Sencha

[Tead Off]

Fried is a misnomer which has none of the delicacy with which teas are processed.

I find it interesting how easily people get offended by 'remarks', especially when they disagree with their pov. I find it quite amusing as a tea drinker how these Japanese fukas turn to slop in the pot. I realize there is a difference between Chinese and Japanese teas, but, I find more beauty in Chinese varieties, both in looks, taste, aroma, and, value, as good Chinese teas can be brewed many times over and the variety can be staggering. I still enjoy Japanese greens. I've even been enjoying my Yame Matcha, another strange 'fetish' tea to many tea drinkers. I guess the shape and size of the bubbles replace the beauty of the original leaf, or, is it the chawan that does that?

And "roasted" (your counter term) does express the delicacy with which Chinese green (we are dicussing greens, right?) teas are processed? I fail to see the logic how roasted is better, when many Chinese greens such as Long Jing are fired in a huge wok. Seems maybe fried is closer come to think of it. Does this opinion offend you, upset you? It seems that it did to which you insulted my sourcing of Chinese greens turning this discussion in a personal direction.

There are those who are able to express ponts of view on a forum and those who offend, offering "none of the delicacy" required to communicate their pov without mocking another's pov, or mocking another member's passion.

I do not mind opposing point of views, quite the contrary, it is how I learn. But I am not learning by "slop in a pot" remarks. After you have tried around 25 Japanese greens, come and express your knowledgable point of view.

BTW, I have probably tried 100's of Chinese greens and around 100 Japanese greens. So, I think I know how teas are processed.

But I am done discussing this matter on an otherwise interesting topic. So, by all means feel free to listen and learn about Japanese green tea.

Chill, man. You are one uptight moderator who keeps coming back to this with more and more venom. Sorry to push so many of your buttons. Who would have thought?

[Tead Off]

In case anyone was curious, Longjing and many other Chinese green teas are fried. In a pot. With oil.

Here is a picture of 炒茶 chaocha, or frying tea in Hangzhou.


Curiously enough, the meaning of Sencha (at least the meaning of the two Chinese graphs in the Chinese language) is fried tea!

There are at least 3 different words in Chinese which are usually rendered 'fry' in English. It does not refer to a deep frier filled with oil.

In English, roasting usually refers to putting something in an enclosed box with a heat source, sometimes inside, sometimes outside of the box or container. We could say that Many oolongs are roasted as part of the processing, because they are often put into a steel cylinder and rotated over a fire or other heat source. Longjing is certainly not roasted.

Interesting. Fried with oil?! Is this some kind of village process? I've never heard of this but this is not usually the way it is processed. I guess the word fried conjures up different cultural associations. For me, it is associated with oil in a pan. But, oil will affect a tea. Putting leaves in a wok without oil I would call pan roasting.

Found this:
Dictionary definition of fry: 1. To cook over direct heat in hot oil or fat.

From 7 Cups website on Green Tea processing:
Long Jing, for example has ten different hand movements required of the tea maker. While he manipulates the tea in a big wok as the tea dries there are two basic methods, baking and frying. (There is no oil involved in the frying.)

[Tead Off]

Apologies to Chip for my misconstruing his use of the word 'frying' tea.

Now, I'd like an apology from him for getting blown out of shape and making a mountain out of a molehill with his personal aggression and control issues. Is this a cultural thing?

[t4texas]

Don't feed the troll.

[xuancheng]

Interesting. Fried with oil?! Is this some kind of village process? I've never heard of this but this is not usually the way it is processed. I guess the word fried conjures up different cultural associations. For me, it is associated with oil in a pan. But, oil will affect a tea. Putting leaves in a wok without oil I would call pan roasting.

I have watched processing of green tea in southern Zhejiang for the past two years. Not in Hangzhou, but making the same shape tea with the same process. Also, both years I talked to the different tea processors who also make Longjing tea in Hangzhou every year.

They put a small amount of tea oil into the pan before every batch of tea, or every other batch of tea. If oil is not used, the tea will burn.

I was actually first made aware of this by teachat user brandon. I didn't believe him at first...

Long Jing, for example has ten different hand movements required of the tea maker. While he manipulates the tea in a big wok as the tea dries there are two basic methods, baking and frying. (There is no oil involved in the frying.)

