The main task in the production of green tea is to preserve the medicinal natural biologically active substances of fresh leaves in such a way that they can be released into a cup of tea during brewing. The entire green tea production chain serves this purpose.
Once harvested, freshly torn tea leaves are slightly wilted outdoors. The shorter the time of such drying, the closer the green tea is to white in its characteristics.
As soon as the leaves become soft and look wilted, they are traditionally dried for some time (as if & laquo; fried & raquo;) in hot air.
This prevents the leaves from excessive oxidation (i.e. fermentation), although some green teas may be slightly (2-3%) fermented.
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The drying process of green tea can also be different (for example, in a closed oven, or on an open fire with a smoke), which brings a pleasant variety to the taste shades of green tea.
After drying, the tea leaves are twisted. This procedure can also be performed in different ways, giving many green teas a unique look.
Green tea may look like:
- Slightly twisted , & laquo; naturally dried & raquo; almost without twisting leaves (in China & mdash; & laquo; hunchi & raquo;).
Looks such whole-leaf tea from the side as grass-grass, a bunch of confused shaggy blades of grass. This also includes flat or & laquo; flattened & raquo; teas (typical example & mdash; the famous tea & laquo; Long Ching & raquo; ), which have practically untwisted and crimped cups. - Strongly Twisted Leaves .
These are usually all teas that are most commonly labeled as Gunpowder (& laquo; gunpowder & raquo; or & laquo; cannon powder & raquo;, which really in the times of the British colonies looked like peculiar scales or balls).
In China, such teas are called & laquo; pearl & raquo; (& laquo; bale & raquo; or & laquo; zucha & raquo;).
Pearl teas themselves in China are very diverse in both size and quality.
For example, high-quality Chinese Gunpowder, which includes many types, can be labeled as & laquo; imperial & raquo; or & laquo; gold & raquo;, and low quality is labeled Twankay. - Strongly twisted leaves along the longitudinal axis .
In such tea, the cups are in the form of long spirally twisted & laquo; sticks & raquo;, & laquo; wires & raquo; etc.
A typical example of such tea is Japanese tea & laquo; spider legs & raquo; (a separate subspecies of elite gyekuro tea).
Twisting the cups, on the one hand, significantly increases the shelf life of the brew, preserving its best qualities, and on the other hand, twisting allows you to regulate the extraction of essential oils and other active ingredients during the brewing process.
The stronger the green tea is rolled, the higher its extractiveness. Thus, the most saturated and strong green teas are obtained from gunpowder & rsquo; s, and the most mild in taste and fragrant & mdash; from slightly twisted cups.
The twisting of green teas is usually done manually until the tea is saturated with juice, until it darkens and acquires a dark green (sometimes with a bluish or bluish tint) color. In general, manual twisting of one portion of green tea lasts about an hour.
In the final stage of green tea preparation, after twisting, the raw materials are additionally dried, which allows stabilizing the aromas and beneficial substances of tea, and acquires a natural green color. In high-quality dried green tea should be no more than 4% moisture. Dried tea should have a natural green color, any darkening (brown, black, dark gray color of raw materials) & mdash; Scrap or incorrect storage.
Experts note that the color of good green tea can vary from bright green (almost emerald) to faded pistachio, but in any case, the color of high-quality green tea should be quite fresh and bright.
Making green tea correctly
Brewing green tea is recommended with hot water (60 & deg; - 90 & deg; C) for 1-3 minutes (it is recommended to brew some varieties as an exception for 3-5 minutes).
After brewing, the tea infusion can have a color from light green or golden to rather dark and saturated green or yellow-green.
Good green tea necessarily has a bright aromatic bouquet, which is dominated by floral, citrus and & laquo; herbaceous & raquo; aromatic shades. Green tea also contains quite a lot of caffeine, and when brewed for a long time, it can start to get very bitter.
Properly prepared green tea has (compared to other types of teas) a unique content of vitamins, trace elements and nutrients (for example, plant proteins).
Green tea is made and sold in the following varieties:
- Large leaf;
- small sheet (broken);
- powder;
- tiled.
Large leaf green tea & nbsp; & mdash; only quality green teas.
Small leaf green tea & nbsp; & mdash; quite cheap, has slightly pronounced aromatic characteristics and mediocre taste.
Powdered green tea (mat-cha) & nbsp; & mdash; exclusively Japanese for tea ceremony.
Tiled green tea & nbsp; & mdash; it is also eastern exotic, characteristic of Tibet, Nepal, etc. Bar tea is commonly used in specific soup-type recipes & mdash; tea brewed in milk, with flour and butter, etc.
Two makers of great green teas.
Green tea is grown in countries beyond the & shy; pad & shy; new part of Asia (India, Ceylon) and in & nbsp; eastern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda).
However, the palm is almost exclusively in green teas from China and Japan.
In China, the mass producer and exporter of green teas of medium quality is Zhejiang province, mass teas of slightly higher quality are grown in Fujian province.
In Japan, elite green tea (gyekuro) is grown in Uji District, Kyoto County.