Green tea is fresh, sweet and full of character, but it is also easy to ruin. Too hot, too long, or too many leaves and it turns bitter. The good news is that a cup with a built-in filter makes great green tea possible anywhere.
1. Choose your leaves
Longjing (Dragon Well) from Hangzhou is a perfect start: nutty, smooth and forgiving. Biluochun is more floral, while Huangshan Maofeng is light and sweet.
2. Get the water temperature right
Green tea likes water around 75–85°C, not boiling. If you only have boiling water, pour it into the cup first, wait about two minutes, then add the leaves. Cooler water brings out sweetness; boiling water extracts bitterness.
3. Use fewer leaves than you think
For a 500 mL cup, 3–4 grams (about two teaspoons) is plenty for long steeping. If you plan to remove the filter after a few minutes, you can use a little more.
4. Control the steeping time
With the leaves in a removable filter, steep for 2–3 minutes, then lift the filter out. You can re-steep the same leaves two or three more times through the day, adding 30 seconds each time.
5. The "top-pour" method
For very tender leaves, pour the water first and drop the leaves on top. They sink slowly and release flavor gently, which avoids "cooking" them.
Common mistakes
Leaving leaves in all day: the tea turns harsh and dark.
Using boiling water: bitter and grassy.
Storing leaves in a warm, open place: green tea loses freshness quickly. Keep it sealed and cool.
A neutral material like titanium or glass lets you taste these differences clearly, so you can adjust and find the cup you like best.