Why is my Green Tea Brown but then Green when I reuse the bag?
I've read the posts about why Green Tea can appear brown, and it makes perfect sense.
However, what I'm experiencing is different. When I reuse my Green Tea Bags a second time, I get the green color one would expect. Totally counter intuitive, I know.
Any ideas why this is happening?
Some additional information: The green tea bags I buy are from a local Asian Market. They are sourced from China, so not likely high quality. I also do NOT place them in boiled water, but place 8 bags at a time in a gallon pitcher, in the room temperature purified water (reverse osmosis water), and let them steep for 24 hours. I then refrigerate the tea. First batch is always brown but the second batch made from the re-used bags is green.
Best Answer
I know that with pu'er tea (not a green tea), they rinse and 'awaken' the tea with the hot water first - dumping out the first brew (seemed like a waste to me). They say the 2nd is good, but the 3rd cup and on is much better ! I never noticed the color of my green tea changing, but I must admit i like the second pot better than the first - when re-brewing same tea leaves. perhaps the oxidation from the leaves is brewed of in the first pot?
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Quick Answer about "Why is my Green Tea Brown but then Green when I reuse the bag?"
Because there are a number of different compounds involved, they extract from the tea leaves at different rates. When you brew a second cup, there won't be as many of the fast-extracting compounds in it because most of those went straight into the first cup.Can a green tea bag be used twice?
A tea bag can be reused one or two times. After that, it's spent. Reusing green or white tea works better than darker blends.Should green tea be green or brown?
High quality green tea should look green before it is brewed, because it should not have undergone the oxidation process. This process is intentional with black teas, but it is a side effect of bad production with lower quality green teas. There are exceptions which we will go over below.Why does green tea go brown?
The colors of green tea are caused by chlorophyll in the tea leaves, which begins to oxidize and turn brown the moment the leaves are picked from the tree and begin to ferment. To prevent fermentation, the leaves are steamed or roasted in a roasting kettle immediately after being harvested.Why is green tea green and not brown?
Green tea does not take its name from the color of the brew, but from the color of the processed leaves. When brewing green tea, you're using dark green leaves. This is why black tea brews dark brown-red, but is still called black.Daily Sip #007: Why is my tea bag green tea brown??
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Answer 2
When you brew tea, you extract certain chemicals from the leaves which is what gives flavour and colour to the water that you then drink and (hopefully) enjoy. Because there are a number of different compounds involved, they extract from the tea leaves at different rates.
When you brew a second cup, there won't be as many of the fast-extracting compounds in it because most of those went straight into the first cup. Thus the second cup will not have the same colour or flavour as the first.
A third cup will proceed along similar lines, as the balance of compounds extracted from the leaves changes yet again. Likewise for fourth etc. until the leaves can no longer produce enough flavour to make another cup worth drinking (this varies according to your leaves, brewing method and personal taste - I've got some teas which will happily do four brews, while others give a very poor third cup that I'm seldom in the mood for).
So the reason why the second cup is different is because brewing the first cup changed the composition of the tea leaves.
Answer 3
Green tea contains stuff that reacts with oxygen from the air to turn the tea brown. You can prevent this by adding a little bit of acid (lime juice, citric acid, vitamin C) directly after or with the water.
I never steeped my tea that long but it might be that there is nothing of the stuff responsible for this reaction left when you reuse the leaves.
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