How to Brew Green Tea
Green tea rewards attention. Its fresh leaves can reveal chestnut, bean, orchid, meadow and mineral notes, but they are also more sensitive to heat and time than many darker teas. Brewed with care, green tea feels clear, lively and quietly refreshing. Brewed too aggressively, it can become sharp or bitter.
The aim is not to avoid strength. It is to preserve balance.
Why Green Tea Needs Gentler Brewing
Green tea is heated soon after picking to halt oxidation. This keeps its colour, freshness and aromatic character close to the living leaf. Because the leaves remain relatively delicate, boiling water and long infusions can release bitterness quickly.
Most Chinese green teas perform best between 75°C and 90°C. Tender spring buds usually prefer the lower end of that range, while larger, more robust leaves can tolerate more heat.
A Reliable Starting Point
- Leaf: 3g per 250ml
- Water: 80–85°C
- Time: 2 minutes
- Infusions: 2–3
This is an excellent everyday method for a glass, mug or small teapot. Taste the first infusion before adjusting. Increase the leaf for more aroma and texture, rather than automatically extending the steep.
How to Brew Green Tea in a Glass
Glass brewing is simple and especially suited to whole-leaf Chinese green tea.
- Warm the glass with hot water, then empty it.
- Add the leaves.
- Pour water at around 80–85°C down the side of the glass.
- Allow the leaves to open for 1½–2 minutes.
- Drink when the liquor reaches the balance you enjoy.
Leave a small amount of liquor over the leaves before topping up. This keeps continuity between infusions and prevents the second brew from tasting thin.
Gong Fu Brewing Green Tea
Green tea can be brewed gong fu style, but it benefits from a lighter hand than oolong or Pu’er.
- Leaf: 4–5g per 100ml
- Water: 80–90°C
- First infusion: 10–15 seconds
- Later infusions: Increase gradually
- Vessel: Porcelain gaiwan or thin-walled glass
Avoid a forceful rinse. Fine green tea rarely needs one, and a rinse can wash away the most delicate opening aromatics.
What to Adjust
If the tea tastes bitter, lower the temperature or shorten the infusion. If it tastes flat, use more leaf or slightly hotter water. If the aroma is vivid but the liquor feels weak, increase the ratio rather than steeping for much longer.
Water quality matters. Soft, fresh water usually gives the clearest expression. Reboiled or heavily mineralised water can make green tea feel dull or coarse.
Try It with Green Mist
Our 2026 Green Mist comes from Nankeng Village in Zhenghe County. Its Qun Ti Zhong leaves offer bean, roasted chestnut and gentle sweetness, making it a forgiving introduction to high-mountain Chinese green tea.
For this tea, begin at 85–90°C. Use 3–4g per 250ml for 2 minutes, or 4–5g per 100ml with short gong fu infusions. Its fuller leaf material can accept more heat than very delicate bud-only green teas.
Explore the full Green Tea collection.
A Quiet Practice
Green tea is an exercise in attention without complication. Watch the leaves settle. Notice how the aroma changes as the cup cools. Let each infusion become a small adjustment rather than a fixed rule.
Balance ✦ Ritual ✦ Connection
