How Green Tea is Made
Green tea leaves are steamed for a brief period to make them soft and flexible, as well as keeping the leaves from changing color or fermenting. Once steamed, the leaves are then rolled up, followed by spread out and dried in a wok or in open air. Once the leaves become dry and crisp, the leaves are ready to be packaged and exported. To make green tea, it is steeped no more than four minutes to eliminate a bitter taste.
Without doubt, the most popular type of tea enjoyed by Chinese for thousands of years, and the very tea that is still highly popular today is green tea. Most historians believe that the Camellia sinensis plant came from Asia, a beverage enjoyed by the Chinese as a main staple of daily life. In addition to the smooth, pleasing flavor, green tea also has a soothing aroma. This coupled with a high level of phytonutrients and low caffeine levels it makes the perfect tea for everyone.
Of course, to enjoy the finest flavor and aroma, as well as all the medicinal properties, you always want to buy the best green tea leaves you can find. That way, you know the antioxidants have been preserved by not being oxidized. What happens with the other types of teas that are fermented is that this process breaks the antioxidants down, which means the health benefits are not as great as with green tea.
As mentioned, we know the Chinese people have used green tea over thousands of years and with these people known for incredible health, perhaps we all need to pay closer attention and start drinking more green tea.
