There is a Lot to Know about Green Tea...Here's A Condensed Overview...
What Makes Green Tea So Special?...
If you are a Green Tea lover you are probably enthralled with both the health benefits and the captivating aromas and tastes of Green Tea, but if you have interest in enjoying green tea's advantages, you probably would like a better understanding of what makes Green Tea all that it is.
True enough, a lot of people, maybe even most of those new to Green Tea become interested because of all they have heard about the health benefits of drinking Green Tea...
For me, this was the case. It was the intrigue of the Fountain of Youth sounding Antioxidants that first drew me to Green Tea, and lots of years later I'm glad to have heard that message early-on in my life.
Over time though, the message for me has changed some, it has actually doubled...
It didn't take long for me to realize that there were two important things me about drinking tea...in this case Green Tea. While the health benefits have always remained the most compelling reason to consume Green Tea on a daily basis, I quickly discovered the pleasure of the consumption of Green Tea...the Character of Green Tea can be amazing...
Within days of experiencing well-steeped quality Green Tea, came the realization that the health benefits, as valuable as they were to me, pleasantly were pushed into second place by the pleasure, actually the elation of discovering the character of Green Teas.
Uncovering the nuances imparted by unique growing locations, conditions and processing techniques was an unanticipated delight that made Green Tea consumption not only a wise health choice, but a life embellishment.
Knowing just a bit about what makes Green Tea all that it is increases our enjoyment through appreciation of what Green Tea is, where it came from and how it made its way into our cups.
For those that have been challenged with their Green Tea Steeping Results, please see our Steeping Perfection tips.
Mother Nature does the hard work....
Young shoots growing on tea plants in varying growing conditions develop through photosynthesis. Energy from the sun combines with nutrients from the earth and the DNA of the tea plant...botanists call Camellia sinensis.
During this time, and in particularly during the spring there is an abundance of high value ingredients being formed within the emerging bud...soon to unfurl into a tealeaf.
These ingredients amazingly enough not only bring us the highly desired health advantages, but they also offer opportunity for the innovative tea producer to turn into blissful cups of tea.
At the moment of plucking, things instantly change for the tealeaf.
During its entire growth phase, the leaf is developing with molecular structure and cells being formed within the leaf. At the instantaneous moment of the leaf harvest the growth process shifts chemically to a process biologists call catabolic.
For us tea drinkers it means that the tealeaf enters a change stage that physically and chemically begins to affect the nature of the tealeaves and the type of tea they might become.
A great deal of the change that will happen to the newly harvested tealeaf is Oxidation...the process that turns an apple brown after we bite it.
Green Tea is characterized as Unoxidized...
Green Tea is considered Unoxidized and Black Tea is considered Fully Oxidized.
Once the leaf is harvested, unless there is something done to prevent it oxidation will naturally occur...this will turn the leaf into Black Tea...unless something is done to avoid oxidation.
In the case of Green Tea, the oxidation is arrested by applying heat to the leaves early in their processing to halt enzyme action that would accelerate oxidation of the leaf.
More on the Differenced in Tea Types...
The method of applying heat to arrest oxidation in tea leaves is a combination of both science and art.
Getting back to enjoying drinking your Green Tea, this is where technique for manipulating the tealeaf comes in, including the step tea processors call de-enzyming.
Man has been able develop techniques to not only arrest the oxidation of tealeaves preserving them in their Green Tea state, but has learned to do it using varying techniques that impart aroma and taste nuances to the teas, giving Green Teas unique identity and the ability to put smiles of the faces of tea consumers.
By adjusting de-enzyming techniques, combining them with the unique plant material and finishing techniques like basket firing a wide selection of Artisan teas awaits our discovery.
The joy is in the plethora of processing techniques that have been developed over generations of tea producers in the villages of renowned tea producing regions...science + art.
The pleasant surprise for many new to quality Artisan Green Teas is the array...the variety of delightful green teas available.
Okabe Gyokuro Green Tea
Best Monkey (Tai Ping Huo Kui) Green Tea
King of Pearl (Mo Li Zhu Cha) Jasmine Green Tea
