How to Make Green Tea

Co-authored by Dina Garcia, RD, LDN, CLT and Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: April 23, 2021 Approved

Green tea can be delightful and delicate or too bitter to even drink. To create the perfect cup at home, you can use high-quality tea bags, loose leaves, or matcha powder. Regardless of which method you use to make tea, always use fresh water that's not too hot and don't oversteep the tea. You'll find that the green tea is great on its own or you can flavor it with honey and lemon.

Ingredients

Green Tea Bags

1 tea bag of green tea
1 cup (240 ml) of water
Lemon or honey, optional

Makes 1 cup (240 ml) of tea

Loose Leaf Green Tea

³ ⁄ ₄ cup (180 ml) of water
1 teaspoon (2 g) of loose-leaf green tea

Makes ³ ⁄ ₄ cup (180 ml) of tea

Matcha Green Tea

1 1/2 teaspoons (2 g) of matcha green tea powder
¹ ⁄ ₄ cup (59 ml) of water

Makes a small cup

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Steeping Green Tea Bags

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1
Bring water to a boil and let it cool to around 175 °F (79 °C). Heat water in a stovetop or electric kettle until it begins to boil. Then, turn off the heat and remove the lid so the water cools faster. Let the water cool for about 5 minutes or until it reaches 175 °F (79 °C). ^{[1]
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Dina Garcia, RD, LDN, CLT. Nutritionist.} ^{[2]
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- Using boiling hot water can burn the green tea, which will make it taste bitter and unpleasant.
2
Place 1 tea bag in your teacup. It's important that you keep the ratio of 1 tea bag for every 1 cup (240 ml) of water, so if you want to make more than 1 cup of green tea, consider placing 2 or 3 bags in a teapot. This will give you room to add more water. ^{[3]
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- If you have time, warm the teacup before you make the green tea. Just fill the teacup with hot water and let it sit for about 30 seconds. Then, pour out the water.
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Carefully pour the 175 °F (79 °C) degree water into the teacup. ^{[4]
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Dina Garcia, RD, LDN, CLT. Nutritionist.} If you have a saucer or small plate, place this on top of the teacup to prevent the steam from escaping and cooling the tea. ^{[5]
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4
Steep the tea for 2 to 3 minutes. If you prefer a light, delicate flavor, leave the tea to brew for only 2 minutes. For a slightly stronger, earthy flavor, brew it for a total of 3 minutes. ^{[6]
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- Don't brew the green tea for more than 3-4 minutes or the flavor will become bitter. ^{[7]
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 Dina Garcia, RD, LDN, CLT. Nutritionist.}
5
Remove the tea bag and sip the green tea. Lift the tea bag out of the teacup and let the excess drip into the cup. Set the tea bag aside to use again or discard it. Now you can drink your hot green tea or flavor it with a little honey or lemon. ^{[8]
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- Avoid squeezing the tea bag because this will release bitter components into the tea.
Tip: If you're using high-quality tea bags, you can usually reuse the tea bag at least 1 more time.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making Loose Leaf Green Tea

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1
Heat water between 170 and 176 °F (77 and 80 °C). If you're using a stovetop or electric water kettle, bring the water to a boil and then turn off the heat. Let the water cool for about 5 minutes so the temperature is between 170 and 176 °F (77 and 80 °C). ^{[9]
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- Always start with water that you haven't boiled before. This will help the leaves open as the tea steeps.
2
Place 1 teaspoon (2 g) of loose-leaf green tea into a small teapot. You can use a small measuring spoon or a digital scale to measure the loose leaves for your tea. Put the leaves directly into the teapot or into the infuser basket if your teapot has one. ^{[10]
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- If you have time, you can pour hot water into the teapot to warm it up. Then, pour out the water and place the tea leaves in the bottom.
Variation: For a much stronger cup of tea, use around 1 tablespoon (5 to 6 g) of loose leaf tea.
3
Pour ³ ⁄ ₄ cup (180 ml) of the hot water over the leaves. You should see the leaves begin to unfurl as the heat from the water causes them to open. If your teapot has a lid, place it on top of the pot to trap the steam. ^{[11]
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- You could also place a small saucer over the top of the teapot to prevent the steam from escaping.
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4
Steep the green tea for 1 to 2 minutes. Set a timer for 1 minute and then use a spoon to taste the tea. If you like the flavor, you can stop the infusion or continue to steep the tea until it's strong enough for your taste. ^{[12]
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- If you're using 1 tablespoon (5 g) of tea leaves, steep the tea for a much shorter time. Try tasting it in 10-second increments until it's as flavorful as you like.
5
Strain the leaves or remove the infuser basket and drink the tea. You can lift the basket out of the tea so the excess drips into the pot. If your teapot doesn't have an infuser basket, set a tea strainer over a small teacup and slowly pour the green tea into your cup. Sip the tea while it's hot. ^{[13]
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- Squeeze a little lemon or stir some honey into the tea if you'd like to add a bright flavor.
- You can save the tea leaves and brew 1 to 2 more pots of tea with them. Keep in mind that each additional brew will need less steeping time since the leaves are already opened.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Preparing Matcha Green Tea

