"Joseph Kubera" > wrote in message
...
> > For example, my new sample of Japanese Cherry Bancha says 180F for
> >2-3/4 to 3 minutes but I had to drop it down to 1-1/2 min. to eliminate
an
> >unpleasant over/undertone.
>
> Yes, I have some sencha from ocha.com, and they also recommend temps in
the
> 170-180 range. However, I have usually found these teas more pleasant in
the
> 140-155 range. The higher temps do tend to bring out brisk, wilder notes.
Who
> knows, perhaps Japanese themselves prefer them this way.

That's possible. For us, though, tea is very YMMV. I went looking around and
found "Most Chinese greens will steep best at 170 to 180 degrees, and
Japanese teas, often being more delicate, are better at 160 degrees or
lower" at
http://www.planet-tea.com/article1.html.

Guess I'll do more experimenting.

>
> Printed directions for these teas usually ask for less leaf than I like,
too.

Does lower temp equate to more leaves because the flavor isn't drawn out as
quickly or something like that?

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