Green Tea: What a Difference a Date Makes

However did you know that Green Tea has a fairly short shelf life, and to get the greatest benefits it should be drunk as quickly after picking as is possible? The object of consuming Green Tea is to derive the greatest health benefits that the brew has to offer.
The actual shelf life of Green Tea will generally be up to six months after harvesting, when exposed to open air.
Indeed there are certain varieties of Green Tea which will be deemed spoiled after four months from harvesting.
So freshness becomes a problem However with the popularity of Green Tea soaring worldwide it now travels perhaps many thousands of miles from the harvest site before it reaches the customer. Keeping Green Tea fresh for consumption in the countries in which it is harvested, although needing care is fairly simple as there is usually no great time-delay in transportation.
When transporting Green Tea on long journeys most companies, but not all, seal the tea in packages filled with a nitrogen gas, which replaces oxygen and prevents the Green Tea from oxidisation.
When sold in packages the Green Tea should be sealed in a bag from which the oxygen has been removed. The contents of the bag should then be used within two months so as to have the Green Tea at its freshest.
There is much difference between a Green Tea which has been exposed to air for much of its life.
You should always read the packaging before purchase to make sure of the harvest date of the Green Tea: the better providers have no problem in giving this information. Sometimes you take a risk in the purchase of your favourite flavour of Green Tea, in that some degradation has happened prior to your purchase due to the exposure to oxygen.
Remember, by purchasing the freshest you will be getting a greater helping of the wonderful benefits Green Tea has to offer.
Mike Linder is the author of the definitive guide to all green teas and their health benefits.
http://www.benefitsdrinkinggreentea.com

How To Make A Cup Of Tea

Before the British declare war for such sacrilegious treatment of our favourite beverage, I thought it necessary to provide a short instruction on the ancient art of tea making. It has come to my attention that many Americans believe that all tea should be made with ice. English readers, this may shock you.
For those still living in the dark ages a saucepan or a small bowl over a campfire will suffice, but cold water straight from the tap will not. * Boil a kettle full of water.
You can always water it down afterwards. However, make sure you read the packet beforehand and if in doubt make it too strong rather than too weak. Different brands of tea require different amounts of tea leaves for required strengths, but in general it should be one teaspoon for each person drinking and one for the pot. Empty the water out, then place tea leaves into the pot (these can be placed within a tea ball if you have one).

* Pour a little hot water into the teapot (preferably china rather than novelty) to warm it.
Merely leave to brew for between three to five minutes - any shorter and you will not get the flavour, any longer and it will stew. Do not drop the pot or stick it in the microwave. Do not add ice cubes or sugar. * Pour boiling water into the teapot.
It is also an offence to use milk in certain brands of tea, so do remember to check whether your chosen variety is better served with milk or lemon. This is an offence on a line with spitting into the pot, which should also be avoided. Never, ever add it afterwards.

* If you are using milk, pour it (from a china milk jug) into the matching china tea cups first.
* If you had not used a tea ball, you will have to strain the tea before pouring it into the china cups. A tea strainer is similar to a small sieve and does the job easily.
Until the invasion. Wonder out loud if this was really what the Boston Tea Party was all about, then dismiss it as paranoia and get on with your sweet iced-tea drinking lives. Sit back, relax, put on fake British accents and wave your pinkie around wildly, mocking pretentious Englishwomen who do not believe Americans can make tea. * Add sugar as required and stir with your solid silver teaspoons.
Andrea drinks tea, and a lot of it. She actually quite likes Americans, but that doesn't stop her disapproving of their beverage choices.
Andrea is an author on
http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for
Poetry
.

Tea Grading System

You've seen FTGFOP, BOP, CTC on labels of tea...
What do these codes mean?
These codes are used to classify single estate teas such as Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Assam. At the end of a tealeaf makeing process, a machine will separate the tealeaves according to their type, size, and categorize them into different grades.

Letters like P: Pekoe, O: Orange, B: Broken, etc, are connected to indicate the different grades of the black tea.
Here is a summary of the most commonly used codes:
OP
: Orange Pekoe Usually refers to relatively longer and complete tealeaf.
BOP
They make a stronger brew than OP, so they are more suitable to make milk tea. : Broken Orange Pekoe Refers to broken orange pekoe.
FOP
: Flowery Orange Pekoe Refers to tealeaves that have buds, which would create a floral fragrance in the tea.
FBOP
Makes a stronger tea with floral fragrance. : Flower Broken Orange Pekoe Contains both buds and broken tea leaves.
TGFOP
Makes a much more fragrant and strong tea than FOP. : Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Contains young buds, which appear golden.
FTGFOP
: Fine(est) Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Very high quality tea that went through an extra procedure of rolling, which would draw out the best flavour in tea.
SFTGFOP
The meaning is obvious. : S stands for Super or Special.
CTC
It is ideal for consuming with milk. CTC leaves make a very strong brew in short amount of time. : Crush, Tear, Curl These teas are compressed into small pieces by a special machine.
Others:
Fanning
,
Dust
Usually used in India to make Chai or milk tea. Refers to very small pieces of tealeaves.
It means the first grade of that FOP. Sometimes, there is a "1" at the end of a tea name, such as FOP1 or FTGFOP1.
Some people prefer BOP instead of FTGFOP becuase BOP makes stronger tea, which is suitable for consuming with milk. The number of letters, however, does not necessarily mean the quality of tea.
Please visit is a tea lover and the founder of O-Square Tea Company. Tom H.
http://www.osquaretea.com
for more information.

Different Types of Green Tea

If you try to buy your tea from Chinese markets or food stores, or order it over the Internet, as then you will be able to choose from the full range of green teas.
So which different green teas are there? Well, the most common green tea in Western countries is low-grade Gunpowder - that's the stuff you'll generally find in the supermarket. It is used because it is cheap, and stays fresher for longer than other green teas, because of the way it is rolled up into little balls.
Many consider it to be the best green tea, but because it is expensive and not very much is produced, it is prone to imitation - make sure you trust whoever you're buying this tea from to sell you the real thing. The most popular green tea in China is Dragon Well, or Lung Ching, a bright green and quite expensive kind of tea.
Sencha is also more readily available over here than Chinese green teas tend to be, and there is a slightly cheaper version called Bancha as well. It is cheaper than Dragon Well, more the kind of tea you could drink every day, but none the worse for it. In Japan, green tea drinkers prefer Sencha, a sweeter kind of green tea.
If you ever get a chance to drink Macha, it's well worth trying, because it really is the king of green teas. It is very expensive and very nice, and tastes more like a luxury dessert than the everyday tea you're probably used to - in Japan, it is a popular flavour of sweets and ice cream. The sweetest kind of green tea is Macha, the tea used in the Japanese tea ceremonies.
John Gibb is the owner of
green tea guidance
, For more information on green tea check out
http://www.green-tea-guidance.info