San Jose’s large Asian population ensures that green tea is widely consumed in the Santa Clara Valley. It can be purchased in every supermarket in the San Jose area, as well as the many Asian markets. With so much attention on Asian culture, especially the food – which is delicious – we need to know about the perfect beverage to accompany our Asian meals. Did you know there are many kinds of green tea and they are all different, largely due to differences in processing? Click here for some green tea history and further information. Here is a glossary of terms associated with the processing and growing of green tea:
Character - When tasting teas, a desirable liquor quality that permits identification of country of origin and district within that country.
Basket Fired - Japanese tea which has been dried by firing in a basket.
Gunpowder - A make of green tea, each leaf of which has been rolled into a pellet. The pellets resemble old fashioned gunpowder cartridges.
Ichiban-cha – Japanese phrase meaning “first tea” or “first plucking,” referring to Japanese green tea.
Jasmine - A mild, delicately flavoured China tea that is scented after firing with white jasmine flowers.
Matcha – Japanese green tea that has been ground to a powder, and is prepared differently from other types of green tea, in that the powdered leaves are ingested and not removed from the tea cup.
Niban-cha - Japanese phrase, meaning “second tea,” or “second plucking,” referring to Japanese green tea.
Pan Fired - A kind of green tea that is dried in iron pans over charcoal fires.
Pingsuey – Chinese phrase, meaning "ice water," referring to a kind of Chinese green tea.
Pinheads – Green tea leaves rolled into tiny balls the size of gun shot, a kind of gunpowder green tea.
Sambancha - Japanese phrase for “third tea,” or “third plucking,” referring to Japanese green tea.
Sencha - name given to the ordinary everyday Japanese green tea.
Green tea, like all other types of true tea, is made from the leaves of the tea plant, Camillia sinensis. There are two main styles of making green tea: the Chinese and the Japanese. In the Chinese style, after harvest, the tea leaves are crushed and withered, then fired or roasted with hot air or a dry, heated metal pan, before drying. In the Japanese style, the tea leaves are crushed, withered and then steamed, and end up being partially cooked by the moist heat, before being dried. While Japan and China are the largest producers of green teas, many other Asian countries, and some South American nations also grow and process green tea. The green tea from each country has its own distinct flavor and aroma qualities but green teas all share certain characteristics, especially a green color in the leaf and the infused liquor, a fresh, grassy aroma and vegetal flavor when infused. Perhaps you have a favorite kind of green tea?
Copyright 2011, Elizabeth Urbach.
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For more information: "Tea 101: what is green tea?" by Margaret Studer
“Is it safe to drink Japanese tea after the earthquake?” by Margaret Studer
“Dr. Oz 101: the health benefits of green tea” by Heather McDowell
“Can green tea protect against breast cancer?” by Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch
“Green tea health benefit claims intriguing, but yet to be proved” by Margaret Studer
“Tea History and Legend”
“Tea Legends” from In Pursuit of Tea
Glossary of Tea Terms from the Nothing But Tea website
“Tea Dictionary” from Bigelow Teas
“Tea tasting: a man’s art”, by Doug Spiers
“Dictionary of Tea Terms” from Upton Tea Imports
“Green Tea” Wikipedia
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