The invention of green tea is quite intriguing. It involves a Chinese emperor who was walking in the forest while out camping. At his campsite, he had left a large pot of boiling water on the fire. When he returned to the site, a huge gust of wind blew out the fire while causing leaves from a nearby Camellia sinensis plant to fall into the pot. Angry that his fire was out and his clean water full of leaves, he made a decision to drink it. Finding that it had a great taste, he took several leaves back home with him where he experimented and developed green tea.
No one really knows if the Chinese legend is accurate but considering that the Asian people have been enjoying and benefit from green tea for centuries, the making of this tea surely has an interesting story. In fact, history can date green tea back to Japan where in the 9th century it was a social drink, somewhat of a status symbol. However, along with the great taste, one green tea benefit after another was discovered pertaining to health.
This Chinese herbal tea is different from black tea from the western world although they come from the same Camellia sinensis plant. However, with green tea, the leaves are not fermented whereas with black tea, they are. This means with black tea, it is dried and then fermented, helping it last longer. For green tea, the leaves are only dried, maintaining the green color of the leaves. Because no fermentation is involved, green tea does not stay fresh as long but the flavor is fresher than black tea.
When drinking green tea for the first time, some people say it has a “green” flavor that is hard to describe. In fact, some people compare the taste to grass although this is not accurate. Green tea does have a green, earthy flavor that is difficult to put into words. While some people do not like the taste, most people think this exotic tea is amazing, not to mention the healing properties it possesses.
