On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 06:31:13 -0700 (PDT), katrinha >
wrote:

>
>> "Tea Masters living in China nowadays say that boiling
>> water must be used all the time even with green teas
>> because high quality leaves can handle higher temperatures
>> very well. ... If a tea claims to be high grade but the vendor
>> instructions says that boiling water mustn`t be used then
>> there is a chance that the tea is not so high grade."
>
>The reason one doesn't want to use boiling water on green tea is that
>the leaf itself has only been dried and steamed, therefore still left
>in its green state. Boiling water can burn the leaf and make it taste
>bitter. Best results would seem to be allowing your water to come to
>a boil then allow a cooling off period. Green tea is best steeped at
>temperatures ranging between 175 and 195.

How about one of those electric tea making machines with a temperature
setting? Wouldn't that be more accurate than a varfiable cooling off
period?