Green Tea

All types of tea; black, green and oolong, come from the same plant - Camellia sinensis.

Once the tea leaves are harvested, the type of processing they go through determines the variety of tea they will become. 

The biggest factor in producing various types of teas is the length of time they are oxidised.

Black tea is considered fully oxidised and is laid out for several hours under warm air - this is what makes black tea it's distinctive dark colour.

For Green tea manufacture, the freshly picked leaf is steamed or pan heated before drying or firing. This is done to prevent the veins in the leaf breaking and thus stopping any oxidisation of the leaf.

Health Benefits of Green Tea

Numerous scientific studies have proven the effectiveness of green tea in combating and preventing many diseases.

The health benefits of green tea are due to its high levels of flavonoids, polyphenols and catechins - collectively these are called anti-oxidants.  It is these anti-oxidants that are so beneficial to human health. They work by binding harmful oxygen-containing molecules in your body called free radicals and peroxides that otherwise could damage your DNA, cell membranes, and other cell components.

Although all tea contains these anti-oxidants, green tea has higher concentrations of them than either black tea or oolong tea. This may be due to the relative lack of processing that green tea undergoes, because white tea has even higher levels of anti-oxidants.

Click here for more information on Anti-oxidants

Brewing Green Tea

It is important to use the correct water temperature when making a cup of green tea.   If you use water that is too hot (straight from a freshly boiled kettle) then this will give you a bitter flavour in the cup.

It is best to let the kettle cool a little or add a centimetre of cold water in the bottom of your cup or pot before adding the hot water to reduce the temperature.

Equally as important is to not brew the leaves for too long - this too means the tea will be bitter.

The best time for green tea is 3 minutes.  This way you will be able to fully taste the green tea and not just a bitter flavour.