Top 5 Chinese Green Teas

Made from leaves that have not been oxidized.


Apr 12th, '08, 12:43
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Top 5 Chinese Green Teas

by abril371 » Apr 12th, '08, 12:43

This a question for all those Chinese green tea experts out there.

I have been asked to make a list of the best Chinese green teas in terms of:
  • 1. Amount of Antioxidants considering their degree of fermentation/oxidation.
    2. Green color density when brewing
    3. Aroma
Of course, the white teas have most antioxidants of any tea, but the question is which greens come after the whites and supposedly in which order.

At least half of the hospital that I work at is awaiting my nomination :)

Of course you can include Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian and all the other greenies!

Cheers

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Apr 12th, '08, 13:20
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by Wesli » Apr 12th, '08, 13:20

3 is up for grabs and depends mostly on how you brew whatever tea it is.

1 - All green teas have the same oxidation amount (0%), so that won't make the difference.

2 - Highest color density award go to Fukamushi sencha, and matcha. Matcha probably has most of the good stuff you're looking for.

Apr 12th, '08, 14:06
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by abril371 » Apr 12th, '08, 14:06

Wesli wrote:3 is up for grabs and depends mostly on how you brew whatever tea it is.

1 - All green teas have the same oxidation amount (0%), so that won't make the difference.

2 - Highest color density award go to Fukamushi sencha, and matcha. Matcha probably has most of the good stuff you're looking for.
Then what would be the difference between green and white teas if the greens have 0% oxidation?!

Apr 13th, '08, 23:42
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by devites » Apr 13th, '08, 23:42

White tea is really young leaves that are just buds. Matcha is definitely the greenest. Specify for aroma do you want to know the best smelling? strongest? etc.

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Apr 15th, '08, 08:57
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by chrl42 » Apr 15th, '08, 08:57

1 - might be An Ji Bai Cha, I heard this tea is the champ of this field next to Silver Needle.
2 - would be Japanese Green which is steamed other than roasted or fired.
3 - I would give it to Long Jing, can't think of anything else.

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Apr 15th, '08, 11:45
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by Wesli » Apr 15th, '08, 11:45

abril371 wrote:Then what would be the difference between green and white teas if the greens have 0% oxidation?!
Greens have 0% oxidation, while whites are oxidized to somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-17%(can't find any good sources at the moment).

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Apr 16th, '08, 17:15
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by joelbct » Apr 16th, '08, 17:15

U sure about that Wes?

I thought neither White nor Green tea were oxidized, and the difference was that White tea is not withered, just air dried or fired then dried, whereas Green tea is withered then steamed or fired.


Here is some info from a brief paper I put together last year:


Processing/ Types

The harvested leaves are processed in two ways, the first being the “CTC method” standing for “crush, tear, curl.” This is an entirely mechanized process used for lower quality tea.

The second is called the orthodox method, used for higher quality leaves. This process differs depending on the type of tea, but is generally comprised of withering, rolling, oxidation, and firing.

First, the leaves are spread out in open air, until they wither and become limp. Next, they are rolled and tumbled, or “bruised,” either by machine or by hand, releasing a variety of enzymes. The next step, oxidation, is a reaction in which leaves turn progressively darker when the chlorophyll breaks down, releasing tannins. This process is commonly referred to as “fermentation,” which is a misnomer because no true microbial fermentation takes place. Instead, the process is entirely chemical.

Finally, the leaves are heated, or “fired,” to end the oxidation process and dehydrate the leaves so they can be stored and shipped.

This process produces the Black tea varieties, which are fully oxidized.

Green tea is minimally oxidized, instead simply withered; then steamed (the Japanese method) or fired in hot pans (the Chinese method).

White tea is the least processed form, generally not oxidized at all, only picked and air dried, or fired and then dried.

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Apr 17th, '08, 09:57
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by chrl42 » Apr 17th, '08, 09:57

No, the statement is wrong. White tea is about 10% oxidized as it does not go though the stage of killing oxidazation instantly, but rather slowly. And oxidazation starts and ends during drying at low temperature.
joelbct wrote:U sure about that Wes?

I thought neither White nor Green tea were oxidized, and the difference was that White tea is not withered, just air dried or fired then dried, whereas Green tea is withered then steamed or fired.


Here is some info from a brief paper I put together last year:


Processing/ Types

The harvested leaves are processed in two ways, the first being the “CTC method” standing for “crush, tear, curl.” This is an entirely mechanized process used for lower quality tea.

The second is called the orthodox method, used for higher quality leaves. This process differs depending on the type of tea, but is generally comprised of withering, rolling, oxidation, and firing.

First, the leaves are spread out in open air, until they wither and become limp. Next, they are rolled and tumbled, or “bruised,” either by machine or by hand, releasing a variety of enzymes. The next step, oxidation, is a reaction in which leaves turn progressively darker when the chlorophyll breaks down, releasing tannins. This process is commonly referred to as “fermentation,” which is a misnomer because no true microbial fermentation takes place. Instead, the process is entirely chemical.

Finally, the leaves are heated, or “fired,” to end the oxidation process and dehydrate the leaves so they can be stored and shipped.

This process produces the Black tea varieties, which are fully oxidized.

Green tea is minimally oxidized, instead simply withered; then steamed (the Japanese method) or fired in hot pans (the Chinese method).

White tea is the least processed form, generally not oxidized at all, only picked and air dried, or fired and then dried.

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Apr 17th, '08, 10:49
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by Mary R » Apr 17th, '08, 10:49

Oh, what I wouldn't give for access to scientific journals...

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Apr 17th, '08, 16:08
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by Chip » Apr 17th, '08, 16:08

hmmm...sometimes I think I know a lot, but right now, I don't think so... :wink:
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!

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Apr 17th, '08, 21:59
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by joelbct » Apr 17th, '08, 21:59

chrl42 wrote:No, the statement is wrong. White tea is about 10% oxidized as it does not go though the stage of killing oxidazation instantly, but rather slowly. And oxidazation starts and ends during drying at low temperature.
Now that you mention it, Bai Mu Dan (Peony) always struck me as seeming somewhat oxidized, having some brown leaf, but Yin Zhen doesn't seem oxidized much at all... Now I am curious to get to the bottom of this!

Ah and according to wikipedia (which I'm not sure is the best source on such technical matters anway) white tea IS withered, but not rolled, so my above statement was wrong on that count....

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