’s what it should taste like. But the solution is simple: just let the water cool for a few minutes (to about 70-80°C) and try the same tea again. You might be amazed about the difference in flavour!
If you count yourself as a “I don’t like green tea” person, you might want to give the above suggestions a try. Don’t be shy, you are not alone. As an example, even prolific tea blogger Nikki over at Tea Escapade has only recently discovered that green teas aren’t so bad after all…
Tags [ green tea | water temperature | tea preparation ]