"Top Spin" > wrote in message
news
>
> It's interesting that they use boiling water but green or oolong tea.
> I have seen several warnings against water that is too hot for greens
> and even for oolongs.

And for whites. Water that's too hot brings out the astringency in the
not-black teas which is nice to know if a tea seems harsh. It's possible to
smooth it down, sometimes to quite an extent, by lowering the temperature.

Also, while the standard recommendation for the not-black teas is 180F or
lower, Japanese greens seem to do better at 170F and below.


> Is it the very brief infusion that keeps it from being bitter?

I don't know. Before last week, I would have said "yes." But, then I ran
across http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin#Tea that states that green tea
does not release tannins. FWIW, I typically brew my greens and whites for
2-1/2 min. and my blacks for 2 to 4 min. depending on what it is.


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~~Bluesea~~
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