Have you noticed your green tea tastes weird or even fishy? You might want to add ingredients like lemon or honey to remove the taste, but it does not always help. In fact, adding green leaves like mint or grass can reduce the impact of the fishy taste, but they cannot remove it completely. There are some scientific reasons why normal black tea tastes and smells so good while the flavor of green tea can vary drastically. There are quite a few reasons why green tea can sometimes have a fishy taste.

One of the main reasons why green tea might have a fishy taste and smell is due to the ingredients that are used in its processing. For instance, the grassroots or some other natural ingredient can also be the cause of such a smell and taste however, it can also be the result of a rotten ingredient or imperfect processing. Sometimes, some harmful chemicals can also react with other additions in the green tea that we do such as adding lemon, sugar honey, etc. These reactions can cause a foul smell or taste.

Apart from this, the green can sometimes have a fishy taste due to being expired. This means that if it is store-bought and packed in a can or a plastic bag, the flavor can go flat. In such cases, the flavor sometimes even turns savory or bitter.

Moreover, when green tea is not packed or kept in an air-tight container or packet, it can also lose its moisture and freshness. This makes it either dry, rough in texture, or devoid of its natural taste, color, aroma, and benefits. Thus, this can also be an apparent cause of a fishy taste as the natural compounds in the green tea that makes it aromatic and tasty, are destroyed.

Another reason why green tea can sometimes have a fishy taste can by boiling it at high temperatures for a longer time than expected. Unlike black tea or coffee which require more boiling to infuse its flavors into the water, green tea is stronger enough to release its ingredients much quicker than them. Thus, it can have maximum benefits and flavors if boiled on a low flame for a few minutes only. Hence, boiling it for more than 3-4 minutes at high temperatures can turn the flavor bitter or perhaps a bit savory.

Although green tea is a healthy drink that can bring many benefits to your body, it can sometimes have a fishy taste and a foul smell that can be annoying. However, one must ensure that the ingredients in green tea are natural, safe, carefully kept, and treated at appropriate temperatures to retain its benefits. Otherwise, the benefits could turn harmful for the human body. Thus, make sure to have your green tea properly packaged and bought from a credible store. It should be kept in a dry and cool place to avoid any natural adulteration of the ingredients.

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