Which green tea is low on caffeine??

[chrl42]

you said its the processing.

It's not a processing, it's about type of tea plant. There are hundreds of tea plant, that colors different, sizes different, tastes different. It's that simple, many Chinese teas are named after specific tea plant. And that is why Bai Ji Guan and An Ji Bai Cha cost twice more than teas with similiar processing.

There is purple leaf type called Zi Ya cha, don't tell me they have done with dyes..

[beachape]

Ha, this topic seems to be meandering a bit, but I'll throw in some more of my two cents.

I'll just stick to the seeming confusing between white tea and green tea and color. White tea is white tea because of processing. I know I'm not shocking anyone with this one, but if you steamed it or let it oxidize it would be not be white tea.

Why is white tea white (as opposed to green...or purple)? Well it isn't white. The leaf buds are still green when they're picked but they have lots of little white "hairs" which makes the leaf look white (assuming we're talking about baihaoyinzhen which is the most white appearing white tea to me). Young leaves tend to have less chlorophyll to begin with, so if you're just talking buds, then it might be less green to begin with. But it also has to do with processing, different types of processing result in different preservation of leaf pigments. I imagine that when you steam or pan-fry the leaves in green tea processing, you destroy the enzymes that degrade chlorophyll. White tea doesn't have that step, so I imagine the leaf does more of that degrading on its own.

[chrl42]

Ha, this topic seems to be meandering a bit, but I'll throw in some more of my two cents.

I'll just stick to the seeming confusing between white tea and green tea and color. White tea is white tea because of processing. I know I'm not shocking anyone with this one, but if you steamed it or let it oxidize it would be not be white tea.

Why is white tea white (as opposed to green...or purple)? Well it isn't white. The leaf buds are still green when they're picked but they have lots of little white "hairs" which makes the leaf look white (assuming we're talking about baihaoyinzhen which is the most white appearing white tea to me). Young leaves tend to have less chlorophyll to begin with, so if you're just talking buds, then it might be less green to begin with. But it also has to do with processing, different types of processing result in different preservation of leaf pigments. I imagine that when you steam or pan-fry the leaves in green tea processing, you destroy the enzymes that degrade chlorophyll. White tea doesn't have that step, so I imagine the leaf does more of that degrading on its own.

I am not talking about Da Bai Hao plant in Zhenghe and Fuding that were found in Qing dynasty, but Bai Cha plant that was mentioned in Song emperor Huizong's Da Guan Cha Lun "a tea plant that's never found outside but only on the cliffs of Wuyi that appears white", a mutant tree in this manner..

[chrl42]

For better understanding, pictures below.


Anji Baicha


Right is Baijiguan


Zi(purple) Ya(bud) Cha

[Pentox]

Intuit: I'm curious, what's your background in all of this, you seem well too informed in biochemspeak for your average tea slurper.