It’s Not Easy Being Green
1 Mar
Next to black tea, green tea is a more recognizable tea in Western society. A lot of this derives from the health benefits that are touted of green teas. In fact, most scientific studies into the health benefits of tea utilize green tea as the focus. As a result, green tea drinking in the Western world has really been on the rise in recent years.
Of course, green tea is one of the most commonly consumed teas in China and Japan. From my own observations in China, nearly everyone walking around town would be touting a bottle of some sort filled with green tea (with the leaves visible in the bottle, no less). And if I went to a restaurant or cafe and requested tea, it would almost exclusively be green tea unless I requested something else in particular.
I’m not going to lie, I haven’t been much of a fan of green tea over the years. I always had a hard time getting past the distinctive grassy, oceany, vegetal flavor that is so common in green teas. Recently, I’ve come to appreciate this kind of flavor more, but I’m still in the beginning stages of coming to terms with it, if you will. It’s the other flavor profiles found in various green teas that have begun to hook me – an occasional nuttiness, bright crispness, and fresh sweet flavors.
Green teas themselves are nearly the least processed tea of all (second only to white teas). As you may remember with black teas, they will be rolled (to break the cell membranes) and left to sit and oxidize before they are fired/heated to stop the oxidation process and dry the leaves. With green tea, we don’t want the leaves to oxidize (thus maintaining the green color of the leaves and producing a yellowish-green tea).
The leaves will be plucked and withered (sometimes withering will be skipped), but they will quickly be heated gently to halt the enzymes that would otherwise oxidize the leaf. This isn’t to say that no oxidation has occurred, just that it is being halted as soon as possible (or as soon as the tea maker sees fit). Sometimes this will be done in the form of steaming the leaves, other times by lightly firing the leaves. It is only after the oxidation has been prevented that the leaves will be rolled, pressed, and fully dried into the form you see them in your home.
One thing I find especially interesting about green tea is the many different shapes the leaves can end up in – you will find anything from a ball/pellet (dragon pearls or gunpowder) to thin, needle-like spears (sencha) to a flattened, narrow leaf (dragonwell). Another form it can be found in is as a powder (matcha). The powdered matcha is used in Japanese tea ceremonies and seems to be most commonly found in Japan at this time. However, there was a time in Chinese history when powdered tea was the primary form that tea was consumed.
I think one reason I never enjoyed green teas until recently is that I was not preparing them correctly. Since the green teas are a more delicate tea (in a manner of speaking), they must be prepared with cooler water than heartier teas, such as black and pu-erh teas. It wasn’t until I started preparing my green tea properly that I found any green teas to my taste.
Yet now, after some effort and really just trying some finer teas for the sake of trying them, I’ve found that if you just put the right amount of thought into your preparation (as it turns out, it’s still not a whole lot), you can produce a delicious brew that surprises your senses!
And now, for one final note… a word from Kermit the Frog on being green!
Sources
1 The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook: A Guide to Enjoying the World’s Best Teas by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J Heiss.
2 The New Tea Companion by Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson
3 The Ancient Art of Tea: Wisdom From the Old Chinese Tea Masters by Warren Peltier
4 http://www.teaclass.com/lesson_0208.html
5 http://worldoftea.org/what-is-green-tea/
Images
All photos by Briana Morrison
Hi @funandflirtea – nice pics. Did you take them? Do you know which teas they are? I guess the first pic looks like a Jasmine Pearl.
Did you try them?
J.
Thanks! No, I did not that the photos. My friend Briana is my official photographer for the blog. You can find her own photography blog here: http://www.thedizzypixie.com/
The middle picture is indeed a Jasmine Pearl. It’s specifically from Teavana (received it as a gift) and, since they tend to flavor/scent their teas a little too strongly for me, I remembered that it’s still pretty!
The second one is a generic green tea from China. It’s one my brother left behind for me last time he was home for the summer. Reason being that he couldn’t fit it into his bag to bring back with him! It’s very tasty and is helping turn me to the green side. The leaves are very thinly rolled and are somewhat needle-like. It’s the same tea being brewed in the first and is in the final image. If you can help me identify it a little closer by the image, that would be fun!
How appropriate that you would profile green teas on my birthday! Not only is green my favourite colour but I almost exclusively drink green tea these days. By far my favourite is genmai-cha. If you’ve yet to try it, I highly recommend it, especially if you aren’t fond of green teas. The roasted brown rice in it nutrlizes some what the grasiness of the sencha that it is mixed with and adds a nice warmness to the smell and flavor of the tea. I bought some good matcha the other day to experiment with. Shall I let you know how that plays out?
LEX! Yay! And yes, absolutely perfect! I have most assuredly tried Genmai Cha. In fact, I think you should check out the Cherry Cheesecake Genmai Cha from 52teas. It’s amazing and delicious!
As for matcha, I’d love to hear more about your experiences with it! It’s one I’ve still not gotten around to trying. I’m a little intimidated by it, but will most definitely give it a shot sometime (and likely blogging all about it!).
ooooo….. I shall have to look into that one. It sounds interesting. Matcha intimidates me too but I figured the best way to get over it is the just go for it. I will let you know how it goes. *fingers crossed*
First of all…it’s interesting to me what a love/hate thing some tea lovers have with green tea. I’ve considered writing about how I’ve fallen in and out of love with certain greens.
I have to admit that I’ve always worn a lot of green and this Kermit tune’s one I refer to in some possibly inappropriate daily life situations.
Am looking back at that last sentence, and that’s nearly incomprehensible. I promise when I come comment again that I’ll try being a bit more cogent.
Nice post. Beautiful photos.
You have a photographer for your blog? Why haven’t I ever thought of that?
Interesting is the right word! I just keep going back and forth on it depending on which tea I’m trying and my mood at the moment.
I did understand your Kermit comment! Took me a moment to re-read it, but I got there in the end.
I’m glad you like the photography! I knew going in that all I had available was my Canon point and shoot camera and, having a friend who is a wonderful photographer and working towards making it a full time business for herself, the extra exposure was a mutually beneficial relationship for us!
I have a few other friends who are photographers, so stay tuned and I will likely end up featuring more photographers from around me. Who knows? Maybe around the WORLD someday!
Green comes from Mars
Remember that in the past, they even thought that green and black teas came from different plants.
But you are also right, the reason most people might have troubles with green tea is that it is a little more complex than black tea when it comes to preparation.
I definitely used to think that green and black teas came from different plants! I remember the day I found out that all (actual) teas came from the same plant. I was in a little bit of shock. It was at that moment that it really hit me how little I knew about tea.