I have tried green tea before, and thought it kind of tasted like grass, or something similar, and I have tried the matcha green tea, which I do like, but seldom make it for some reason. Anyway, I have been enjoying my loose leaf back tea that I bought, and decided to branch out and try a new variety of green tea. What I have ordered is called Gunpowder Green Tea, and it is supposed to have a stronger and not grassy flavor compared to plain green tea. This is what I ordered, and you can see that the tea looks like a darker color than regular green tea, but lighter than my black tea. It is supposed to be here by Wednesday, so I will report back after I have tried some. Has anyone else had green gunpowder tea, and if so, what did you think about it ? I noticed that there is a good variety of green teas, some with different flavorings, like ginger, lemongrass, or mint, so if this is good, I may branch out and try other ones.
I've had Gunpowder tea, and probably still have some kicking around (I bought the stuff in bulk bags.) I like it. You should also try one called Dragonwell. It's a very good Asian tea. The thing I like about tea is that it not only has less caffeine than coffee, but the caffeine in it seems to be slow-release rather than a sudden jolt. Here are some sources for Asian teas that might be cheaper than Amazon: Generation Tea Indigo Tea Company Mighty Leaf Tea I took a look at the spreadsheet I keep my tea info in. I created it in 2000. Those 3 places are still in business (Mightly Leaf has been bought by Pete's), but I guess others may have popped up since then, huh?
My gunpowder green tea arrived today, and Bobby and I are testing out our first cup of it. The tea came out kind of a light golden color, not the pale green that i have gotten with regular green tea, and it does not smell or taste like grass or leaves. The aroma is different, and maybe a smoky essence to it. I did put sweetener in it, and am glad that it did, because it is a little on the bitter side. Bobby said that he likes it better than the plain green tea also. It seems to have enough body and flavor to be able to drink it and enjoy the flavor more than the plain green tea, and I think that we will both enjoy this. The lb package more than filled up a quart jar, so we have enough to last a while. I noticed that the leaves swell up a lot more in this tea, maybe because they are so tightly rolled.
My gunpowder was the same way, Yvonne. I think I mentioned it was like little BBs. Keep in mind that you can get several brewing sessions (infusions) out of teas. I don't have a way to insert a table, and my HTML skills stink, so this will have to do: Tea----------Brew Temp----------Steep----------#Infusions Black----------212°(Boiling)---------3-6 min Oolong----------190°-----------------5-8 min Green----------150°-160°-------------2-4 min White----------180°-------------------4-6 min Pu-erh----------205°--------------------5 min Sencha----------176°--------------------30 sec Dragonwell----180°------------------2-3 minutes----------3-to-5 Notice that the greener the leaves, the lower the brew temp. (See where that new pot will come in handy?) Dragonwell is the only tea for which I came across the specific number of infusions you can get out of a given pot of leaves...I've just not heavily researched it for the others. The universal rule I did encountered said to extend the brew time by 30 seconds for each subsequent infusion/brew. This not only stretches your dollars, it is a customary practice.
Okay, practice is in order, that I can see. I did everything wrong ! Because the other green tea I have used seemed to never get much flavor or color, I always left it to steep for a longer period of time; so the 5-9 minutes I steeped this one was way too long. (I was busy filling up the jar and just ignored the tea brewing.) Second, I started out with the 212 water like I do with regular tea. And lastly, I already threw out the leftover grounds for compost, so no more infusions from this batch. Next time, I will start with the cooler water and not leave it as long as this time. I do seem to remember reading about it being too bitter with water that was too hot. Thank you , @John Brunner !
It's interesting that the younger green leaves seem to be more tender and are easily bruised by too-hot water, while the dried black teas can take boiling water and sit for a long period of time. There is an art to telling water temps (just begins to bubble, bubbles slowly break on surface, boil then let sit x seconds)...or you can leap the centuries and use a thermometer like I do. Each of those tea websites has an "About Tea" page that makes for interesting reading. Generation Learn About Tea (the Brewing Tips chart is broken) Indigo Tea Knowledge