Green Tea

As with all teas, Green tea is made from the oxidization of Camellia sinensis. Green Tea is oxidized very little, as to retain the majority of its raw flavor. This leads to the very light taste that is popular with the majority of Green Teas today. Undoubtedly the most well known tea in the United States, the majority of tea sold today is of the green variety. This could perhaps come from the influx of tea coming from Japan, where Green Tea is quite mainstream and is simply the tea to drink. Whenever someone is drinking tea (mind you, the "normal" or "average" person) the frequent response is "oh some kind of Green Lipton Tea." Although Lipton is not my personal drink of choice, it has made the awareness of tea a lot more positive than it has been in the past. Though most teas of this kind have a fairly similar taste, many vary in subtle flavor as well as texture, such as gunpowder green tea. the general consensus on how to brew Green Tea varies, but in general this is the formula: "Green tea brewing time and temperature varies with individual teas. The hottest brewing temperatures are 80°C to 90°C water and the longest steeping times 2 to 3 minutes. The coolest brewing temperatures are 60°C to 70°C and the shortest times about 30 seconds. In general, lower quality green teas are steeped hotter and longer, while higher quality teas are steeped cooler and shorter. Steeping green tea too hot or too long will result in a bitter, astringent brew for low quality leaves. High quality green teas can be and usually are steeped multiple times; 2 or 3 steepings is typical. The brewing technique also plays a very important role to avoid the tea developing an overcooked taste. Preferably, the container in which the tea is steeped or teapot should also be warmed beforehand so that the tea does not immediately cool down."