The recently discovered virtues of green tea mean health professionals and writers encourage Americans to let go of their coffee habit and embrace green tea instead. Imagine! How does one change from their daily Caramel Macchiato to a tasteless, or worse bitter, watered-down brew?
The problem with this advice is that the professionals don’t tell you how to find high-quality leaf or how to brew it. The majority of Americans brew green tea like the indestructible herb tisanes they’re used to and come up with a bitter brew reminiscent of an over-cooked vegetable.
Green tea can taste like an over-cooked vegetable because often it is. Green tea cannot withstand the brutal onslaught of boiling water and needs to be brewed closer to 180 degrees. The leaves are not as dried and oxidized as black tea and only need two minutes of brewing for the flavor to be released. Anything longer or hotter will produce bitterness.
Green tea, as well, is available in many different flavors and blends. Jasmine, for example, is a common favorite. Tea Party Girl currently provides two green teas, one with the flavor of nuts and one with cherry essence. A best seller, Watson’s Nutty Green has wooed many a skeptic.
Finding little life indulgences that also bring the benefit of health and well-being can be difficult to find in a society that caters to all whims and desires. However, add a Wellspring green tea to the list of indulgences with virtue. Drink daily to your health AND comfort.