A Tiger's Eye View of Green Tea
For green tea, the tea leaves are allowed to oxidize only slightly and then are pan-cooked (the traditional Chinese method) or steamed (the traditional Japanese method), and then dried. The object of this method of preparation is to preserve the tea's "green" or fresh character by subjecting it to relatively little oxidation during processing. Green tea can be made from any variety of Camellia sinensis anywhere tea is processed.
Green teas are highly variable, and they're worth exploring. Just because you don't care for one, it doesn't mean that you don't care for green tea. So many different types, so many teas to try!
Like wine, whose flavor and quality are influenced by the grapes and by the soil and climate in which the grapes are grown, green tea draws its characteristics from the variety of tea bush from which the leaves came, the soil and elevation in which the bushes were grown, the season in which laves were harvested, and the specific process - how heat was applied - used to halt the leaves' oxidation.
The classifications - also known as styles - of green tea apply to production methods.
Here are a few of the processing methods that differentiate one green tea from another:
Wok roasted and pan fried green teas tend to be highly aromatic and not heavy or "wintry", though they are (to this tigress) satisfying in the winter. This type of tea is classified as Chaoqing. Green tea produced by steaming the leaves - including the famous Sencha - taste very "green" and are highly aromatic. They fare are classified as Zhenqing. Dry roasted, rolled, kneaded, and sun-dried teas have another character all together and are classified as Saiqing. Pu-erh tea is a good example of this type. It is notably heavier and, to my tiger palette, has a robust, earthy flavor and aroma. I love it in the winter! Other teas are baked, oven cured, and coal basket cured under a process known ad Hongqing. Then there are teas made by combinations of techniques and fall under a classification call Ban Hong Chao, considered specialty teas.
Japanese Green Tea
Although westerners may think of the Japanese tea ceremony when they think of green tea, in Japan, "tea" (ocha) refers to green tea in its myriad variety as consumed on a daily basis. The tea is classified according to quality and the parts of the plant used and by time of harvest. Examples of Japanese tea include those described below.
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Sencha
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Sencha is what I think of as very high grade everyday green tea. Sencha is made from "first flush" tea leaves - the first harvest of the year - and is highly prized. Other grades are delicious, too, and they're less costly. The taste of sencha varies from tea to tea, but it is always fresh-tasting and delicious and usually makes a lovely green infusion.
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Bancha
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Bancha is a true everyday tea, termed "common tea". It is harvested between the summer and the fall from the second flush of Sencha.
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Hoji Cha
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Hoji cha, a Japanese tea, is produced by roasting at high heat over charcoal, a process that turns the tea leaf color from green to variable shades of brown. The tea was first made in Kyoto, Japan in the 1920s and is characterized by a roasted flavor that some love and others find unpleasant. It is typically made from bancha - common tea - from the last harvest of the season. Its rich aromatic, roasted and - to some palates - somewhat sweet flavor reminiscent of barley can hold its own with almost any meal. Although low in caffeine, hoji cha can be an invigorating pick-me-up on a cold winter's day. I, the Tea Tigress appreciate it any time, but my mother, the ancient tigress, drinks it only in winter. Hoji cha is available in a variety of qualities, and even the relatively inexpensive ones taste pretty good and are a good value.
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Matcha (rubbed tea)
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Matcha is the tea of the Japanese tea ceremony, a high quality, powdered tea.
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Gyokuro
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Referred to in English as "Jade Dew" this tea is considered rare and precious. Said to be "shade grown" because the bushes are shaded with tarps, this tea makes a pale green brew with a sweet, complex flavor. The leaves are harvested primarily by hand, after which they are steamed lightly, dried, and rolled.
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Chinese Green Tea
Chinese green teas are classified by the provinces in which they are now or were originally grown. The variety of Chinese green teas is staggering in both sheer numbers of varieties and in the wonderful tastes that await a tea explorer. Provinces associated with tea production include Zhejiang, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, Jaingxi, and Anhui.
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Longjing
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Also termed "dragon well", this pan-fried has a distinctive flavor and aroma and makes a bright green brew. Some consider this to be the best tea grown in China. Grown in Hangzhou, the capital of the Zhejiang province, it originates in a mountainous area where the climate is moderate and the weather often cloudy or misty.
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Other green teas from Zhejiang include Hui Ming, Long Ding, Hua Ding, Qing Ding, and gunpowder.
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Gunpowder Tea
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Gunpowder tea, though it is said to have originated in China, is also produced on the islands of Taiwan and Sri Lanka. The leaves of gunpowder tea are rolled by hand for the highest grades or by machine for the common grades into pellets that unfurl when immersed in hot water. To my tiger palate, the tea has a slightly smoky character that really hits the spot on a damp, chilly summer night or any time in the winter.
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Pu-Erh
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Pu-erh tea is made by an ancient process that originated in China's Yunnan province. Available as green tea in a raw or green form (sheng) or as a post-fermented tea in a ripened and cooked form (shou), there's sometimes confusion about this tea. Unlike most other teas that can be best if used close to the time they were produced, pu-erh can be enjoyed soon after production or after many years' aging. Prices range from very inexpensive to very costly. For an in-depth look at pu-erh, check out its entry in Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu-erh_tea.
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other
Chinese green teas
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The Jiangsu province produces Bin Luo Chun, Rain Flower, and Shui Xi Cui Bog ren teas, among others. The Hubei province is known for Yu Lu, a steamed tea that is known as Gyokuru (Jade Dew) in Japan. The well known Green Tip Xin Yang Mao Jian comes from the Henan province, and the Jaingxi province produces Chun Mee, Gou Gu Nao, and Yun Wu (Cloud and Mist). Anhui province produces some teas that are known throughout the world: Da Fang; Huangshan Mao Fang; and Lu An Guapian (Melon seed), Hou Kui (Mondy tea), Tun Lu, Huo Qing (Fire Green), and Hyson, which is harvested early in the season.
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