One of the oldest teas in the world, you’ve probably tried gunpowder tea without even realizing it. This robust green tea is great hot or cold.

Gunpowder Green Tea

• Gunpowder green tea is one of the oldest teas in the world.
• It’s a Chinese green tea.
• Rolled into tightly formed beads, it’s also called pearl tea for its shape.
• Gunpowder tea with younger tea leaves is more precious than the gunpowder made with older, larger leaves. 
• There are two stories about how gunpowder tea got its name. Some say that it’s because the dark, pellet-like shape of the tea and the other story is that it comes from the Chinese phrase for freshly brewed, “gang pao de.”

Gunpowder tea BREWING GUIDE

TO MAKE HOT GUNPOWDER TEA
TEA: 1 teaspoon loose gunpowder tea or 1 tea sachet
WATER: 1 cup (8 fl. oz.)
WATER TEMPERATURE: 175°F
STEEP TIME: 3 minutes

TO MAKE COLD BREW ICED GUNPOWDER TEA
TEA: 1 teaspoon loose gunpowder tea or 1 tea sachet
WATER: 1 cup (8 fl. oz.)
WATER TEMPERATURE: Cold water
STEEP TIME: 6 – 8 hours

What You’ll Need

TO MAKE HOT GUNPOWDER TEA

• Loose or sachet gunpowder tea
• Filtered water
• Teapot with strainer
• Electric kettle with temperature setting
  A MUST for making green tea properly.

TO MAKE COLD BREW GUNPOWDER TEA

• Loose or sachet gunpowder tea
• Filtered water
• Teapot with strainer or cold brew pitcher
• Ice

My Gunpowder Tea Pick:

HOW TO MAKE HOT Gunpowder green tea PROPERLY

STEP 1: Boil water. 

Instead of just boiling tap water, go for filtered water. The tea only tastes as good as the water tastes. 

I always use an electric kettle with a temperature setting to boil water especially for green tea since water temperature makes a huge difference.

If you’re boiling water on the stovetop, turn off the heat as soon as it starts to simmer.

Boil some extra water to use for warming up the teapot.

STEP 2: Warm up teapot.

Pour some boiled water into the teapot. Swirl it around to warm up the sides, then throw the water out. 

TEA SOMMELIER’S TIP: To brew tea properly, always pre-warm the teapot since it helps keep the water temperature stable when the tea is brewing. 

STEP 3: Put gunpowder tea into teapot and add hot water. 

STEP 4: Cover teapot and steep for 3 minutes.

Steeping it for longer may result in a bitter tea so keep an eye on the time. Keep the teapot covered so that the water stays hot.

STEP 5: Strain gunpowder green leaves and pour hot tea into a teacup.

HOW TO MAKE ICED GUnpowder green tea PROPERLY

Cold brewed iced tea is the best kind of iced tea! It tastes so much better than iced tea made any other way.

STEP 1: Put gunpowder green tea and water in a pitcher or glass container.

Use cold or room temperature filtered water since there’s no need for hot water for cold brewing tea.

STEP 2: Cover pitcher and put in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

STEP 3: Strain gunpowder green tea leaves and pour tea into a cup with ice.

Ice is optional with cold brew because it’s chilled already, so you can add it if you like but there’s no need.

I always use simple syrup when I want to sweeten cold brew since it incorporates the best. To make it at home, just mix equal parts sugar and hot water until the sugar dissolves.

Gunpowder Green Tea Tips

• Gunpowder tea has a longer shelf life than other green teas.
• If you’re looking for a basic green tea, this is a great one.
• Using water that’s too hot or steeping it for too long will definitely make this tea bitter.
• If you want to freshen it up, this tea (hot and cold) tastes great with fresh mint leaves.

Questions You May Have

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