Enjoy Some Of The Best Green Tea Available In The UK!

What is green tea, and why is it so popular?

Green tea is popular today as it was thousands of years ago when legend describes how tea leaves blew into a pot on his stove and an Emporer made the first pot of tea! But what is green tea, and why is it so popular?
Firstly, to understand what green tea is, we must recognise that the tea leaf's processing determines if it will become white tea, green tea, oolong tea or black tea. All tea leaves start as leaves growing on a tea bush. The way tea estates and tea masters process the leaves determines their type.

How is green tea made?

As tea is grown worldwide, there are many different tea-making techniques that tea masters use. These techniques yield different leaf shapes and flavours, but one standard process is the application of heat to stop the oxidisation of the leaves. Oxidisation is a chemical reaction that causes tea leaves to turn brown, a process seen in manufacturing oolong and black teas. When making some of the best green teas, the leaves are hand-plucked from the tea bush after the leaves are fully open. Sometimes the plucked leaves are left to wither for a short while before heat is applied to make green tea. The temperatures used at this point in the process are very high. Once finished, the green tea leaves are rolled or pressed by skilled tea makers, and their unique flavours develop before they are dried and sorted.

Introducing green teas from around the world.

As with most tea-growing regions, China has provinces where the quality of teas is among the best in the world, including Hunan, Yunnan, Fujian and Anhui, and it is from these regions we source our Chinese green teas. Chinese green teas often have descriptions in their name that relate to the shape of the finished tea leaf. For example, in the name of the tea, Chunmee Taipan Superior, we understand by using the word Chunmee that the shape of the green tea leaf is an 'eyebrow' shape.
Another popular leaf shape is  'pinhead gunpowder', also known as Pingshui green tea. The term 'gunpowder leaf' is attributed to the description made by an English clerk who, at first sight, thought they were gunpowder pellets! With this type of leaf, green tea leaves go through a rolling process to become like tiny balls and make a strong, dark green infusion.
As green tea's popularity spread worldwide, countries like Japan, Sri Lanka and Kenya began to grow and make green tea using traditional methods and developing some of their own. One such development is the Japanese sencha-style leaf. The green tea leaves are steamed and pan-fried, which results in the finished leaf having a distinctive flat, glossy look. The Japanese method of green tea production is also used in Kenya, as seen with Kenya Kosabei Sencha Green Tea resulting in a sencha-style leaf that is both light and smooth.
Japanese tea makers place tea bushes under black cloths or bamboo shades to increase the level of chlorophyll, the chemical in the leaf that gives it a green colour, to make one of the most sought-after green teas known as Gyokuro. Gyokuro is a tea with very dark green leaves and lower levels of tannins. When infused, the darker green leaves give a sweeter flavour with no bitterness and are one of the most prized green teas you could enjoy.