Green Tea

Until recently, green tea was known in the West as light tea, or the other tea – the one that is not black tea. It is even considered by many to be the healthiest tea due to a respectable amount of antioxidants that are fixed in its production process, but the bitter truth is that classic green tea, when produced properly, represents an old-fashioned production process of a less developed tea compared to Pu'erh, Wulong, or White tea – more advanced and relevant types of tea nowadays – in which advanced enzymatic processes such as oxidation or fermentation are involved, as well as baking and aging that enrich the aroma and flavor palette of the tea. Even red tea – another seemingly simple tea – is undergoing developments and hybrid versions in recent years that make it more relevant than ever.

The Definition of Green Tea

In Chinese, a distinction is made between the color green, Lü 綠, and a natural, vibrant green, Qīng 青, which also implies "young." Since the Tang Dynasty, China has used the term lü to name classic green tea, lü cha 綠茶. However, when it comes to professional terms of tea growing and production, the term "qīng" tends to be used. For example, the well-known kill-green process is called "shā qīng" 殺青 in Chinese, and the green version of one of our most loved and best-selling Wulongs is Xiao Qing Tie Guan Yin.

Chinese Green Tea

Today, classic green tea is mainly produced in the eastern provinces of Anhui and Zhejiang in China, but also in Sichuan in the west and other tea growing areas. The leaves undergo a quick heating process at high temperatures to fix its greeness – the same sha qing process aka fixation - which deactivates the tea enzymes and thus prevents the tea from developing into an advanced tea. Afterwards, many green teas undergo shaping and final drying - and the tea is ready. Since the tea has nowhere to develop chemically, the shelf life of green tea is the shortest in the industry.

Today, most versions of green tea in China try to reproduce ancient types of tea that had a significant role in China's history, but they fall short of the glory they once enjoyed. Teas like Long Jing and Mao Feng were once the emperor's favorite choice and were once considered exquisite tea. Nowadays, these teas are relying heavily on pesticides, using modern, industrial methods, while adapting poetic calligraphies and ancient slogans like "The Ten Best Teas in China" - a repeated mantra - in their marketing.

In today's China, all types of tea, except classic green tea, are infused and served in the traditional brewing style gong fu cha 工夫茶, or Chaozhou Style, using a gaiwan or traditional clay pots like Yixing 宜兴 or Jianshui 建水. In contrast to those advanced and modern teas, green tea is not durable in multiple infusions and its profile does not develop sufficiently between infusions, so it is common to infuse it in a method mockingly called "Grandpa Style", in which an immeasurable amount of tea leaves are infused directly into a beer glass or highball, for an unlimited infusion duration. This custom, perhaps more than anything, emphasizes the problematic status of classic green tea in China, even in high-grades.

Our Green Tea

Our green tea category follows a unique and innovative definition of green tea and often will not include classic green tea unless it is found to be pesticide-free and of value to us. This is actually a collection of advanced light tea types with green characteristics ("qing" 青), among them are fresh wulongs that have not undergone roasting, hybrid light tea types, and young versions of raw tea such as sheng puerh in its first year of harvest, and white tea produced in a traditional way without a fast drying process.