Green Tea Suggestons for Someone Who Doesn't Like Green Tea

If you've brewed them all with sub-boiling water between 150 and 180 degrees F, then if you don't like them, you don't like them. Try a couple of whites and a yellow if you can find one.

My impression of the greens is that they really need to be fresh (a Chinese woman I met only drinks them in the summer) and the water temps have to be lower than boiling. Oolong/pu'erh teas tend to be what the Chinese here drink besides the greens (and there are whites available locally, too).

What are your feelings about Japanese food? Not tempura or teriyaki, but something more refined like raw fish or buckwheat noodles or nori seaweed? If those also do nothing for you, then coming to an appreciation for Japanese tea may prove daunting.

Are you missing something? Yes, you are. Really. That's the god's honest truth.

--crymad

"Rebecca Ore" > asked...

Yes. I've been using water at about 170 degrees. I do like white tea, although I wouldn't say I prefer it to blacks or oolongs. I had a feeling that freshness may have been the difference between the Pi Lo Chun I got from Teas of Green (good but expensive) and the Pi Lo Chun I got from others.

Warren

"crymad" asked:

Yeah, well consistency may not be my strong suit. I love Japanese food.

Warren

Heh-heh...so what's your problem? To your tongue, does green tea really taste bad? Or does it taste...boring?

Though I believe the best green teas bring one closer to God than can anything else you can legally ingest, this door is not open to all. My native Japanese wife drinks Darjeeling for breakfast and usually Oolong after meals. So even birthright, it appears, doesn't guarantee passage.

--crymad

Hey Warren,

I think you should try Puerh, try some cooked and un-cooked to get an idea of what you like. BUT, try good quality only, don't be cheep though, otherwise you will get wrong impression.

Thanks!

Warren

Warren,

Many good suggestions have already been made, especially concerning freshness and temperature. Of course, it's possible green tea is just not for you, but the world of greens is quite vast, and it's just possible you haven't found the one or several that appeal to you yet. I have lots to learn myself.

Some teas you mentioned trying are really rather distinctive (in my mind) such as the Japanese teas and pi lo chun. Japanese greens can be quite sharp in flavor and far "greener" (thinking of your mown grass analogy) than greens from China or elsewhere. I like them, but I can readily understand someone not going for them. Pi lo chun (in my limited tasting so far) is possessed of a specific basic flavor note which may not be for you.

Among the Chinese greens there is not only the vegetal -- you will discover the flowery ones (like Meng Ding yellow), resinous ones (like Shinya Yinzhen), austere and noble ones (really good dragon wells). And other taste parameters I'm not thinking of at the moment.

For "green" teas that may be more similar to what you already like:

In the puerh line, the Silver Needles Beencha (green puerh) available from Silk Road and IPOT is something you may find intriguing, as its flavors are rather bold and come from all over the spectrum, and yields a reddish brew. Same for some Yunnan greens I've had, which have more the intense character of many blacks.

And the couple of Bai Mu Dans I've tried seem to have leanings in the oolong direction. Though other drinkers may not get that the way I do.

Exploration seems to be the key. Buying from a good vendor is important. Getting a wide range of samples (from someone who packs fresh samples carefully) may be one way.

Joe

Thanks!

Not many people really like a very vegetal tasting green tea, watch your brewing temperatures cuz you might be cooking the leaves instead of brewing them.

you can try teas like Anji Bai Pian, white leaves from Anji County processed the green tea way, not vegetal at all, yet when fresh, smells of nuances of some oolong teas with a very smooth pale greenish yellow brew.

Tian Mu Qing Ding, Tai Ping Hou Kui, Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun, etc are very very slightly vegetal.

Green Pu-erhs are not vegetal at all, but you hafta watch your brewing times due to the astringency.