Is there anything green tea can’t do? First of all it’s delicious. The flavours of green tea can vary from sweet and delicate to oceanic to slightly smokey. And it is rumoured to be the reason so many Japanese people live past 100. There are a lot of green tea believers out there. Are you one of them?

China was the original home of green tea production and maintains its role as the ongoing home of pan-fired green teas. If you visit China today, you can still see green tea being sipped in restaurants, tea houses and in travel mugs. Even though Japan and green tea are closely associated, history reveals that it was China that introduced green tea to Japan in the 8th century. Tea drinking in Japan soon grew in popularity and became a pastime of the rich. The Japanese even re-defined the way tea is produced by steaming their tea leaves rather than pan-firing them. Fine Japanese teas were only available to those who could afford them and green teas were even used as a currency. Elaborate tea ceremonies developed involving large sets of tea making equipment. Tea houses sprung up and tea connoisseurs prided themselves on the quality of their leaves and their tea making skill. Green tea drinking was not just about the tea itself. A whole sub-culture of teapots, tea cups and tea sets developed. Sound familiar? History repeats itself!

Green tea leaves are wilted, then they undergo a rolling process which ruptures the cell walls of the tea leaves. They are then heat-cured to arrest oxidation and stabilize the tea.

The major difference to note between Japanese and Chinese green teas is that for Japanese green teas, the leaf is steamed just after the withering stage. In China, the leaves are pan-fired in woks.