This may well be outright wrong. When I talked to a few tea processors, I asked them pretty explicitly. Do you always put oil on the pan? Yes. Are there any ways of making Longjing/ Longjing shaped tea without oil? No.

Then again, there may be some circs. in which oil is not used, but the above statement is certainly not 100% accurate, based on personal experience, experience of friends, shop owners, websites, etc. and could even be said to be misleading.

Also, the Chinese say chaocha. Chao is usually rendered 'stir-fry' in English to differentiate it from 'zha' deep fry and 'jian' pan fried where something fried in a smaller amount of oil and turned occasionally, usually in a more shallow pan.

[TIM]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertlio/ ... 950037412/

The dirty cloth on the right is soaked with tea oil. The clean taste of LJ sometimes depend on whether the tea oil cloth is newly clean or been there for overnight

Like anything in life, its easier to make believe in something then to act up, and experiencing the process in person.

[silverneedles]

really
many chinese greens i had felt to me to impart a pan fried oil flavor (which annoyed me quite alot)
tho i've watched for "oil slick" on tea liquor i dont remember anything that stood out
now i know fo' sho' theres oil involved

is the use of oil something regional or just a basic part of production?

[xuancheng]

is the use of oil something regional or just a basic part of production?

As far as I know, oil is required for flattened pan fried teas, otherwise the stuff will burn or scorch. Longjing shape, or flat budset type teas are shaped by pressing them against a hot pan, so you need oil. They do use tea oil, not lard or anything, so it's not so bad.

See TIM's post above. Sometimes the cloth gets pretty nasty. They wipe the pot in between fryings, so the cloth gets blacker and blacker, and if the pot overheats a bit the oil burns and can leave a sort of a nasty taste or residue on the cloth.

[kymidwife]

Awesome info, everyone. I love the rational separation of assumption and fact.

I'd love to find a Chinese green that wows me. I am in the ranks of those who prefer Japanese greens, but I feel I probably haven't experienced really good Chinese greens, and its quite possible that if I did, I didn't do the best job on brewing (early on in my tea explorations). If anyone has a specific recommendation on what I should try, please feel free to share.

Sarah

[sriracha]

Fried with oil?!

I actually read about that only yesterday in a Swedish tea book, the author was describing how Hangzhou farmers sit in front of their houses, frying/roasting their tea after greasing the pan with a little tea seed oil. =)

[Ed]

I remember seeing that too when I was in China. They use their bare hands to stir the tea leaves in the pan, which is something I can never do (too clumsy!)
I just thought of something...how come you don't rinse Japanese greens? Unless you do, and I've just been neglecting this step until now.

No need to rinse, you'd just be throwing away some of that great flavor of the first infusion! The photos and descriptions of "dirty" processing methods shown above are the reasons you might want to rinse other types of tea. You won't find dirty oil in your sencha.

[woozl]

I've been loving Roberts, teas. http://www.teatrekker.com/2009_harv_pqm.htm

Actually I've abandoned my old supplier.

[Tead Off]

They put a small amount of tea oil into the pan before every batch of tea, or every other batch of tea. If oil is not used, the tea will burn.

Long Jing, for example has ten different hand movements required of the tea maker. While he manipulates the tea in a big wok as the tea dries there are two basic methods, baking and frying. (There is no oil involved in the frying.)

This may well be outright wrong. When I talked to a few tea processors, I asked them pretty explicitly. Do you always put oil on the pan? Yes. Are there any ways of making Longjing/ Longjing shaped tea without oil? No.

I still find it hard to imagine (I could be wrong, though) that the oil they are using is very much, maybe a heat conductor or protection for the pan over time. Part of the frying is to get rid of the moisture in the leaves. In any case, thanks for this information as it is something I never knew.

I wonder if other greens are fried in this way?

[scruffmcgruff]

This process is a lot closer to a sauté or a stir-fry than the Western meaning of the word "fry."

[Chip]

This process is a lot closer to a sauté or a stir-fry than the Western meaning of the word "fry."

Yes, this was the "fried" I was referring to. But I never heard Chinese greens called sauteed.

Thanks for the great posts and clarifications everyone.