Tea Varietals

Wu Long? Green? Black?

What's your cup of tea?
Or something more exotic like pu-erh or white tea?
The major difference between all of these types of tea is how the leaves are processed after they are picked. No matter which your preference, all tea comes from the same plant - Camellia sinensis.
The others are primarily used as flowering shrubs. There are as many as 300 species of Camellia, but only one of them is used to make tea. Camellia is a genus of the family Theaceae. Even so, not all tea leaves are equal.
The assamica variety will grow to a larger plant than sinensis and has larger, thinner leaves. The sinensis variety has relatively small and narrow leaves and is more tolerant to cold. assamica (Assam tea or Indian tea). sinensis (China tea) and Camellia sinensis var.

The "tea Camellia" (Camellia sinensis) has two varieties - Camellia sinensis var.
Varietals have special characteristics that make them suitable for growing in a particular area or for producing a certain type of tea. As with most Camellias, Camellia sinensis is very easy to hybridize and this had led to the development of more than 3000 tea ‘varietals'.
Other varietals may have higher resistance to diseases which can affect the tea plant. White tea, for example, is produced from a varietal that has an abundance of fine hairs on the young leaf shoots. Varietals can be identified by leaf shape, coloring, leaf size, or other desirable characteristics.
‘Da Bai' (big white) is a varietal used to make the Japanese green tea of the same name. Many varietals are given names that describe the appearance or the use of the tea leaf.
A varietal traditionally used for white tea could be processed into wu long tea, or a black tea varietal could be used to make green tea. Most varietals have come to be associated with a certain type of tea, but this does not mean that specific varietals cannot be used for other teas.
The taste of tea is affected by the soil, the climate, the season, the varietal, the variety, the processing method, the skill of the tea processor, the brewing method, and the brewing utensils. One of the reasons why tea is so interesting is because of its limitless possibilities.
No wonder then that tea has been so popular for so many years - it's a taste of life. All of these factors affect the flavor and quality of the tea.
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Information about the types of tea, tea production, tea growing, the health benefits of tea, and making and serving tea can be found at Tea Genius is a complete knowledge base of tea. Paul Dickson is a contributing writer Tea Genius.com.
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Green Tea Has Just The Right Amount Of Caffeine With No Side Effects

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If you're looking for a coffee or soda substitute with just the right amount of caffeine enough to keep you awake and energized without the nervousness, chronic muscle tension, irritability, headaches, depression, and insomnia, Japanese Green Tea is exactly what you've been looking for. Green tea caffeine does not make you jittery or nervous.
Japanese Green Tea offers the best of both worlds when it comes to caffeine -- just enough to provide a stimulating pick-me-up that banishes unwanted drowsiness, but not enough to trigger nervousness or sleepless nights.
Ever since eight-century Buddhist monks discovered that tea helped them remain awake during long meditation sessions, tea has been used to boost lagging energy, refresh the mind, and brighten up the mood.
Caffeine increases your heartbeat, improves your alertness, your reaction time gets faster and your general mood becomes more "upbeat".
But to get the benefits of caffeine, you only need to consume the recommended caffeine intake.
The recommended caffeine intake per day is 200 mg.
Soda contains between 40 to 60 mg and a cup of drip coffee has a nerve-jangling 90 to 150 mg, more than half the amount of caffeine that some people should consume in a whole day. Soda contains between 40 to 60 mg. Soda contains between 40 to 60 mg.

Soda contains between 40 to 60 mg. Soda contains between 40 to 60 mg. Soda contains between 40 to 60 mg. The average cup of green tea contains anywhere from 8 to 20 mg of caffeine, while black tea contains at least twice that amount -- 40 to 60 mg.
Just 3 cups of coffee a day is enough to give you the problems like headaches, depression, insomnia, irritability and nervousness, if consumed on a daily basis for a long period of time.
Still, green tea does have a "brightening" effect. It would take at least 4 cups of the strongest green tea to equal the caffeine content of the weakest drip coffee.
Rose Antonio has been a green tea drinker for many, many years. She has a special interest in alternative healing and natural remedies.
Though she has tried different types of tea from different countries, she always go back to Japanese Green Tea not only because of its taste but more so because of its amazing health benefits gathered from years and years of research and from talking to many health enthusiasts.

Brewing Green Tea - The Top Ten Reasons Your Green Tea Didn't Turn Out Good

I've put together a top ten list explaining why this may have occured. Perhaps it may have been too bitter, or not really as "green" as you had anticipaged. However, if you have ever tried to brew it, there is a good chance it didn't turn out like you may have wanted it to.

Japanese green tea, when brewed correctly, is quite delicious.
You brewed it too hot. If you brew it too hot, it will become bitter. This is probably the most common of all mistakes, and one which has the most influence over the taste. Depending of the variety of green tea, it should be brewed around 175 degrees F, give or take 5 degrees.
You started off with old green tea. Green tea, "when properly packaged", has a shelf life of about 6 months. Once opened, you have about 2-3 months to use it. That's for properly packaged (vacuum packed or nitrogen packaged) tea - If your green tea wasn't packaged properly and is exposed to any amount of air, it probably was never good to begin with.
You can get this throughout the year, however. It's no big secret - the best green tea comes from the first harvest in late April, early May. Your green tea was from a late harvest.
You brewed it too long. This depends on the variety, but generally speaking, no more than 2 minutes.
You used too much tea. This is where you have more room for adjustment. Again, it depends on the variety, but for normal sencha, about one teaspoon to 8-10 ounces of water. For one type of tea, you may have to use an even level teaspoon, and for another a heaping teaspoon; it will vary from tea to tea.
You didn't use enough tea. For gyokuro, you won't get good results unless you use double the amount used for sencha.
You didn't start out with good water.You need good water.
You tried to use a tea ball or paper filter. Green tea is compact. Once you brew, it really expands and needs plenty of space to open up.
You tried to use a 2 liter English Teapot. If you really know what you are doing, it is possible to use a Western teapot to brew green tea. However, you would be way better off using one designed for green tea.
Just because it's from Japan doesn't necessarily mean it's good. Even in Japan, the quality levels of green tea vary considerably. You started of with low quality tea.
Kevin Moore, owner and operator of
http://www.O-Cha.com
, was one of the first online shops dedicating itself to selling Japanese green tea. Based out of Japan, O-Cha.com offers a large variety of loose leaf green teas, matcha, and brewing supplies, in addition to helpful advice on all aspects of green tea.