I buy organic, loose green tea from a co-op and found that it's sourced from China. I've never had tea foam before and am concerned that the tea has some kind of chemical on it. The foam tastes very bitter. It made me throw the tea out. I know that the FDA only checks randomly at the port so I'm leary of what's making it foam. Many years of tea making and this is a first.
Does anyone have any experience or answers for this?
Thank you!
Why is the green tea foaming too
tea
Related Solutions
Usually the first infusion is to remove pesticides and some dust that accumulates while aging the tea. Another reason is to let the dry leaves "breathe" to bring out their taste in subsequent infusions. You're supposed to drain out the water in seconds; so it shouldn't take away the taste.
I've been drinking loose-leaf tea at work for many years now, and have gone through most of these.
- cup with a ceramic or glass strainer.
I've tried both the ceramic type with holes and the glass type with slots. The mesh is never fine enough for me. In addition the holes or slots invariably get packed with leaves and are a pain to clean.
- steel strainers.
If you mean the tea-ball type, I can't comment. But a steel mesh strainer is my absolute favorite. I've been using the same one (pictured below) for years now and have never noticed any off flavors. Easy to clean: just dump out the leaves and give a good rinse, picking or sponging out the occasional stuck leaf.
Not microwaveable, but you don't want to microwave the leaves, anyway. Microwave the cup with water in it (put a stirrer in to avoid superheating the water. Yes, it can happen, and has happened to me), then put the strainer in when it's the right temperature.
- cotton strainers.
I have never used one, so I can't comment authoritatively, but it seems like at the least they'd be harder to clean.
- fillable disposable tea bags.
I hate disposable anything. I tried the type of bag pictured below and they were a pain. They tend to wick tea out of the cup and onto your table.
As for the other gizmos, I think for tea, simpler is better. The above are the only methods I've used, and I find the mesh basket is far and away the most convenient and best solution.
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Best Answer
The pouring of water over the tea adds oxygen, which stirs up tannic acid in the tea and causes it to foam. Stirring vigorously also adds air, leading to foam from the tannic acid.