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Advantages of Chinese Green Tea

A Few Key Types of Chinese Green Tea

China Green Tea is the oldest form of tea, with production dating back millennia, and to this day it remains one of the most popular. You can now find green teas made all over the world, but there's something special about Chinese greens that keep me coming back year after year, despite the difficulty and cost that come with obtaining genuine, high-quality lots.

Maybe it's the sheer variety 

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of regional green tea styles in China, each with its own history and quirks of cultivation and processing. Maybe it's because that history is constantly in motion: even with famous, centuries-old teas, local tastes and the techniques that shape these leaves continue to evolve. And of course, there's the tea itself. Chinese greens are a study in contrast; when steeped carefully, the color of the brewed liquor can be practically clear, the aroma delicate and fleeting. Yet the taste and experience is profound- sweet, clean, the sun-dappled essence of springtime, with an aftertaste that lingers in your throat and on your lips.

All green tea production works more or less the same way: 1) use heat to deactivate enzymes in freshly picked leaves so the tea doesn't oxidize, 2) roll or otherwise manipulate the leaves to give them a uniform shape, 3) and bake them to drive off remaining moisture. Within those steps there are dozens of choices a tea producer can make that will change the outcome of the final batch, and when considering Chinese tea, it can be difficult to categorize these into distinct styles and families. So rather than a comprehensive framework of all of China's green tea styles, here is a field guide to some common names, and what production techniques distinguish each.

Long jing (Dragonwell)
This is arguably the oldest style of green tea still in continuous production, and certainly China's most famous. The finished leaves are shaped like flattened feathers, the result of a laborious, small-batch pan-firing method. Infused, the tea has a sweet-pea flavor balanced by a characteristic roasted chestnut aroma; it's delicate, but thick and buttery, with a long finish. Plucking standards range from one to two leaves and a bud;

The tea is made almost entirely in a large, stationary wok. After a brief withering, the leaves are stir-fried by hand to "kill the green," tea industry speak for deactivating oxidative enzymes. By pressing the leaves against the hot wok, the tea maker begins to form long jing's unique flattened shape. Once about 70% of the leaves' moisture is driven out, they're removed to cool in bamboo baskets, then shaken to sort out any broken leaves. The tea maker then returns the leaves to the wok to refine their shape and completely dry the tea.

Long Jing dates back over 1,200 years to the city of Hangzhou, just south of Shanghai, in a set of villages near the city's famed West Lake. Because the style is so well-known, regions all over China now make their own versions, and there are no protected-origin laws stopping them from calling it long jing. Some of it is quite good, but true xihu long jing from the West Lake area- especially the venerable Dragon Well Village- is the most prized: for its namesake, yes, but also for the terroir and the multigenerational production knowledge that has been passed down. Limited supply, high demand, and substantial labor costs mean xihu long jing is more expensive than most green teas.

Bi luo chun
Like long jing, bi luo chun, or "green snail spring," is one of China's tribute teas, and superior grades can reach similarly high prices. It's also processed in a deep stationary wok, but instead of being shaped into flat quills, it's rolled by hand into tiny spirals. When steeped, these wee curlicues reveal a complex, creamy, gently nutty aroma that's less roasty than long jing. The infusion is remarkably thick in the mouth- think barely-set gelatin- with a vegetal flavor that feels rich like steamed asparagus or fresh spring greens with butter.

Bi luo chun also hails from Jiangsu Province, where long jing originated. The plants are harvested early in the spring, when the small leaves are most tender and can be shaped with minimal breakage. You'll notice these rolled buds are covered with a fine layer of downy hairs; this peach fuzz is a sign of youth and vitality in the leaf, and it contributes to the brew's voluptuous texture.

Jasmine pearls
In southern China, scenting green tea with jasmine blossoms is a common practice. As with all tea, there are low- and high-quality versions of this technique. Large-scale producers toss commodity green tea with jasmine essential oil (real or synthetic) in rotating drums; the oils dissipate quickly, and the tea used for flavoring can be coarse or lacking in flavor. High-end jasmine pearls, on the other hand, are a cultural and aesthetic wonder.

In traditional production, young spring green tea bud and leaf sets are rolled individually by hand into tiny balls, an artisanal skill all its own. Then, the pearls are set aside to await the summer jasmine harvest. The tea is intermingled with the night-blooming jasmine flowers for several evenings - which is when most of its essential oils are released- that may take place over a period of a few weeks, depending on the variable quality of the flowers. The blossoms are carefully removed each morning, leaving the tea redolent of floral sweetness.

The result of this painstaking effort is a delicate, fresh-tasting green tea with an incredible floral fragrance that doesn't turn bitter with prolonged steeping. By using real jasmine flowers rather than chemical flavorings, the tea's floral character is potent but not overbearing; perfumed rather than perfume.
Other notable shapes: Needles, eyebrows, and pellets.

How to Choose Between China Green Tea?

There are many types of Chinese tea which can broadly categorized under one of six
categories : Green, yellow, white, black , dark and oolong. Besides deciding on what type of tea to drink, based on one's needs and tastes, one should also pay close attention to the quality of the tea. Judging the quality of a tea can be done by observing and identifying its four key elements.

After one chooses a tea that suits one's needs and tastes, choose good tea, they should pay attention to distinguish the quality of tea, which can be from the shape of tea, the color and the aroma of dry tea. Other aspects to identify, conditional can also be brewed, smell its aroma, taste its taste, view its soup color and tea residue tenderness, color and so on.

There are four main aspects to judge tea.
Appearance – This refers to both the shape of the tea leaves, the color as well as its appearance after it is brewed.
Aroma
Taste
Touch – The texture of the dry tea leaves can also indicate tea quality.

Shape of Tea Leaves
Different types of tea come in various shapes and forms. These could range between flat, needle, spiral, eyebrow-shaped, bead, spherical, hemispherical, curved, orchid-shaped, garland and so on so forth. Also, when the tea leaves are submerged into hot water, the swirling of the tea leaves in water looks like a graceful water dance and is very aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

Color
Freshly picked tea leaves that are of high-quality are generally light green or dark green. High quality green tea tends to have a bright jade green color, while high quality Oolong tea has a grayish-green tinge to it. Bad tea leaves tend to have obvious black, dark spots on them. Older tea leaves will tend to have a non-uniform color and the leaves may have turned yellow.

Food Safety
Whether tea is safe for consumption relies heavily on whether the tea leaves, stalks, powder and seeds are mixed with any impurities such as bamboo chips, wood chips, lime, and sediments during the production process. A tea that is cleaned and processed properly will not contain any of these impurities.

Aroma
Fresh tea usually have fresh aromas, especially if it is of a higher quality. For example, a fresh green tea will have a fresh, rich and sweet fragrance. The higher the quality of the tea, the stronger the fragrance will be. If you are unable to smell the tea's fragrance, or if you smell something astringent (bitter/acidic), stale or burnt, it means that the tea's quality is questionable.

Taste
High quality tea will taste refreshing and leave a sweet taste in one's mouth. One can take a small sample of the tea to brew a cup for testing and observation. Green tea that is of superior quality will produce a drink that is clear and dark green. The tea leaves will first taste astringent, but will afterwards taste sweet, with a chestnut fragrance.

Touch
One can use one's sense of touch to gauge the amount of moisture in the tea. A good tea is dry enough to be kneaded into a powdery tea. On the other hand, a tea that is not dry enough to grind into powder will spoil easily and is not of high quality.