Uncle Lee's Tea Imperial Organic Lemon Ginger Green Tea - 18 Tea Bags

WHAT IS GREEN TEA?

Green tea hails from China where it’s been cultivated since the Han Dynasty (206-220), though it was used primarily for medicinal purposes at that time, it wasn’t until China’s early Tang Dynasty (600-900) that green tea started being consumed as a sipping tea. While many people assume that green tea is a variety all on its own, it is in fact, made from leaves of the very same plant as Black, Oolong, and English Breakfast teas, Camellia sinensis.

To make green tea, the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant are plucked, slightly withered, then immediately cooked to preserve the full nutritional content and prevent oxidization. Unlike Chinese green teas, Japanese teas are not withered and the leaves are steamed to preserve the colour, flavour, and nutrients.

Today, there is a wide variety of different green tea that is grown and harvested in many different regions of China and Japan, each with its own distinct flavour profile as a result of things like the growing method, timing of the leaves harvest, and processing method. Some of the most common green tea varieties include:

Sencha – By far the most commonly known and consumed of green teas. Processed using common processing methods (steaming and rolling leaves)

Fukamushi Sencha – Green tea that has been steamed approximately twice as long as regular Sencha – has a stronger taste and darker green colour

Gyokuro – Made with tea leaves from a covered culture that suppresses catechins, resulting in a tea that is less astringent and has a richer flavour

Kabusesha – From tea leaves shielded from sunlight one week prior to harvesting, giving the tea a darker green colour, full-bodied flavour, and lower astringency

Tencha – Primarily used to make Matcha. Similar to Gyokuro, grown according to the covered culture method

Genmaicha – Features soaked & steamed, then roasted & popped brown rice mixed with Sencha or another green tea variety in a 50:50 ratio

Hojicha – Made by roasting Sencha or other types of green tea, which gives it a distinct roasted aroma

Shincha – Or "new tea" – made the first picking of the season. Refreshing and invigorating, low catechin and caffeine content, and less bitter and astringent

Matcha – Tencha which has been stone ground.

Green Tea - Taste, Texture, Aroma

Given the wide variety of green teas, it's important to understand that the flavour of individual green teas will depend on terroir – i.e. the unique set of environmental and climate conditions in which it was grown. Generally speaking, a high-quality green tea, when brewed appropriately, delivers a fresh, slightly astringent, vegetal flavour with bright grassy after notes. Of course, depending on the variety of tea, it can also be sweeter or more bitter, nutty, grassy, smoky, or can have a bit of a seaweed flavour.

Brewing a Perfect Cup Of Green Tea

Making the perfect cup of green tea is no easy feat, and is highly dependent on the temperature of the water you use. An optimal water temperature for brewing green tea is between 158 °F and 176 °F – this will allow optimal extraction of key compounds from catechins and tannins to amino acids and volatiles. But be sure not to boil the water as this will ruin the flavour entirely. You also want to make sure not to over-brew the tea, as this will draw out too much bitterness. An optimal brew time is usually 1 to 2 minutes.

Green tea is also delicious cold-brewed since this method extracts different amounts of the leaves' compounds, providing far less bitter and astringent compounds, and caffeine are extracted, which yields a pleasant refreshing flavour. To make cold brew green tea, add 1-2 spoonfuls of tea leaves to a large glass pitcher, add lukewarm or cold water, cover with a lid, and put in a fridge for at least 3-5 hours. Enjoy!

Active Compounds In Green Tea

Green tea is a nutrient powerhouse and has a much higher concentration of nutrients, most notably, chlorophyll, polyphenols, and antioxidants than other tea types. In fact, roughly 30% of green tea's dry weight is made up of antioxidants. The active components in green tea include:

Caffeine – This is what is in large part responsible for green tea’s bitterness component. Caffeine is well-known to increase mental alertness and enhance memory.

EGCG – Epigallocatechin gallate is a polyphenol that acts as an antioxidant, so offers protection against free radicals. Additionally, EGCG can support heart health and healthy blood sugar balance. EGCH contributes to the bitter quality of green tea. Other polyphenols in green tea include epicatechin gallate and epicatechin.

Kaempferol, Quercetin, and Myricetin – Three unique flavonoids increase the body's antioxidant defence. There is also clinical evidence that they support a healthy inflammatory response and optimal immune function.

Saponins – Saponins are natural foaming agents (responsible for the frothing we see in certain teas). Green tea leaves contain around 0.1% saponins, which imparts the tea with a strong bitterness and astringency. Saponins have many functions in the body, with a very important one being supporting healthy cholesterol levels.

Theanine – This is an amino acid found in tea leaves, and is responsible for providing the full-bodied flavour profile of green tea. Theanine impacts nerve impulses in the brain and the release of neurotransmitters. It has a natural calming effect on the body and mind without causing drowsiness.