I am trying to find a great green tea - I have tried the horrible bagged tea they have in the Supermarket and thought I hated Green Tea.
Until…
I went to a Vietnamese restaurant and they served a loose Green Tea that was EXCELLENT.
Any advice on how to pick a good loose tea?
This is a bit off topic, but I went to a Vietnamese restaurant today and I picked a loose stool at the counter. I don’t know why I picked it, but I did. All the other stools around were nice and firm, but mine made me slip and slide around like there was jello in my pants. I hate loose stools.
Carry on.
Does this fit the definition of threadshitting? 
Unfortunately I have nothing on-topic to contribute.
-FrL-
I’ve generally found all the loose green teas I’ve tried taste very similar. Having said that, I usually buy it from a local health food store but that’s mostly out of a desire to support local business. Have you made it with loose leaves yet? I find it doesn’t need to brew as long as the bagged tea, a minute or so is fine for my taste.
All I can do is refer you to the excellent 1952 Ozu film The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice.
I’ve bought tea online from Adagio Teas. They have two different green tea sampler packs.
The best thing to do is to locate a tea house that sells numerous kinds of loose tea, and ask the staff there for advice. If you can’t find a tea house near you, try mail ordering from Camellia Sinensis in Montreal.
I don’t drink a lot of green tea (I prefer black, oolong, or white), but I can say I greatly prefer Chinese green teas to Japanese ones. The few Japanese green teas I’ve tried have a characteristic fishy flavour to them that I find really obnoxious.
You could do worse than to start with one of the Chinese Famous Teas.
Is there a significant Asian community in Winnipeg? I’m not a huge tea fan, but I picked up a pound of awesome jasmine pearl tea in downtown L.A. at an Asian supermarket. The tea is rolled up into little balls and then opens up like little flowers when steeped and makes a beautiful delicious tea. Google “jasmine pearl tea” for many results.
Oh, I know a bunch of places to go, but they’re probably not convenient for you! When I lived in the U.S., I used to buy tea at an Asian market, or just wait until somebody I knew was going to Viet Nam. I also recommend jasmine tea (i.e., green tea flavored with jasmine).
It isn’t a loose tea, but Ive always liked Mighty Leaf Tea’s green teas, especially their green tea tropical. You can find it online or in many stores now.
I also second the tea house suggestion. A knowledgeable staff will be able to help you find the tea you are looking for, and how to properly brew the tea for the best flavor. Plus, you can often buy a pot to try it before buying any loose tea.
First: smell it. Don’t buy tea anywhere they don’t let you unscrew the lid from the jar to enjoy the aroma.
Second: DON’T OVERBREW IT. Green tea gets bitter quickly. Black tea can also get bitter, but it’s already a note in the flavor, so the bitterness accumulates gradually and it’s hard to tell precisely when it’s gone too far. Green tea, by contrast, is good good good then bitter.
Three minutes, maybe, with very hot water, then strain, cool another minute, and sip/slurp. Oversteeping is common with the supermarket tea bags; it’s typical to drop in the bag, add the water, go do something else, and not pay attention to how long it’s been. You want to steep hard and fast, and then get the leaves out, producing a gentle color and almost vegetal aroma.
(If you want to try really good green tea, go to a reputable tea house and order a cup of matcha. It’s not leaf, it’s powder, whisked right in. Very unusual but an easily acquired taste.)
My favorite green tea is the jasmine flavored. I drink it every day and never get tired of it. The flower taste decreases that grassy taste in green tea that some people don’t like. The kind I buy is loose leafed made by Fujian Tea Import & Export. It’s $2 for that tin, which lasts forever.
I also recommend adagio.com. Their IngenuiTEA one cup brewer makes brewing the loose leaf tea much easier.
