When fermentation is complete, tea leaves are sorted out by size. Most teas include a combination of full leaves, smaller leaf pieces and tea dust. This unique combination gives more character to each batch. Although oolong, white, black and green tea is all made from the same plant, herbal teas have a different background. Herbal teas can be created from a variety of plants, including but not limited to chamomile, peppermint, dandelions, hibiscus, barley, sage and rosemary.
The wonderful thing about tea is that no matter which type you prefer, you can always discover a unique experience when you brew a cup. Tea drinkers have enjoyed the relaxing aura surrounding this popular beverage for millennia and, based on the recent resurgence of tea, that tradition is not likely to die out anytime soon.
Site Information. Please wait My Account. All About Tea What is Tea? How is Tea Made? Why Drink Tea? Loose vs. What is Earl Grey Tea? What is Green Tea? In contrast, for black tea, the leaves are cut and bruised. This disrupts the cell structure and allows all the leaf juices containing polyphenols and enzymes to mix together, allowing complete oxidation. As a result, black tea contains very few polyphenols as they are mostly converted to theaflavins and thearubigins.
Thearubigins give black tea its distinct red-brown colour and stronger flavour. Oolong tea falls in between green and black tea as it is semi-oxidised. During processing, it is allowed to oxidise for a short period before being exposed to heat, and therefore it retains a higher polyphenol content than black tea. Oolong generally has a more complex flavour than white and green tea but is not as strong a taste as black tea. Post-fermented tea undergoes a period of ageing from several months to many years.
During ageing, the tea is allowed to slowly oxidise and undergo microbial fermentation by controlling moisture and temperature. This process alters the smell of the tea and mellows the taste compared to the more astringent black tea.
Post-fermented tea is usually sold in compressed shapes, such as spheres or bricks. Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world, having been consumed for thousands of years. It has long been associated with health benefits, and studies suggest it may protect against heart disease, allergies, inflammatory diseases and some cancers.
Many of the health benefits are linked to the high levels of polyphenols, which have antioxidant properties. However, further clinical research is needed to confirm the benefits.
The small amounts of caffeine in tea are associated with mental alertness. Theanine, an amino acid found only in tea leaves, is thought to enhance relaxation. Do the plants live next to limestone and pine trees or sand and seaweed? Do the tea plants grow near other crops that can affect their flavor, like rose bushes, coffee plants or grape vines? The most popular, widely consumed types of green teas hail from the places where green tea originated: China and Japan.
Green teas from China and Japan have different flavor profiles based on where and how they are grown, but most distinctively how they are processed—pan fired in China and steamed in Japan.
The Chinese style of green tea is characterized by pan firing, where tea leaves are heated in a basket, pan or mechanized rotating drum to halt the oxidation process. Chinese green teas may be fired more than once during processing, depending on the style of tea being produced. These firings may take place in wicker baskets, steel wok-like pans, metal drums or other containers over charcoal, gas flame, electric heat or hot air, depending on the final flavor outcome desired.
The flavor can be altered greatly depending on the number and type of firings, but generally a pan fired Chinese green tea takes on a yellowish-green or dark green color and impart a grassy, earthy, roasted flavor. The Japanese style of green tea is characterized by steaming, where tea leaves are treated briefly with steam heat within hours of plucking to both halt the oxidation process and bring out the rich green color of both the tea leaves and the final brewed tea.
The steaming process creates a unique flavor profile that can be described as sweet, vegetal or seaweed-like. Some Japanese green tea may also be shade grown during cultivation or roasted during processing, both to create additional flavor characteristics. Green tea is generally known to have lower caffeine content per cup than black tea and much lower caffeine content than coffee.
Like all drinks cultivated from caffeinated plants, however, a specific level of caffeine per cup of green tea is hard to define as it will depend on the type of green tea as well as how is was processed and prepared. According to a Journal of Food Science test of caffeine levels across commercial brands of green tea, the caffeine content in each 8 oz.
However, there are some common traits used to describe the overall flavor profile of the green tea category, including vegetal, grassy, earthy, sweet, buttery, nutty, toasty, seaweed-like, broth-y, lush, green and herbaceous. We use the steaming method to process our green tea, so the tea stays bright green and fresh and has a grassy, vegetal flavor.
And ask your tea purveyor for directions on how to brew the best cup of that particular variety of tea. Since green tea is less oxidized than its black tea cousin, it is technically fresher and more delicate, so it should be consumed more quickly for maximum flavor.
Green tea is best consumed within six months to a year of purchase. You should also take care to store your green tea in a cool, dark place, away from light, oxygen, moisture and fragrant pantry companions like coffee or spices.
For more information about how to best care for your tea, visit our How to Store Tea page. Ask your tea vendor for brewing tips if the tea package does not have specific instructions. Site Information. Please wait My Account. All About Tea What is Tea? How is Tea Made? Why Drink Tea?
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