tea

A very very small part of my job at work is keeping the kitchen stocked with things to drink. Soda, bottled waters, coffee, and tea.

I got a box of Green tea for everyone to drink because it's supposed to be "healthy". The thing is though is that it always tastes like bitter do do to me when I make it ,but when I get it while at a Chinese/Japanese restaurant it tastes great. This got me thinking-where do I go wrong in making it?

After doing some research these are some things I have found. Maybe they will help you too if your tea tastes bad.

First off- apparently you should not put green tea into boiling water-which I always do! It makes the bitter taste come out. They say you should wait about 5 minutes to let the water cool and then put your tea bag in.

Secondly- depending on where the tea was grown (different soil and climate) will give it more of a sweet or bitter taste. Green teas from Japan are steamed and generally have a savory-sweet note about them which is often likened to seaweed(I don't really think of seaweed when I think of savory and sweet).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 flavor that many people dislike is most often found in green teas from Sri Lanka and India. So-If you know you like sweet or floral or whatever check where your tea came from before you try it.

Last off- Watch how long you steep it. It seems to me that Green tea actually tastes better if you steep it less than say an Earl Grey or another kind of popular tea.

Hope this helps-Happy Green tea drinking!