Green Tea From Leaf to Cup: A Plant and Tea Story Guide

One bush, many teas

Every true tea, whether green, black, oolong or white, comes from the same species: Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub in the same family as the ornamental camellias found in many gardens. What separates one tea from another is not the plant but what happens to the leaves after they are picked. Green tea is the style in which the leaves are heated early, so they keep their fresh color and grassy, leafy character.

Tea bushes are kept at about waist height by regular pruning, which makes it easy for pickers to reach the tender new shoots at the tips. A typical pick is a bud and its first one or two leaves. You will see rows of rounded green mounds on hillsides in places such as Japan, China, Korea, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Life in the tea garden

Tea likes mild temperatures, regular rain and well-drained, slightly acidic soil, which is why it does so well on misty hill slopes. Plants are often started from cuttings, so that each bush carries the same qualities as its parent. Young plants are tended for a few years before the first full harvest, and a well-kept bush can keep producing for decades.

Some Japanese teas are shaded for a few weeks before harvest, covered with cloth or reed screens. Shading is a traditional technique used for teas such as gyokuro and matcha, and it is known to give the leaves a deeper green color and a smoother, mellow taste. Other teas are grown in full sun.

Steaming versus pan-firing

Fresh tea leaves darken quickly after picking, as the cut surfaces react with air. To keep green tea green, producers apply heat soon after harvest. There are two classic approaches:

• **Steaming:** common in Japan. A short blast of steam softens the leaves and produces a vivid green, sweet and seaweed-like cup. Sencha is the best-known example.
• **Pan-firing:** common in China. The leaves are tossed in a hot wok or drum, giving a toasty, nutty and slightly smoky flavor. Dragon Well, known as Longjing, is a famous pan-fired tea.

After heating, the leaves are rolled or shaped, then dried. Shapes range from needles to curls to flat blades and tiny pellets, and the shape often tells you something about the style and origin.

How to brew a good cup

Great green tea has more to do with water temperature and time than with any special equipment. Boiling water tends to scorch delicate leaves and makes the cup taste bitter, so most tea lovers let the kettle cool a little first.

• **Water temperature:** around 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 70 to 80 degrees Celsius. Steamed Japanese teas like it a little cooler.
• **Amount of leaf:** about one teaspoon of loose leaf per cup is a handy starting point.
• **Steeping time:** one to three minutes, tasting as you go.
• **Second steep:** good leaves often give a second or even third cup with slightly warmer water and a brief steep.

Use fresh, clean water, since water is most of what you taste. The CDC page on water and healthier drinks offers friendly general reading about everyday drinks. Keep your tea in an opaque, airtight tin in a cool, dry cupboard, away from pungent smells, and use it within a few months for the best flavor.

Reading a tea label

When you buy tea, a few clues help. Look for the harvest season, because spring teas are often prized. Look for the region, the cultivar or style, and the harvest or packing date. A good label also tells you whether the contents are whole leaf, broken leaf or powder, and the brewing instructions are usually printed on the back.

These same label habits apply to any plant product. For help reading supplement panels in particular, see the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements consumer guide, which explains plant names, parts used and ingredient lists in plain language.

Tea gardens around the world

Tea is grown on every inhabited continent except Europe and Antarctica, though the oldest traditions belong to East Asia. China and Japan are known for green tea in many styles, while India, Sri Lanka and Kenya grow large amounts of black tea. Korea has a lovely green tea tradition on its southern slopes, and Vietnam and Taiwan produce interesting regional styles.

Each region has its own tools and rituals. In Japan you might see a small clay teapot called a kyusu, in China a lidded cup called a gaiwan, and in Morocco a silver pot used for mint green tea. All of them are different answers to the same question: how do you make a pleasant cup from dried leaves and hot water?

If you are new to green tea, start with a mild, fresh tea from a shop that lists the origin and harvest date. Compare a steamed Japanese tea with a pan-fired Chinese one and enjoy noticing the differences. A little curiosity is all that is needed.

Green tea and Stallion Power

Stallion Power is a dietary supplement in gummy form, and the brand names Green Tea Extract among its nine ingredients, with Natural Caffeine listed separately. The Stallion Power ingredients page shows each name in order, and the overview page explains how the product is presented. For directions, follow the label printed on the bottle. Another plant story from the same list is our post on epimedium, the woodland flower.

This article is a plant and tea story. It describes how tea is grown, shaped and brewed, and it does not describe anything tea or any ingredient does for the body or mind.

If you would like to see the complete product, the order page shows pack options of 2, 3 and 6 bottles, the 60-day money-back guarantee and the current offer. Check today's offer on the order page.