Green versus Golden/Yellow Tea

[beforewisdom]

I've noticed that some "green" teas are really yellow or golden in color.

I know that roasting the leaves ( Chinese tea ) will make "green" tea yellow and that steaming the leaves (Japanese tea ) will make a more green, "green" tea.

Are there other factors for getting a green, "green" tea such as:

- using higher quality leaves?
- using fresher leaves?
- using more leaves?
- using hotter water?
- steeping the leaves longer?


Thanks in advance for any information

[gingkoseto]

The green color (not including yellow-green) of tea is from chlorophyll of the leaves. As you said, green tea made with steam-green method (such as most Japanese green) has dry leaves greener because this method retains more chlorophyll in the leaves. Pan-roasting of tea leaves (as in most Chinese green) causes more chlorophyll to be degraded.

As for tea liquor, Japanese green tea may have greener liquor or yellow-green / golden liquor. This is because chlorophyll has very low solubility in water. If the cells of the leaves are not crushed, then water cannot dissolve much green color from the leaves. But water can dissolve the flavonoids from the leaves to give rise to yellow-green/golden color. If more of the cells of the leaves are crushed, then chlorophyll can escape from the cell and give rise to the greener color of the liquor. But usually greener tea liquor is less transparent than yellow-green/golden tea liquor, because the chlorophyll is suspended, instead of dissolved, in water.

Fresher leaves may be greener because of higher chlorophyll contents. But being green or not is not always an indicator of freshness.

But generally, chemistry is not that important in tea drinking

[beforewisdom]

Beyond buying steamed green tea leaves what can I do to insure greeen, green tea?

[Chip]

Not much, it is what it is ...

[iannon]

Beyond buying steamed green tea leaves what can I do to insure greeen, green tea?

just curious..was there any particular reason you really want the color to be true green?

[edkrueger]

Beyond buying steamed green tea leaves what can I do to insure greeen, green tea?

If you really care about the color more than the taste, you can buy Fukamushi sencha. Because the leaves are broken down from the steaming pieces of the broken leaves will enter the cup causing a greener color.

[Chubseus]

Really, color is secondary to most things and is more about looks and ambiance, like preferring green apples to red ones.

Then again, I admit to being a sucker for ambiance on occasion. Try a green with a little matcha blended in, if you like.

[Chip]

I deleted everything that got this topic derailed from Ed's post onward.

The TeaDust has settled hopefully ...

[Kevangogh]

You can't really judge how good a green tea is by color alone because there are some stellar green teas that are on the yellowish side. The color of asamushi tends to be yellowish but the degree to which this occurs definitely varies according to how fresh it is. Fresh asamushi and 2 month old asamushi will usually not be the same color. You can use it as a guide, but you have to have experience with it fresh to be able to judge it well.

That said, stale green tea will never produce an intense green color (fukamushi included) so if you get a real nice green color, at least you know you are dealing with something relatively fresh.

[beforewisdom]

I deleted everything that got this topic derailed from Ed's post onward.

The TeaDust has settled hopefully ...

Thanks for doing that chip and for making it green.

[beforewisdom]

Okay, back on topic.

If I want green, green tea is there anything I can do beyond buying fresh tea leaves and buying steamed tea leaves?

[entropyembrace]

Okay, back on topic.

If I want green, green tea is there anything I can do beyond buying fresh tea leaves and buying steamed tea leaves?

From http://www.o-cha.com/brewing-green-tea.html is a little guide for getting your tea to come out green

How to Brew Green Tea - The Top Ten Reasons Your Tea Didn't Turn Out Green
You brewed it too hot. If you brew it too hot, it will become bitter. This is probably the most common of all mistakes, and one which has the most influence over the taste. Depending of the variety of green tea, it should be brewed around 175 degrees F, give or take 5 degrees.

You started off with old green tea. Green tea, "when properly packaged", has a shelf life of about 6 months. Once opened, you have about 2-3 months to use it. That's for properly packaged (vacuum packed or nitrogen packaged) tea - If your green tea wasn't packaged properly and is exposed to any amount of air, it probably was never good to begin with.

Your green tea was from a late harvest. It's no big secret - the best green tea comes from the first harvest in late April, early May. You can get this throughout the year, however.

You brewed it too long. This depends on the variety, but generally speaking, no more than 2 minutes.

You used too much tea. This is where you have more room for adjustment. Again, it depends on the variety, but for normal sencha, about one teaspoon to 8-10 ounces of water. For one type of tea, you may have to use an even level teaspoon, and for another a heaping teaspoon; it will vary from tea to tea.

You didn't use enough tea. For gyokuro, you won't get good results unless you use double the amount used for sencha.

You didn't start out with good water.You need good water.

You tried to use a tea ball or paper filter. Green tea is compact. Once you brew, it really expands and needs plenty of space to open up.

You tried to use a 2 liter English Teapot. If you really know what you are doing, it is possible to use a Western teapot to brew green tea. However, you would be way better off using one designed for green tea.

You started of with low quality tea. Even in Japan, the quality levels of green tea vary considerably. Just because it's from Japan doesn't necessarily mean it's good.