Green teas of Darjeeling have always tempted me. Their lack of ‘tea’-flavours never has deterred, whatsoever, against it. Maybe, it is the health benefits associated with it, which is embedded deep within, that this health conscious tea lover was forced to question the efficacy of taking Darjeeling green teas with sugar.
‘Sugar: A sweet poison”, that is how the saying goes. My quest to enjoy green teas of Darjeeling, without any sugar, then began.
The consignment from Dooteriah tea estate of organic green teas, processed specially for the green tea lovers of Darjeeling Tea Boutique, had just arrived: fresh, aromatic, and waiting to be enjoyed.Initially, the green leaves used to be steeped and the liquor sugared. It was steeped for a full three minutes as I usually do for green teas of Darjeeling. (An average time for almost all green teas at temperature between 60 & 70 degrees centigrade, beyond this time, most green teas, except a few exceptional like the Royal Pearl of Dooteriah tea estate tends to end on a bitter side.)
In order to make a yummy green tea without sugar, out of the Darjeeling green tea leaves, I had three variables, which could be changed to derive the desired effect out from the liquor so produced.
a) Steeping Temperature,
b) The quantity of the Darjeeling green tea leaves use, and
c) Steeping Time.
Any changes to steeping temperature would have been a bad idea as the antioxidants releases perfectly for the Darjeeling green teas at the above-mentioned range of temperatures. Steeping too high and it risks of ‘bittering’ the liquor, too low and it takes an awful length of steeping time for the liquor to take its characteristic green.
The quantity of the Darjeeling organic green tea leaves was not changed as I did what I usually do, that is, taking a teaspoonful of loose Darjeeling green tea leaves for a cup.
After a couple of trials with various steeping time, I came across the two-third rule, to get the perfect green tea without sugar from a Darjeeling green tea leaves.
How to use the two-third rule for your loose-leaf green teas of Darjeeling?
If three minutes is what one usually steeps for a sugared green tea, then according to the rule, to make a perfect sugarless green tea, the steeping has to be reduced to two minutes keeping all other variables constant.
Liquor of Darjeeling Green Tea without sugar
It usually takes about a couple of cups to adjust to the unique tastes and aromas of each tea gardens offers here in Darjeeling, but the benefits are immense.
Would it work for black teas, white teas or any other teas of the world for that matter?
This tea lover is experimenting and will be posting them soon. You may subscribe to our feeds, which will be delivered, directly to your inbox. (Your email address is safe with us.)
Happy Sipping,
Cheers,
Niranjan Naulakha
Darjeeling Tea Boutique
Darjeeling