By far the most popular variety of tea in the eastern world, green tea is not “fermented” or oxidized. Green tea generally produces a clear to green liquor with flavors that range from mild to bitter and a lower caffeine content than black tea. Most green teas come to us from China, Japan, Taiwan (Formosa) and to a lesser extent India. Some of the most acclaimed green teas include:

• Cloud and Mist (Maojian)
• Dragon Well (Longjing or Lunch Ching)
• Eyebrow (mee-cha)
• Green Spring Spiral (Pi Lo Chun or Biluochun)
• Gunpowder (zhucha)
• Hair Point (Maojin)
• Sencha

To produce green tea freshly harvested tea leaves are withered. Then the withered leaves are fired without rolling such that oxidization is minimized. Chinese green teas are traditionally fired in a wok while Japanese greens teas are steamed. The Chinese green tea maker will continuously rock the wok back and forth shaping the leaves.