Without doubt, shopping for green tea is fun because there are so many unique options. Because green tea is grown around the world, the flavor and even grades are unique, based on the region where the tea is grown.
Experts suggest that green tea was the first discovered some 3,000 years ago in China. At that time, fresh leaves were plucked from the Camellia sinensis plant, which were then allowed to dry in the sun before being stored. Then by the 8th century, an evaporation process was used but in the 12th century, the leaves were sautéed or pan-fried. Over the years, the same processing steps used for Chinese green tea was used for Chinese black tea.
Interestingly, of all tea produced today, green tea is just one of a few left natural. For instance, loose black tea is fermented but green tea is not. This allows chlorophyll in the leaves to remain natural, giving green tea the unique color. This also leaves healthy antioxidants alone, making green tea a healthier choice than any other type of tea.
Antioxidants are powerful, protecting the body from disease and fighting existing disease. Antioxidants work by neutralizing free radicals, which are molecules that carry oxygen to DNA and cells. While the body creates free radicals as a part of the digestive tract, if not controlled, they can do serious damage.
In addition to drinking green tea, you should also eat a diet rich of antioxidants such as fresh fruits and vegetables. With this, you would have a means of protecting the body.
In the past few years, a tremendous amount of research has gone into identifying the long-term benefits associated with drinking green tea. These studies show that the body is protected from heart disease, high cholesterol, and various types of cancer. However, studies also show that drinking loose green tea or taking a green tea supplement can help with weight lose while regulating insulin within the body. Although additional research is needed, it is likely that even more health benefits will be revealed.
Green Tea Classifications
The way in which green tea is dried determines its classification with there being five in all.
Stir Frying – The first classification involves the leaves being sautéed. Usually, this is left for special teas or those exported. The result of this process is a stronger flavor and aroma. The types of tea usually stir fried include gunpowder green tea and dragonwell green tea.
Roasting – Another classification is roasting, which involves leaves being placed in a special chest or basket and then roasted. In this case, the leaves are left intact and used to make flowering tea such as monkey king.
Semi-Roasting – Next, tealeaves are both fried and roasted, which retains the beautiful appearance and gives the tea a full-bodied flavor and aroma.
Solar Drying – This method is very old, which involves allowing the leaves to dry in direct sunlight. Typically, solar dried leaves are used for compressed products such as green tea cakes commonly sold today.
Steaming – The last classification involves the leaves being steamed at high temperatures so they dry. Sencha is steamed, which is a delicious variety of green tea.
For each of the five classifications of green tea are different grades for quality. However, making a firm determination can be tough since every region where green tea is grown has a different system for grading. In China, which grows the most green tea than any other country has specific grading.
Tea that will be exported is graded based on the leaf’s age, as well as the shape of the leaf when finished processing. This would include green tea varieties such as gunpowder, young hyson, hyson, imperial, hyson skin, dust, and twankay. These categories have a number of grades and in fact, a single shaped leaf might have more than a single grade.
As you can see, grading green tea is challenging since you would have a hard time knowing the tea dried. If you understand the various methods of drying, as well as the way in which flavor and aroma are affected, this would help you choose only varieties that have been dried so you end up with the best quality. A few other ways to distinguish quality grades includes:
Form – Bagged tea is a much lower grade than loose leaves, regardless of the tea being oolong, white, black, or green. Therefore, only purchase loose tea.
Price – Typically, green tea is very affordable but if the price is low, chances are the quality is too. Therefore, look at different prices so you can determine what price would justify high quality.
Tea Companies – Additionally, the better tea companies usually sell higher quality tea. For this reason, it would be worth finding and shopping only at the best tea companies available.
You can purchase green tea varieties from around the world, making this an exciting venture. With so many different flavors and infusions, you are sure to find several that you love.
