Because green tea leaves are not oxidised like black leaves, you should never use boiling water as it will scorch the leaves and you'll miss out on the tea's full flavour profile.
Traditionally Japanese green teas and spring teas are brewed at lower temperatures (160°F to 170°F) and standard Chinese green teas at higher temperatures (170°F to 180°F). Pre-warm the teapot or cup (optional): Pour a small amount of boiling water into the pot or cup. When the pot or cup is warm, pour out the water.
The water temperature for black tea should be 90 to 98oC and for green tea around 80oC. Always read the instructions on pack. In order to draw the best flavour out of the tea the water must contain oxygen, this is reduced if the water is boiled more than once and you waste energy!
Boiling water does not actually destroy green tea. However, it breaks down the amino acids and catechin flavonoids that provide many of green tea's health benefits.
High temperature roasting was found to result in decreased first-brew and TI-AOX capacity according to both ORAC and NanoCerac assays. The decrease in antioxidant capacity is likely because roasting destroys catechins and decreases caffeine content (Tea, 2002, 2007).
Matcha is one of the cases. You simply can't use boiling water with matcha. It will destroy it. Boiling water makes matcha taste really off, and downright bad.
Among various compounds, catechins can be destroyed by brewing above 90 °C [20] and can also undergo degradation, epimerization, and oligomerization at higher temperatures and longer brewing times [21,22].
Benefits of Cold Brewing Green Tea
Less bitter than hot-brewed tea — Aside from caffeine, cold brewing tea also releases less catechins and tannins into the brew, which makes the tea less bitter. Extremely easy to prepare, making it perfect for beginners — Cold brewing has an easier preparation method than hot brewing.
Water temperature is a critical factor in bringing out the best qualities of green tea. If the water temperature is too hot, the tea will be too bitter and much of its delicate aroma will be lost; if the water temperature is too cool, the full flavor contained in the leaves will not be extracted.
For Oolongs, let your boiling water cool for 1 minute~(190 Degrees F) before adding to your tea leaves. For Green & White Teas, let water cool approximately 2 minutes~(175 Degrees F) before adding to your tea leaves.
May reduce the risk of heart disease. Research suggests green tea is a useful beverage for helping to reduce the risk of heart disease and associated conditions, such as stroke. One way it may help is in its beneficial effects on cholesterol management.
Prepare Your Water Correctly
Typically, people bring their water to a boil and then put their tea inside of the cup or pot, but that's not the correct way to steep tea. Using boiling water will make the tea taste bitter and diminish the nutrients and minerals in the beverage.
Water at a higher temperature will extract more caffeine and catechins, while lower temperature water will do so at a lower degree and still extract amino acids. This happens because amino acids like L-theanine are sufficiently soluble at lower temperatures, while caffeine and catechins aren't. Why is this important?
You should leave the tea bag in the water for about two minutes so that there is ample time for it to infuse the tea flavor. Poking and prodding should be avoided, let the process happen naturally and slowly.
You still get the antioxidant benefits of tea
Many people drink tea for the antioxidants, which are believed to have health benefits. These antioxidants are found in both hot brewed and cold-brewed tea, so you'll still get the same benefits regardless of which brewing method you choose.
Lemon tea, on the other hand, involves a mere addition of lemon to hot or cold water, or already-prepared tea. Both share similar benefits; however, green tea is infused with L-theanine and polyphenols, and these properties make it a more effective beverage to consume if you're looking to lose weight.
The best time to drink green tea for brain health is in the morning or early afternoon 1 to 2 hours after meals. As lack of sleep can cause increase anxiety and restlessness, it is best to drink this tea in the morning or early afternoon so that you do not interrupt your sleep routine.
The results showed that antioxidant activity is generally higher in tea brewed with hot water, but using statistics, this difference was found to be significant only for green tea. White tea deviates from this trend, showing statistically higher levels of antioxidants when brewed with cold water.
Boiling until tender in a liter of water causes the most antioxidant loss across all vegetables. Peas, cauliflower, and zucchini lose more than 50% of their free radical-scavenging capabilities.
To maximize EGCG content, pour boiling water (not just hot water) over a green tea bag and let steep for 10 minutes before removing the bag and drinking. The only trade off with increased brewing time is a slight increase in bitterness.
Please don't put milk in your good matcha, especially if you're drinking it for health reasons. The milk sticks to the polyphenols, which alters (not in a good way) the bioavailability (how well your body can absorb nutrients) of the matcha, and all the goodies just flush through.
Microwaving won't destroy beneficial catechins in green tea like EGCG, and there is a way that a microwave oven can be used to maximize catechin release. However, simply microwaving green tea in cool water won't get you there.
I have heard that Cow's milk destroys the benefits of Matcha. Is this true? Yes that is correct. The calcium in cow's milk will counteract the absorption of many of the beneficial nutrients and antioxidants in Matcha.