When we try to learn more about any subject, one of the first things all of us do is to turn to the almighty tome of Google. At least at point of writing, maybe a few years later an upstart will make a Yahoo out of Google but I digress.
A quick search I ran showed that in all but 1 of the first page searches, either ‘health benefits’ or ‘anti-oxidants’ or ‘polyphenols’ were prevalent in the page descriptions. Considering most people don’t venture beyond entries on the first page, it’s not so easy for green tea novices to learn beyond the purported health benefits. To complicate matters further, the solitary page that doesn’t focus on the health aspects is the almighty infallible Wikipedia, so it’s not surprising that basic understanding of green tea, especially of Chinese ‘descent’ is limited at best.
Considering that approximately 70% of all tea produced in China is classified as green tea and there are more than 700 varieties (by a recent estimate), it is quite impossible to produce a treatise that is comprehensive and authoritative.
What this post sets out to achieve is to pique your interest to learn and discover about the rewarding and wonderful world of Chinese green tea.
*Spoiler alert- it’s not grassy, bitter and astringent but sweet and refreshing
What is green tea?
Green tea is a type of un-oxidized tea. In fact it is the only category of tea that is un-oxidized. It gets its name from its yellowish-green liquor but its leaves are green as well.
Its level of oxidization is due to its production method. After it is picked, green tea is heated to destroy its enzymes, thereby halting the oxidation process. This process is known as ‘shaqing’ or ‘killing of the green’ which refers to the enzymes. Ironically, the act of ‘shaqing’ preserves the green appearance of the leaves.
After ‘shaqing’, the next stage is rolling- or shaping the leaves. It is not mere aesthetics though as the ‘rolling’ allows the juices to be extracted which dissolves easier on brewing.
Finally, the tea leaves are dried either by steaming, wok-roasting, baking or sun-drying.
For a more detailed run-down on the production of green tea, you can refer to this article.
The Different Sub-Categories of Chinese Green Tea
Chinese green teas can be further sub-divided into 4 sub-categories based on its method of production- or more precisely, the drying method, namely steaming, wok-roasting, baking and sun-drying.
Steaming
This is one of the first methods of producing tea; in fact the Sage of Tea Lu Yu documented steaming in his seminal work Cha Jing way back in the Tang Dynasty.
As its name suggests, after the rolling stage, the teas are dried in dedicated machines through steam heat to reduce its moisture further which allows it to better preserve its freshness.
Steaming is especially popular in Japan and steamed dried teas are known generically as Sencha. Popular Chinese steam dried teas include Enshi Yulu and Yangxian Snow Buds.
After rolling, tea leaves are placed on heated woks to dry it. For higher grade teas, it can be hand-roasted by tea masters while commercial productions use dedicated machines to achieve this. This is one of the most common methods in China covering the spectrum from low-grade exports such as Chun Mei and Gunpowder to quality tea like Dragon Well and Biluochun although the higher grades of the latter are usually handmade as opposed to machine produced.
Baking
Baking is also another commonly employed method with tea leaves placed in baking ‘ovens’ or ‘cages’ and heated to reduce the moisture content further. Like wok-roasted green tea, it can be used for low-grade offerings as well as quality tea like Huangshan Maofeng and Taiping Houkui.
Sun-drying
As its name suggests, after the rolling process is complete, the tea leaves are placed under the sun to wither it further. This method is more common for coarser older tea leaves and is commonly used as the raw material for production of compressed tea.
Brewing
Brewing green tea- especially quality green teas which are usually more tender- requires a bit more care, especially where it pertains to the water temperature.
In addition, teas can be brewed using ‘top-drop’, ‘mid-drop’ or ‘bottom-drop’ methods.
Top drop refers to adding hot water to about 2/3 of the glass and the adding in the tea leaves. Typically this is employed for tea leaves that are more delicate such as Biluochun, Xinyang Maojian and Mengding Ganlu.
You can see an example here.
Mid-drop refers to adding hot water to about 1/3 of the glass, adding the tea leaves and then adding the water again.
You can see an example here.
Bottom-drop refers to adding the tea leaves before hot water. This is typically used for flatter tea leaves such as Longjing and Taiping Houkui.
You can see an example here.
Typically 2 methods are recommended- glass for the ability to appreciate the beauty of the leaves in the glass and gaiwan for the ability to extract the fullness of the flavor.
Appreciation of green tea
Green tea has sometimes been referred to as insipid or weak, particularly by tea drinkers weaned on black teas, not to mention the fact that most of the Chinese green teas exported are low grade. In truth the appreciation of green tea is a tad different.
Green tea is favored for its refreshing taste, sweet aftertaste and lingering ‘recurring sweetness’ known as ‘hui gan’. Though most green teas have a varying degree of bitterness, well-made green teas will have a sweetness that wells up and replaces the bitterness, a quality that is revered by Chinese tea drinkers.
For more details, you can read this post.
The refreshing nature of green tea also makes it an ideal thirst quencher, without the calories, an endearing drink that you can enjoy throughout the day.
See more articles on overviews of various categories of tea