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1
Place a fine mesh strainer over a matcha tea bowl. If you don't have a small matcha tea bowl (also called a matcha-chawan), you can use a teacup or a small kitchen prep bowl. Ensure that the bowl is heat proof. ^{[14]
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- If you like, you can warm the tea bowl so it doesn't cool down your hot matcha tea. To warm the tea bowl, fill it with boiling hot water and leave it for 30 seconds before carefully dumping out the water.
2
Sift 1 1/2 teaspoons (2 g) of matcha powder into the tea bowl. Measure the matcha powder into the fine mesh strainer. Then, use the back of a spoon to gently push the powder through the strainer so it falls into the tea bowl. ^{[15]
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- The sifted matcha should look like bright green dust in the tea bowl.
3
Bring water to a boil and let it cool to between 180 and 190 °F (82 and 88 °C). Since matcha green tea doesn't use a lot of water, you can bring about 1 cup (240 ml) to a boil using a stovetop or electric kettle. Once the water boils, remove it from the heat and let it cool about 1 minute so the temperature drops. ^{[16]
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- Start with clean, fresh water that hasn't been boiled before in order to get the best tasting matcha green tea.
Did You Know? If you pour boiling hot water over the matcha tea powder, you can actually burn it.
4
Pour ¹ ⁄ ₄ cup (59 ml) of the hot water into the tea bowl. Slowly pour the 180 and 190 °F (82 and 88 °C) degree water into the matcha powder that's in your tea bowl. ^{[17]
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- The powder should begin to dissolve as soon as the hot water hits it.
Matcha Latte: To make a milky matcha tea, dissolve the matcha powder in 1 teaspoon (4.9 ml) of boiling water. Then, pour in about ¹ ⁄ ₂ cup (120 ml) of steamed milk.
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5
Whisk the mixture for 20 to 60 seconds to make matcha green tea. Use a bamboo whisk (also called a chasen) to combine the tea powder with the water. Try to keep your wrist loose and whisk in a circle if you'd like thin tea. If you want thicker, foamy tea, whisk quickly in a back and forth motion. ^{[18]
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- To create the thin, smooth tea, whisk for closer to 20 seconds. You'll need to whisk for around 1 minute if you want foam on the top of your tea.
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6
Sip the matcha green tea while it's hot. You can drink the tea directly out of the tea bowl that you just made it in. Try to enjoy the tea as soon as you've finished whisking it because the powder will settle if the tea sits for long. ^{[19]
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- In order to fully enjoy the experience of drinking matcha green tea, cup the tea bowl with both hands and bring it to your face. Breathe in the smell of the tea and relax before you begin drinking.

Community Q&A

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Question

I'd like something, not cow's milk, in my matcha to improve the taste (I just have it for the anti-oxidants). Is coconut cream OK in it? (Also add a little sprinkle of rock salt).

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Staff Answer

If this works for you in matcha, this is perfectly fine! Matcha can have a strong, bitter flavor that not everyone enjoys and the coconut cream likely tones this down and adds creaminess. Coconut is often combined with matcha for dessert dishes and baking, so if you enjoy it with match, then keep it up! The salt is also fine, it is a flavor enhancer and will also smooth out the taste.

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Can jaggary be used with green tea?

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This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Absolutely! If you prefer jaggery, then it's fine to add it and you'll also get the additional nutrients found in jaggery. Some devotees of jaggery believe it aids digestion but whatever the truth on that count, it does add a nice sweetness to green tea that may make it easier for you to enjoy. Add just a little to taste, it is still high in calories.

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How can I make green tea more refreshing?

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An easy fix to make green tea more refreshing is to add a few sprigs of fresh herbs to it. For example, a sprig of fresh mint or fresh basil can instantly give the green tea a lovely additional flavor that will calm the more strident flavor of the green tea. Pick the herbs fresh from your own herb garden/kitchen garden or buy them fresh, rinse gently, then add a sprig or two to the freshly made tea.

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Add a slice of fresh ginger to the tea while it steeps if you want a slightly spicy flavor.

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