Tea Lab
Green Tea

The Ancestral Leaf: A Legacy of Five Thousand Years

The history of green tea is essentially the history of civilization in the East. While Western history often points to the 17th-century tea trade, Chinese green tea dates back nearly five millennia to the legendary Emperor Shennong. He was said to be a divine healer who tested hundreds of herbs on himself; one afternoon, as he boiled water under a wild tea tree, a few leaves drifted into his pot. He found the resulting brew refreshing and detoxifying, and thus, the world’s first cup of green tea was poured.

However, the green tea we drink today—the loose, vibrant leaves—didn’t become the standard until the Ming Dynasty. Before that, during the Tang and Song eras, tea was steamed and pressed into hard cakes or ground into fine powders. It was Emperor Hongwu who changed everything by decreeing that tribute tea should be delivered in loose-leaf form to alleviate the labor-intensive burden on the farmers. This single royal command sparked a revolution in processing, leading to the pan-firing techniques that define the nutty, toasted character of modern Chinese greens.

A Tour of the Great Gardens: Geography and Terroir

In the world of fine tea, we talk often of “terroir,” the unique combination of soil, climate, and altitude. For green tea, the most coveted landscape is the “Cloud and Mist” (Yunwu) environment. When you travel through the tea-growing regions of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui, you notice that the best farms are perched on high, steep slopes where sunlight is filtered through constant moisture. This natural shade is vital; it slows the growth of the leaves, allowing them to retain a higher concentration of amino acids like L-theanine, which provides that sought-after sweetness and “umami” flavor rather than the bitterness found in sun-drenched lowland teas.

Take, for instance, the legendary West Lake Longjing, or Dragon Well tea. It grows in a specific microclimate near Hangzhou where the soil is rich in quartz and the air is perpetually humid. Just a few hours away in Suzhou, the Biluochun (Green Snail Spring) tea is interplanted with fruit trees like peach, apricot, and plum. As the tea plants grow, their leaves absorb the fragrance of the falling blossoms, giving the final brew a distinctively fruity, floral aroma that no artificial flavoring could ever replicate.

The Alchemy of the Wok: How Green Tea is Made

The transformation from a raw, bitter leaf on a bush to the fragrant, complex brew in your cup is a process of precision and ancient chemistry. The defining characteristic of green tea is that it is “unoxidized.” Unlike black or oolong teas, which are allowed to sit and react with the air to develop darker colors and fruitier notes, green tea must be “fixed” almost immediately to preserve its vibrant emerald hue and fresh, grassy vitality.

This transformation is achieved through a series of intentional steps, each requiring the steady hand and seasoned intuition of a tea master:

The mastery involved in this process is staggering. A tea master must judge the temperature of the wok by feel and know exactly when the leaves have reached the perfect state of “fixation” simply by the scent rising from the pan. It is this human touch—the literal hands of the maker—that elevates a simple agricultural product into a work of liquid art.

The Art of the Pour: Brewing for Clarity

When you bring your tea home, the most common mistake is treating it like a robust black tea. Green tea is delicate; if you use boiling water, you will “scald” the leaves, releasing excess tannins that result in a harsh, astringent taste. Instead, aim for water that has cooled to about 80°C or 85°C. A simple trick if you don’t have a thermometer is to pour the boiling water into a fair cup or a different vessel first, let it sit for two minutes, and then pour it over your leaves.

For the most authentic experience, I recommend brewing in a tall, clear glass or a porcelain Gaiwan. The glass method, often called “Grandpa Style” in China, allows you to watch the “tea dance”—the beautiful sight of the buds standing upright and slowly drifting to the bottom. Avoid using heavy cast-iron or clay pots that retain too much heat, as they will effectively “cook” the delicate leaves and ruin the second and third infusions.

Famous Varieties & Origins

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